Academy Museum Gala 2026: Charlize Theron, Colman Domingo and a $14 million night
The sixth annual Academy Museum Gala turned into one of the year's splashiest Hollywood nights, honoring Charlize Theron with the Icon Award, Colman Domingo with the Vantage Award and John Carpenter with the Luminary Award — and raising more than $14 million for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Taylor Swift performed during the evening, adding a musical set to a red carpet that was already stacked with A-listers. Among the arrivals were Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, Jacob Elordi, Kendall Jenner, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek, Sabrina Carpenter, Janelle Monáe, Pamela Anderson, Andrew Garfield, Anna Kendrick, Sofia Vergara, Eddie Redmayne and Kristen Wiig.
The gala, presented by Rolex, was co-chaired by Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw and Tom Ford — all of whom were also spotted at the event. The host committee pulled together a sprawling list of names, including Jessica Alba, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Adrien Brody, Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Galitzine, Demi Moore, Seth Rogen and John Legend with Chrissy Teigen.
A night built around the museum
The annual party funds the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which opened in Los Angeles in 2021 and has since become a centerpiece of the awards-season calendar. Theron's Icon Award caps a run that has seen her deliberate between huge studio roles and producing credits, while Domingo's Vantage Award arrives as he continues a late-career surge through prestige films.
John Carpenter, the director behind Halloween, The Thing and Escape From New York, took home the Luminary Award — a genre-film legend honored on a night dominated by current A-list names.
The full red carpet carried through the evening, with photographers working through arrivals from McKenna Grace, Charles Melton, Tom Ford, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Skarsgård, Karlie Kloss, Rosé and more. The museum has not yet announced a date for next year's gala, but the $14 million raised marks the event's biggest single-night haul to date.
