Ever since Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids cracked the box office code and became a hit in 2011, fans have been begging for a sequel. They’re still waiting — but the Oscars 2026 producers delivered the next best thing.
Stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne and Ellie Kemper reunited on the Academy Awards stage inside Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre Sunday night. The showing, greeted by a partial standing ovation, came 15 years after the film’s release, and happened to land on the same night Byrne was nominated in the best actress category for her work in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. (Fun coincidences: The A24 film also stars Conan O’Brien, who hosted Sunday’s Oscars; Rudolph’s longtime partner, Paul Thomas Anderson, was in the room to support his 13 Oscar nominations for One Battle After Another.)
The fivesome presented two awards, original score and sound, Oscars that went to Ludwig Goransson (Sinners) and F1, respectively. But speaking of sound, there was a lot of laughter inside the Dolby as they shared the stage. Wiig kicked things off by noting her state of disbelief that it’s been 15 years since the movie came out. “We are not good with numbers but we figured out backstage that means we shot this movie in 1883,” Wiig joked.
At that point, a producer emerged from backstage to hand the stars some handwritten notes allegedly penned by members of the audience that they took turns reading aloud. “Well, mine says, first of all, ‘You ladies look extremely beautiful tonight. You’re all aging well. Signed Stellan Skarsgård,” Rudolph said.
Byrne read hers next: “Rose, can you please stop looking at me? The eye contact is too much. I’m thinking of leaving. I’m very uncomfortable. Sincerely, Leonardo DiCaprio,” Byrne stated as the camera panned to the Oscar nominated star of One Battle After Another who made a gesture that certainly will end up as another meme. “I apologize. I have been staring at you. I thought you were somebody else.”
McCarthy read another note penned by someone with Skarsgård that once again praised their looks. “All the things that you’ve done to your faces are very tasteful,” she said before revealing it was penned by Sentimental Value nominee Elle Fanning.
Wiig claimed her note came from One Battle nominee Benicio del Toro. “You guys have been talking for a long time. This bit could have been a lot shorter. This is really going on and on. You aren’t even talking about score. That’s all. Love you lots,” she said. After Kemper read hers with a joke about “the little kid from Hamnet” and the lack of pizza amid a long show, the actresses did turn their attention back to presenting the Oscars.
Bridesmaids, penned by Wiig and Annie Mumolo, centers on the competition that bubbles up when the maid of honor (Wiig) and a bridesmaid (Byrne) battle over who is the real best friend of the bride (Rudolph). The tense yet hilarious situation threatens to upend the life of an out-of-work pastry chef. Reuniting at the Oscars made sense as the film garnered McCarthy the first of her two nominations for supporting actress. Meanwhile, Wiig and Mumolo snagged noms for best original screenplay.
Oscar telecast producers teased the reunion in the days leading up, with Raj Kapoor calling it “very special.” But it wasn’t the only one. During their official Oscars press conference, his partner, Katy Mullan said, “There’s also going to be a Marvel reunion for the superhero fans. We’re gonna have superstar superheroes, and there is also going to be an extraterrestrial on the stage. So you can figure that one out.”
See the star-studded Oscars red carpet 2026 arrivals.
