Oscars 2026: The Winners and the Big Night of ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘Sinners’
The 98th Academy Awards are in the books, and Hollywood has a new number one. At the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, it was a night of winners, laughter, and more than a few heartfelt speeches that went on a bit. But who actually got to take home the coveted gold statuette? Here's the complete lowdown on the winners of the 2026 Oscars – and why this year's ceremony was a standout, even for seasoned cinephiles.
The Night's Big Winner: 'One Battle After Another'
What a ride. Paul Thomas Anderson has done it again. His epic masterpiece ‘One Battle After Another’ was the night's dominant force. With six trophies – including the heavy hitters like Best Picture and Best Director – the ensemble cast featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn got their well-deserved due. A particularly moving moment: Sean Penn, who snagged the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role, used his speech to get properly political. He didn't hold back against the current political climate in the US. It wasn't some boring thank-you list; it was pure, unscripted drama.
The Record-Breaker: 'Sinners' and Its Historic Run
And then there was ‘Sinners’. With a whopping 16 nominations, Ryan Coogler's film made history – surpassing even ‘Titanic’ or ‘All About Eve’. In the end, it took home ‘only’ four Oscars, but they were some of the most prestigious ones. Michael B. Jordan grabbed the Oscar for Best Actor, leaving Timothée Chalamet (‘Marty Supreme’) and Leo DiCaprio in the dust. The film also scored gold for Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score. The score, by the way, comes from Sweden's Ludwig Göransson, bagging his second Oscar after ‘Oppenheimer’. A name that naturally connects the dots for local audiences to The World of Hans Zimmer – even though Zimmer himself went home empty-handed this year, his spirit lives on brilliantly in the new generation of composers like Göransson.
The Night's Unseen Players: Where are Springsteen and Tarantino?
Let's talk about the rumours and hopes swirling before the show. Sure, Bruce Springsteen – the Boss – didn't have a new song in the running. But his spirit loomed large over the evening. ‘One Battle After Another’ is a deeply American epic that thematically fits Springsteen's blue-collar romanticism perfectly. You almost wish he had opened the night musically.
And Quentin Tarantino? He wasn't nominated either, but you can bet he was somewhere in the audience, eyeing the competition. After all, there's buzz that his final film is slowly taking shape. But for film history buffs, it still felt like a Tarantino night: Paul Thomas Anderson's speech was filled with nods to 20th-century classics, and the crowd ate it up.
The Complete List of 2026 Winners
If you want the full breakdown of who won in the technical categories, here's the list:
- 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 Cinematography: ‘Sinners’
- Best Film Editing: ‘One Battle After Another’
- Best Production Design: ‘Frankenstein’
- Best Costume Design: ‘Frankenstein’
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling: ‘Frankenstein’
- Best Original Score: ‘Sinners’ (Ludwig Göransson)
- Best Original Song: ‘Golden’ from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’
- Best Sound: ‘F1: The Movie’
- Best Visual Effects: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
- Best International Feature Film: ‘Sentimental Value’ (Norway)
- Best Animated Feature Film: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’
- Best Documentary Feature Film: ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’
What's the takeaway from this 2026 Oscar night? That cinema is alive and kicking. That master storytellers like Anderson and Coogler aren't letting the streamers steal their thunder. And that a night where both a dark epic and a horror film clean up is simply fantastic. We're already looking forward to next year – and wherever the journey takes us next.