There is a particular kind of Hollywood story the industry tells about itself when it wants to feel good. It involves talent that was always obvious, recognition that was always deserved, and a room that congratulates itself for having seen it coming. The 98th Academy Awards, held on March 15, 2026, told a more complicated and considerably more interesting story than that.
Paul Thomas Anderson received his first competitive Oscars on Sunday night, or rather, three simultaneously: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, for One Battle After Another. He had waited nearly three decades and eleven nominations for this moment. The Academy, in its characteristically theatrical fashion, did not merely give him the awards; it gave him the record too, making him only the ninth person in Academy history to claim that particular triple on a single night. The long wait made the moment seismic.
Meanwhile, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan, entered the Dolby Theatre with sixteen nominations, the most of any film in Academy history. By the end of the evening, it had won four awards: Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. Twelve losses in a single night made it, simultaneously, the most-nominated and most-defeated film ever. The ceremony did not reconcile this contradiction; it simply moved on, a statement in itself.
Wins That Carry Weight Beyond the Trophy
Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor win for Sinners marked a milestone. He became the first Black actor to win the award for a film he also produced, recognising not only his performance but his creative authority in shaping the film. In his speech, Jordan named Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, and Will Smith, situating his achievement within a lineage of Black actors who reshaped Hollywood.
One Battle After Another accumulated six awards, the most of any film that night: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Achievement in Casting. Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor, marking his third career Oscar. He was not present to accept the award.
Sinners won four awards in total: Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay for Coogler, Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson, and Best Cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw. Arkapaw became the first woman in ninety-eight years of Oscar history to win Best Cinematography, and in her acceptance speech she invited all women in the room to stand.
Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet, becoming the first Irishwoman to win the category and completing a clean sweep of the awards season. She dedicated her win to mothers, citing the day’s significance as Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons, her first Oscar after a career spanning decades.
For the first time, three actors – Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, and Brad Pitt – were simultaneously nominated for Best Picture as producers of their own films. This reflected a subtle but important shift in how the Academy recognises performers who also wield creative authority.
Cassandra Kulukundis won the inaugural Best Achievement in Casting for One Battle After Another, the first new competitive Oscar category since Best Animated Feature debuted in 2001. KPop Demon Hunters won both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“Golden”), marking the first K-pop song ever to win an Oscar.
Other notable winners included:
- Best Animated Short: The Girl Who Cried Pearls
- Best Live Action Short: Tie, The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva
- Best Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
- Best Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms
- Best International Feature: Sentimental Value (Norway, its first Oscar)
- Frankenstein: Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design
- Best Sound: F1
The Ceremony’s Own Record-Making
Conan O’Brien opened with a 47-joke monologue in under twelve minutes, one of the fastest-paced in recent Oscars history. In the press room, Adrien Brody, Mikey Madison, Zoe Saldaña, and Kieran Culkin spontaneously recreated a famous 1970s Oscar photograph, producing what has been dubbed “the 2026 selfie.”
The stage itself contained a hidden mechanism, transforming into a miniature replica of the 1929 Roosevelt Hotel ballroom, where the first Academy Awards had been held. These gestures acknowledged the Oscars’ long history while highlighting the night’s record-breaking and rule-rewriting tone.
The Academy also introduced an Audience Choice shortlist for the first time, allowing public voting to influence a category. One supporting actress nominee wore a 42-foot red-carpet train, the longest in Oscars history.
Political, Cultural, and Industry Commentary
The 2026 ceremony was politically resonant. Jordan’s win was widely interpreted as signalling a shift toward recognising Black creative authority, where performers exercise power both in front of and behind the camera. Arkapaw’s win underscored the Academy’s slow but growing recognition of women in technical categories.
Presenters also made political statements. Javier Bardem, presenting Best International Feature, called for an end to war and spoke in support of Palestine. Several documentarians used the platform to respond to global unrest.
Historical context reminded the audience of Hollywood’s fraught past: Hattie McDaniel, the first Black Oscar winner in 1940, was denied a seat at the main table. Charlie Chaplin was barred from attending in 1972 due to political concerns. In contrast, the 2026 ceremony placed Jordan’s dual authority at the centre of the evening, a significant departure from institutional habit.
Warner Bros.: Triumph in Transition
The night was a triumph for Warner Bros., which produced One Battle After Another and Sinners, combining for ten wins. Yet the studio is reportedly preparing for a sale to Paramount Skydance, illustrating Hollywood’s tension between artistic achievement and corporate impermanence.
Confirmed Winners – 98th Academy Awards
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 – Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay – Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Best Cinematography – Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
Best Film Editing – Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Best Original Song – “Golden”, KPop Demon Hunters
Best Animated Feature – KPop Demon Hunters
Best Animated Short – The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Best Live Action Short – Tie, The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva
Best Documentary Feature – Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Best Documentary Short – All the Empty Rooms
Best International Feature – Sentimental Value, Norway
Best Production Design – Frankenstein
Best Costume Design – Frankenstein
Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Frankenstein
Best Sound – F1
Best Achievement in Casting – Cassandra Kulukundis, One Battle After Another
