The 98th Academy Awards 2026: Complete Recap of Winners, Highlights, and Historic Moments

The 98th Academy Awards 2026: Complete Recap of Winners, Highlights, and Historic Moments

The 98th Academy Awards made history on the night of March 15, 2026, delivering a ceremony packed with stunning victories, record-breaking milestones, and unforgettable moments. Held at the iconic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the 2026 Oscars will go down as one of the most talked-about editions of the Academy's storied ceremony. From Paul Thomas Anderson finally claiming his long-overdue crown to the heartbreak of Sinners setting a historic record for the wrong reason, this year's Oscars had everything a film lover could ask for

What Is the 98th Academy Awards?

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prestigious honors in the global film industry, presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The 98th edition celebrated the best films and performances of 2025, featuring ten Best Picture nominees spanning a wide range of genres — from pulse-pounding blockbusters to intimate character-driven dramas.

This year's ceremony was hosted by comedian and TV personality Conan O'Brien, returning for his second stint as Oscars host. The show aired live on ABC and streamed on Hulu, drawing a massive global audience eager to witness what would become one of the most competitive Oscar races in recent memory.

One Battle After Another: The Night's Big Winner

Without question, the defining story of the 2026 Oscars was the triumph of Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. The dark comedy, which centers on a faded revolutionary played by Leonardo DiCaprio, entered the night with 13 nominations and left with a remarkable six Oscar wins, including the night's most coveted prizes.

The film's six wins included:

Best Picture

Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio)

Best Film Editing

Best Casting — a brand-new Oscar category making its inaugural appearance

The Best Casting award was a historic first for the Academy, and One Battle After Another earned the distinction of being the very first film to win it. Anderson's victory was especially emotional for longtime fans and industry observers, as the acclaimed filmmaker had never previously won a competitive Oscar despite decades of critically lauded work.​

DiCaprio's win for Best Actor — his second career Oscar — was particularly resonant. His portrayal of "Bob Ferguson," a complex, ideologically conflicted revolutionary, was hailed as one of the finest performances of his career. Combined with Anderson's long-overdue Best Director win, the film's sweep felt like a long-awaited correction from Hollywood's most prestigious voting body.

The film was produced by Adam Somner (posthumously), Sara Murphy, and Paul Thomas Anderson, and distributed by Warner Bros. In a remarkable footnote, Warner Bros. ended the night with 11 total Oscars across all its films — tying the record for most wins by a single studio in a single evening.

Sinners: A Historic Night for All the Wrong Reasons

If One Battle After Another was the fairy-tale winner, Sinners was the compelling underdog story that gripped the entire awards season. Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, the film entered the 98th Oscars with an unprecedented 16 nominations — more than any film in Oscar history, breaking the previous record of 14 nominations shared by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land.​

Despite the historic nomination haul, Sinners won four awards, meaning it set another unwanted record: the most losses (12) in a single Oscars night. Yet even that sobering statistic couldn't overshadow the night's most electric moment — Michael B. Jordan winning Best Actor, his first Oscar nomination and first win. Jordan's acceptance speech was electrifying; he stepped to the microphone and exclaimed, "Man, God is good," prompting journalists and audience members to respond in unison, "All the time!"

Sinners' four wins were:​

Best Actor in a Leading Role — Michael B. Jordan

Best Original Screenplay — Ryan Coogler

Best Cinematography — Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Best Original Score — Ludwig Göransson

Autumn Durald Arkapaw's win for Best Cinematography was itself a history-making moment — she became the first woman ever to win in that category. Her achievement drew a thunderous standing ovation from the Dolby Theatre crowd, a moment that will be remembered as one of the ceremony's most powerful.​

Coogler's Original Screenplay win was also deeply celebrated. The director, who had long championed this film as a bold, culturally significant project, had created something that clearly resonated not just with audiences and critics, but with Academy voters as well. Jordan, in his speech, praised Warner Bros. executives for "betting on the culture and betting on original ideas and original artistry."​

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley's Triumphant Night

In a competitive Best Actress field that included Emma Stone (Bugonia), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), and Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You), it was Jessie Buckley who took home the gold for her performance in Hamnet.​

Buckley portrayed Agnes Shakespeare in the Sam Mendes-directed adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel, delivering what critics described as a raw, deeply moving performance. Her win was celebrated widely, with reviewers noting the speech she gave was among the sweetest and most sincere of the night. Buckley's win further cemented Hamnet as one of the year's most acclaimed films, having also earned a Best Director nomination for Chloé Zhao.

Supporting Categories: New Faces and Veteran Triumphs

The supporting categories delivered some of the night's most memorable moments.

Best Supporting Actress went to Amy Madigan for her performance in Weapons. At 75 years old, Madigan became one of the older winners in this category's history. Her acceptance speech was instantly quotable: "This is great! Everybody's asking me, 'What's different about this time?' What's different is I've got this little gold guy!" The moment was also given an extra layer of charm by host Conan O'Brien, who had portrayed her character "Gladys" in a pre-show sketch — and thanked Madigan for the loan of her wig.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress were:​

Amy Madigan — Weapons ✅

Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another

Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners

Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value

Conan O'Brien: The Last Human Host?

One of the most anticipated aspects of the 2026 ceremony was Conan O'Brien's return as host. Returning for his second Oscars hosting gig, O'Brien lived up to his reputation as a sharp, self-deprecating comedian who can read a room. His opening monologue was widely praised as one of the best in recent Oscar history.​

O'Brien wasted no time setting the tone, declaring: "I am honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards. Next year, it's going to be a Waymo in a tux." The joke — a sharp swipe at the encroachment of AI and automation on Hollywood — landed perfectly, receiving a roar of laughter and applause from an audience that understood the cultural subtext all too well.​

He also took playful jabs at Timothée Chalamet and broader AI trends in the entertainment industry, touching on topics that felt both comedic and timely. His cold open, in which he impersonated the character Gladys from Weapons (complete with a matching wig), went viral almost immediately.​​

Historic Firsts at the 2026 Oscars

The 98th Academy Awards were notable for the number of firsts they delivered:

First K-pop song to win Best Original Song: "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters made history as the inaugural K-pop track to claim the prestigious music prize.​

First woman to win Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw made a monumental breakthrough in a category that had been male-dominated since its inception.​

First Best Casting Oscar ever awarded: The brand-new category made its debut, with One Battle After Another claiming the inaugural award.​

Most nominations in Oscar history: Sinners broke the all-time record with 16 nominations.​

Most losses in Oscar history: Sinners also, unfortunately, set the record for the most losses (12) in a single night.​

Best Animated Feature and Other Key Winners

Away from the headline categories, the night had plenty more to offer. Best Animated Feature went to KPop Demon Hunters, beating out strong competition from Arco, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and the crowd favorite Zootopia 2. The win was part of the historic evening for K-pop culture, as the film's nominated song "Golden" also took home Best Original Song.​

The Best Picture field was one of the most eclectic in recent memory, featuring ten nominees across wildly different genres and styles:​

One Battle After Another ✅

Bugonia

F1

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Train Dreams

The breadth of this list — ranging from the car-racing spectacle F1 (produced by Brad Pitt and Jerry Bruckheimer) to Guillermo del Toro's gothic Frankenstein — underscored the diversity of cinema celebrated in 2025.

A Memorable Closing: McGregor and Kidman's Surprise Performance

In what became one of the most talked-about moments of the night, Moulin Rouge co-stars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman reunited on stage to present the final award — Best Picture. But before announcing the winner, the two performed an a cappella duet, instantly transporting the audience back to one of cinema's most beloved musicals. The spontaneous, emotional moment was widely hailed as one of the best live surprises in recent Oscar memory, a fitting capstone to a night filled with passion for cinema.​

Why the 2026 Oscars Will Be Remembered

The 98th Academy Awards stood out for several reasons. It was a night of long-awaited justice, with Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio finally claiming the recognition many felt they deserved. It was a night of cultural breakthrough, as K-pop landed its first major Hollywood accolade and Autumn Durald Arkapaw shattered a decades-old cinematography ceiling. It was a night of heartbreak and triumph intertwined, with Sinners achieving both the most nominations in history and the most losses in a single night.

Above all, it was a night that reminded the world why the Oscars still matter — because great cinema, in all its complexity and diversity, still moves people. From Jessie Buckley's emotional acceptance speech to Amy Madigan's pure joy to Michael B. Jordan's electric "God is good" moment, the 2026 Oscars offered something rare: a Hollywood ceremony that genuinely felt alive.