Oscars 2026: Winners and Highlights From Cinema’s Biggest Night

With the 98th Academy Awards, the awards season has officially come to a close. It was a stunning evening full of celebration as some of Hollywood’s best received their well-earned flowers while others made history.

One Battle After Another comes out on top

For much of the evening (and the awards season as a whole), it came down to a race between Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which broke the Academy’s record for most nominations at 16, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which trailed closely behind with 13 nominations.

But it was the latter’s dark comedy set in a post-apocalyptic America that was ultimately the most-awarded of the night with six awards, including the coveted best picture, best director, and best supporting actor for Sean Penn, who was not in attendance. Anderson also won best adapted screenplay. This marks his first time winning at the Oscars following 11 previous nominations across his career.

The sun shines on Sinners

If One Battle was the critics’ favourite, then Sinners was the crowd pleaser with 16 nominations. Coogler’s vampire epic gained steady momentum throughout the season and bowed out with a strong finish, scooping up four golden statuettes to become the second most-awarded film at the 2026 Oscars. 

The best actor category proved to be competitive and unpredictable as winners differed throughout the season, but it was Michael B. Jordan who received the honours in his career-first nomination for his dual role as twins Smoke and Stack. Significantly, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made Oscars history as the first woman to win in that category. Coogler won best original screenplay while Ludwig Göransson took home best score. 

While Miles Caton’s ‘I Lied To You’ lost out to KPop Demon Hunters’ ‘Golden’ for best original song, he and several cast members came together to recreate the ‘Pierce the Veil’ sequence in Sinners. The rousing performance was also joined by singer Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, and ballerina Misty Copeland. 

Jessie Buckley’s clean sweep

If there was one person who had the definition of a dominant awards season, it’s Jessie Buckley. The Irish actress has won every major award she was up for, including the BAFTAs, Actor Awards, and Golden Globes, and continued her winning streak at the 2026 Oscars, to no one’s surprise. 

Buckley won best actress for her performance as Agnes, a grieving mother in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, Hamnet. With this career-first Oscar, Buckley also makes history as the first Irish actress to win in this category.

The honmoon glows ‘Golden’ at the Oscars

Speaking of Oscar history, Netflix’s smash hit KPop Demon Hunters also made their mark that evening. The film went 2-2, winning its nominations in best animated feature and best original song. This makes ‘Golden’ the first K-pop song to win in the Academy’s 98-year history.

Audiences were also treated to the full K-pop treatment with lightsticks as Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, the singers behind the film’s girl group Huntrix, performed ‘Golden’. The viral song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for more than eight consecutive weeks and has over 1.5 billion Spotify streams.

During Ejae’s acceptance speech, the Academy garnered criticism when Yuhan, one of the music producers, had his speech abruptly cut off. Netizens have called on the Academy to allow longer acceptance speeches. Fortunately, Yuhan was able to deliver his full speech in the press room after the stage. 

Marty Supreme leaves the Oscars empty-handed

Meanwhile, if someone was having the worst night at the Oscars, it would probably be Josh Safdie and Timothée Chalamet, as ping-pong dramedy Marty Supreme was noticeably shut out, going home winless despite nine nominations.

Chalamet was touted as a frontrunner early in the awards season after winning the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice for best actor. However, it could not beat the late surge momentum Michael B. Jordan received after his Actor Awards win. 

There was also the infamous opera-ballet-gate. For context, Chalamet appeared on a talk show and called opera and ballet forms of art that people are trying to keep alive “even though, like, no one cares about this any more.” Needless to say, the comment was met with criticism from opera and ballet institutions as well as Hollywood figures. While his comment likely did not affect the voting, as it happened after voting had closed, it was the latest blunder in an increasingly turbulent awards season campaign for the once golden boy of Hollywood.

Despite this, reactions to Marty Supreme’s shutout at the Oscars remain divided online. While some thought it was deserved due to the competition with One Battle and Sinners, others questioned the snubs for a movie that received critical acclaim and $180 million at the global box office, the highest for any A24 film.

Ahead, discover the winners of the 2026 Oscars.

Best Picture

WINNER: One Battle After Another

Bugonia

F1

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Train Dreams

Best Actor

WINNER: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme

Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon

Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Actress

WINNER: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue

Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value

Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Director

WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Chloé Zhao, Hamnet

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another

Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

Delroy Lindo, Sinners

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress

WINNER: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value

Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners

Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay

WINNER: Sinners, written by Ryan Coogler

Blue Moon, written by Robert Kaplow

It Was Just an Accident, written by Jafar Panahi; script collaborators: Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, and Mehdi Mahmoudian

Marty Supreme, written by Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value, written by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier

Best Adapted Screenplay

WINNER: One Battle After Another, written by Paul Thomas Anderson​​

Bugonia, screenplay by Will Tracy

Frankenstein, written for the screen by Guillermo del Toro

Hamnet, screenplay by Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell

Train Dreams, screenplay by Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

Best Original Song

WINNER: ‘Golden,’ KPop Demon Hunters

‘Dear Me,’ Diane Warren: Relentless

‘I Lied to You,’ Sinners

‘Sweet Dreams of Joy,’ Viva Verdi!

‘Train Dreams,’ Train Dreams

Best International Feature

WINNER: Sentimental Value, Norway

The Secret Agent, Brazil

It Was Just an Accident, France

Sirāt, Spain

The Voice of Hind Rajab, Tunisia

Best Cinematography

WINNER: Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Frankenstein, Dan Laustsen

Marty Supreme, Darius Khondji

One Battle After Another, Michael Bauman

Train Dreams, Adolpho Veloso

Best Editing

WINNER: One Battle After Another, Andy Jurgensen

F1, Stephen Mirrione

Marty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value, Olivier Bugge Coutté

Sinners, Michael P. Shawver

Best Sound

WINNER: F1

Frankenstein

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Sirāt

Best Original Score

WINNER: Sinners, Ludwig Göransson

Bugonia, Jerskin Fendrix

Frankenstein, Alexandre Desplat

Hamnet, Max Richter

One Battle After Another, Jonny Greenwood

Best Documentary Feature

WINNER: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

The Alabama Solution

Come See Me in the Good Light

Cutting Through Rocks

The Perfect Neighbor

Best Documentary Short

WINNER: All the Empty Rooms

Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”

The Devil Is Busy

Perfectly a Strangeness

Best Visual Effects

WINNER: Avatar: Fire and Ash

F1

Jurassic World Rebirth

The Lost Bus

Sinners

Best Production Design

WINNER: Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Best Live-Action Short

TIE: The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva

Butcher’s Stain

A Friend of Dorothy

Jane Austen’s Period Drama

Best Casting

WINNER: One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis

Hamnet, Nina Gold

Marty Supreme, Jennifer Venditti

The Secret Agent, Gabriel Domingues

Sinners, Francine Maisler

Best Animated Short

WINNER: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Butterfly

Forevergreen

Retirement Plan

The Three Sisters

Best Animated Feature

WINNER: KPop Demon Hunters

Arco

Elio

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Zootopia 2

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

WINNER: Frankenstein

Kokuho

Sinners

The Smashing Machine

The Ugly Stepsister

Best Costume Design

WINNER: Frankenstein, Kate Hawley

Avatar: Fire and Ash, Deborah L. Scott

Hamnet, Malgosia Turzanska

Marty Supreme, Miyako Bellizzi

Sinners, Ruth E. Carter

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