Oscars 2026 winner: “One Battle After Another” triumphs, records and surprises on Oscar night
What a night at the Dolby Theater! The 98th Academy Awards are history, and they delivered exactly what every film fan wants: clear winners, historic moments and the odd moment that no one expected. Paul Thomas Anderson's epic "One Battle After Another" was the undisputed king of the evening and won a whopping six trophies, including the really big ones. But “Sinners" and “Frankenstein" couldn’t complain either and also won gold several times.
The big winner: "One Battle After Another"
Director Paul Thomas Anderson, who has been considered one of the greats for decades, was finally able to take home the well-deserved Oscar for Best Director. The fact that his film also won the most prestigious award of the evening, for best film, was the logical consequence of a brilliant award run. But that's not all: the film also secured awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Casting - a newly introduced category - and Sean Penn was delighted to receive the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. For Penn it is the third acting trophy of his career, putting him in an illustrious circle with Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis.The premier class of acting: Jordan and Buckley shine
There were no real surprises in the acting categories, but there were celebrated victories. Michael B. Jordan deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actor for his dual role in Ryan Coogler's vampire drama "Sinners". He prevailed against well-known competition such as Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. In the women's race, Jessie Buckley won the race. For her intense performance in "Hamnet," she won the Oscar for Best Actress - a choice that was no longer a surprise after her triumphs at the season's major awards ceremonies.
In the supporting roles, there was another memorable moment alongside Sean Penn: Amy Madigan was honored as best supporting actress for her role in the horror film "Weapons", crowning a career that spanned decades.
Historic victories and a curious draw
But the evening had much more to offer than the big winners. With “Sinners" there were two reasons to be happy. Not only did the film win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), but Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. A long overdue milestone in this category! Composer Ludwig Göransson rounded off the triumph for “Sinners" with the Oscar for best film music.
Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" provided one of the most emotional moments. The reinterpretation of the classic dominated the technical categories and deservedly won the Oscars for Best Production Design, Best Costumes and Best Make-up
"KPop Demon Hunters" was also a phenomenon. The Netflix animated hit not only won the Oscar for Best Animated Film, but the catchy tune “Golden" won in the Best Song category - the first K-pop song to do so. And then there was the first tie in a category in 14 years: In the live-action short films, "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" shared the statue - a strange but beautiful moment that caused laughter and applause in the hall.
The winners of the 98th Academy Awards at a glance
Here is the full list of Oscars 2026 winners in major categories:
- Best Film: One Battle After Another
- Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
- Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
- Best Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
- Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
- Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan (Weapons)
- Best Original Screenplay: Sinners
- Best Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
- Best international film: Sentimental Value (Norway)
- Best Animated Film: KPop Demon Hunters
- Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Sinners)
- Best Film Music: Ludwig Göransson (Sinners)
- Best Song: “Golden" (KPop Demon Hunters)
- Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash