Oscars Leave Hollywood: After 26 Years at the Dolby, Academy Awards Move to Downtown L.A. in 2029

The Deal

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and AEG announced Thursday a multi-year partnership making L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles the new home of the Oscars, beginning with the 101st ceremony in 2029 and running through at least 2039, according to a joint press release from both organizations. The ceremony will be held at the venue currently known as the Peacock Theater — which sources familiar with the planning told the Los Angeles Times is expected to be renamed before the Oscars arrive.

The Oscars will remain at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and continue to air live on ABC in more than 200 territories worldwide, through the 100th ceremony in 2028. The shift takes effect with the 101st Oscars in 2029.

Discussions about the move have been underway for roughly two years, according to people familiar with the planning who were not authorized to speak publicly, per the Los Angeles Times.

A Triple Shift: Venue, Network, and Era

The venue change does not stand alone. In December 2025, the Academy announced that the ceremony would begin streaming live worldwide on YouTube starting in 2029, ending a roughly five-decade run on ABC. The 2029 Oscars will therefore mark the first ceremony at the new venue and the first broadcast on YouTube simultaneously — a significant double break from the ceremony's established identity.

The Oscars have aired on ABC since 1976. The Dolby Theatre has hosted the ceremony since 2002, with the single exception of the 2021 ceremony held at Union Station in Los Angeles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Variety.

The combined changes mark what the Los Angeles Times described as "a significant reset for the Oscars," which have seen their television audience decline from more than 40 million viewers in the late 1990s to 17.9 million viewers this year, down 9% from the prior year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

What Changes at the New Venue

As part of the partnership, AEG will undertake what its press statement described as "comprehensive enhancements" to the Peacock Theater, including upgrades to its stage, sound and lighting systems, lobbies, backstage facilities and other production-critical areas. AEG said it will collaborate with the Academy to incorporate "bespoke design elements needed to accommodate the Oscars ceremony."

L.A. Live's recently expanded plaza will host red carpet arrivals and activities. Early design renderings released by the Academy suggest the stage will retain a sweeping, curved proscenium similar to the Dolby era — meaning casual television viewers may see limited visual difference — while featuring expanded screen space and a more immersive ceiling design, per the Los Angeles Times.

The move is also expected to increase capacity. The Academy's membership has grown significantly in recent years and now numbers more than 11,000 members, according to the Los Angeles Times. Space at the Dolby has long been tight, requiring the shutdown of multiple blocks of Hollywood Boulevard for days at a time and the creation of a heavily secured perimeter — conditions that were made even more restrictive during the 98th Oscars in March 2026, when security was tightened further amid the ongoing conflict in Iran, including a one-mile police buffer around the theater, per the Los Angeles Times.

The new setting places the ceremony, press operations, the Governors Ball, and post-show events within a compact, campus-style footprint that also includes the adjacent JW Marriott hotel and ballroom. The setup eliminates the need to spread Oscars operations across multiple separate locations, and creates new opportunities for hospitality and sponsorship tied to the broader L.A. Live complex, per the Los Angeles Times.

L.A. Live and AEG

AEG owns and operates L.A. Live, which it describes as a 23-acre, 4-million-square-foot sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles. The complex is adjacent to Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. It already hosts major awards events: the Emmys and the Grammys have both broadcast from the Peacock Theater in recent years, according to Deadline.

AEG has also proposed an expansion of the L.A. Live complex that would add a new hotel, residences and additional entertainment space, per the Los Angeles Times.

"L.A. Live was built to host the moments that define culture, and there is no greater global stage than the Oscars," said Todd Goldstein, AEG's Chief Revenue Officer, in the official announcement. "We're proud to partner with the Academy to reimagine what the Oscars can look and feel like in the years ahead. Together, we will create an environment that celebrates creativity, honors excellence, and delivers an unforgettable experience for movie fans everywhere."

The End of the Hollywood Era — and a Return to Downtown

The Dolby Theatre, originally opened as the Kodak Theatre in 2001, was designed specifically with the Oscars in mind as a potential long-term home. The ceremony moved there in 2002 from downtown Los Angeles, where it had been staged for decades — first at the Shrine Auditorium and then for many years starting in 1969 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, according to Deadline. The 2029 move to L.A. Live is, in some respects, a return to downtown rather than a complete departure.

For 26 years, the Oscars' identity has been synonymous with Hollywood Boulevard — the Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre, the red carpet running alongside iconic sidewalk stars. The 2028 ceremony at the Dolby will be the 100th Oscars and the last under that arrangement.

"We are thrilled to partner with a global powerhouse like AEG. Their track record for building and operating technologically sophisticated live performance venues is unrivaled," said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor in a joint statement. "For the 101st Oscars and beyond, the Academy looks forward to closely collaborating with AEG to make L.A. Live the perfect backdrop for our global celebration of cinema, both for our live in-theater audience and for film fans around the world."

Key Dates

2028: 100th Oscars — final ceremony at Dolby Theatre, final broadcast on ABC.

2029: 101st Oscars — first ceremony at Peacock Theater at L.A. Live, first broadcast on YouTube globally.

2039: Current deal with AEG expires.