Oscars 2026 Winners: "One Battle After Another" Triumphs, Records and Surprises on Oscar Night
What a night at the Dolby Theatre! The 98th Academy Awards are now history, and they delivered exactly what every film fan hopes for: clear winners, historic moments, and the odd surprise that no one saw coming. Paul Thomas Anderson's epic "One Battle After Another" was the undisputed king of the evening, snagging a whopping six trophies, including the biggest ones of all. But "Sinners" and "Frankenstein" also had plenty to celebrate, taking home multiple gold statues of their own.
The Big Winner: "One Battle After Another"
Director Paul Thomas Anderson, who's been counted among the greats for decades, finally got to take home a long-overdue Oscar for Best Director. The fact that his film also won the night's most prestigious award, Best Picture, was the logical conclusion of a stunning awards season sweep. But it didn't stop there: the film also secured wins for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Casting – a newly introduced category – and Sean Penn was thrilled to take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. For Penn, this marks his third acting trophy of his career, placing him in an elite club alongside Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis.
The Acting Heavyweights: Jordan and Buckley Shine
In the acting categories, there were no real surprises, but plenty of well-deserved, celebrated wins. Michael B. Jordan won the highly deserved Oscar for Best Actor for his dual role in Ryan Coogler's vampire drama "Sinners." He beat out stiff competition from the likes of Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Among the women, Jessie Buckley took the prize. For her intense performance in "Hamnet," she was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress – a choice that, after her triumphs at the major awards this season, came as no surprise.
In the supporting categories, alongside Sean Penn's win, there was another memorable moment: Amy Madigan was honoured for her role in the horror film "Weapons" as Best Supporting Actress, crowning a decades-long career.
Historic Wins and a Curious Tie
But the night had much more to offer than just the top winners. "Sinners" had double the reason to celebrate. 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 out the triumph for "Sinners" with the Oscar for Best Original Score.
One of the most emotional moments came from Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein." This reimagining of the classic dominated the technical categories, deservedly winning Oscars for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
"KPop Demon Hunters" was also a phenomenon. The Netflix animated hit not only won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, but the catchy tune "Golden" took the prize in the Best Original Song category – the first K-Pop song ever to do so. And then there was the first tie in a category in 14 years: in the Live Action Short Film category, "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" had to share the statue – a quirky but lovely moment that sparked laughter and applause in the hall.
The 98th Academy Awards Winners at a Glance
Here is the complete list of the 2026 Oscars winners in the key categories:
- Best Picture: 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 Feature Film: Sentimental Value (Norway)
- Best Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters
- Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Sinners)
- Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson (Sinners)
- Best Original Song: "Golden" (KPop Demon Hunters)
- Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash