“Don’t you love the ladybugs?” said Nicole Kidman, showing off a few decorative beetles that appeared to be crawling up her white Chanel skirt suit. “They’re sort of a little good-luck charm.”
It was the night before the Academy Awards, and Ms. Kidman did not need much luck: She already had a best actress statuette from 2003, for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in “The Hours.” The achievement did not set in that day, or even that week. “You’re in shock, and then about a year later, you realize, ‘Oh, I have an Oscar,’” she said.
Ms. Kidman and her ladybugs made their way to the patio of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where Chanel and Charles Finch, the British film producer and publisher, were hosting their 17th annual pre-Oscars dinner. Nominees thrummed with nerves and excitement on the eve of an event that could etch their names into filmmaking history — or relegate them to a long list of also-rans.
The celebration capped off a tumultuous stretch for the industry. The box office endured a dry spell in the fall, with several starry films failing to materialize into hits. The more compelling drama appeared to be taking place offscreen, in a boardroom battle between Paramount Skydance and Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which produced two of the top best picture contenders, “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.” The studio is now set to be acquired by Paramount for $111 billion.
Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive of Netflix, said the decision to step away had been the right one.
“I get why people can get very caught up in these things, but for us it was very practical,” he said at the party, which he attended with his wife, Nicole Avant. He added that he was looking forward to a performance of “Golden,” the Oscar-nominated song from the animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” during Sunday night’s ceremony.
Teyana Taylor, nominated for best supporting actress for her role in “One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s revolutionary epic, predicted that she would not sleep the night before the ceremony. At the Actor Awards two weeks earlier, her 5-year-old daughter, Rue Rose, had asked her whether actors were ever disappointed if they did not take home a trophy.
“That was, I think, my first time really breaking it down to her: No, there’s some things that Mommy doesn’t win,” Ms. Taylor said. “But you’d never know, because Mommy walks in like a winner.”
Celebrities tend to inject their Oscars-week jitters directly into the party circuit, an annual succession of events hosted by fashion labels, talent agencies and media outlets jostling to assemble the brightest constellation of stars.
At the Polo Lounge, it was hard to keep track of them all. Lauren Sánchez Bezos, in a dark belted gown, swept across the patio to meet up with her husband, Jeff Bezos. In the dining room, Al Pacino was deep in conversation with Javier Bardem. Maya Rudolph chatted on the edge of the courtyard with Meg Ryan. Mick Jagger, in a bomber jacket and brooch, complimented the director Clint Bentley on his film “Train Dreams.”
Waiters distributed steak au poivre and lychee martinis as well-wishers swarmed the party’s many nominees, including Jessie Buckley, Josh Safdie, Elle Fanning and Wagner Moura. The musician Jon Batiste praised “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s vampire tale set in Jim Crow Mississippi, and was soon wrapped in a hug by Delroy Lindo, one of its stars and a nominee for best supporting actor. The writer Suleika Jaouad, Mr. Batiste’s wife, said she had been moved by “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a docudrama about a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Other attendees were practically tripping over each other to speak to the stars of “Love Story,” the FX television series about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. But reporters who were curious about the blowback to the show from some of the figures it portrays, including Daryl Hannah, were out of luck. “I’m not talking tonight,” said Sarah Pidgeon, who plays Carolyn Bessette on the show. “I’m sorry.”
Earlier in the evening, Armani hosted its annual bash at its boutique on Rodeo Drive, where Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song and Minnie Driver milled about between displays of handbags and cast members of the hockey romance “Heated Rivalry.” It was the first time the party was held since the designer Giorgio Armani died in September, at 91.
Samuel L. Jackson said he had admired Mr. Armani from afar when he was starting out as an actor. “He was one of the people I always wished I could wear or afford, so when it finally happened, it was like dream come true,” he said. The two shared a yearslong friendship and professional relationship. “He changed a lot of things, especially the perception of what a well-turned-out, fashionable person was,” Mr. Jackson added.
An unscientific sampling suggested the crowd was roughly split over whether “Sinners” or “One Battle After Another” would win best picture on Sunday night. François Arnaud, one of the stars of “Heated Rivalry,” said he thought that “One Battle” had the edge. “It appealed to the film nerd in me — I was a teenager again watching it,” he said.
Jon Hamm, however, could not make up his mind about which film should take home the prize. “I wish that everybody could win,” he said.
Callie Holtermann reports on style and pop culture for The Times.
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