Oscars 2026 – Full Winners list & the Highs and Lows of the 98th Academy Awards

Oscars 2026 highlights

Happy Day-After-Oscars Day, everyone!! Did you catch the ceremony last night? Luckily, the Oscars didn’t fall on the end of daylight savings time this year, and for some reason, it felt shorter than in past years; it wrapped up even before 10PM CST, not bad!

Conan O’Brien hosted the Oscars for the second time. I quite enjoyed his monologue. He’s a goofy and likable dude, so I think he made for a fun host. Between him and Jimmy Kimmel, I much prefer Conan as he’s less political or if he did, he does it in a whimsical way. I’m glad he took a jab at Timothée Chalamet’s insipid comment about ballet and opera, though I don’t think he went far enough.

As predicted, the race came down to One Battle After Another and Sinners; the former won six Oscars total while the latter took home four. Scroll down below for the full list of winners.

Unlike last year, I am much happier with this year’s ACTING winners. Yes, even the win for Sean Penn, who was a no-show last night, is well-deserved; he was funny and memorable in One Battle After Another. This marks his third Oscar, but his first for Best Supporting Actor; he previously won Best Actor for Mystic River (2004) and Milk (2009).

The acting winners for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress are pretty predictable, but I’m thrilled for Jessie Buckley and Amy Madigan. Absolutely thrilled that the Best Actor trophy did NOT go to Chalamet!! Michael B. Jordan is fantastic in Sinners, portraying a dual role; now he’s a talented AND classy guy!

In any case, here’s the Oscars’ acting class of 2026:

Oscars 2026 - Acting winners
IMAGE COPYRIGHT: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Leonardo DiCaprio did not win, but he gifted us with a new meme. As Conan said, Leo is the King of Memes!


I posted my predictions on Saturday, and I managed to see nine out of the 10 Best Picture nominees. I got 20 right out of 24 categories, yeah!

FULL WINNERS LIST

(in the order the Oscars were handed out – thanks to PBS)

Best picture

One Battle After Another”

Best Actor

Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”

Best Actress

Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Madigan, “Weapons”

Best Supporting Actor

Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”

Director

Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”

Original Song

“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters,” EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park

Original Score

“Sinners,” Ludwig Göransson.

Animated Film

“KPop Demon Hunters”

International Film

“Sentimental Value,” Norway

Documentary Feature

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”

Casting

Cassandra Kulukundis, “One Battle After Another”

Best Sound

Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta, “F1”

Cinematography

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “Sinners”

Original Screenplay

“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler

Adapted Screenplay

“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson

Live Action Short Film

(tie) “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva”

Animated Short Film

“The Girl Who Cried Pearls”

Documentary Short Film

“All the Empty Rooms”

Visual Effects

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”

Production Design

Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, “Frankenstein”

Film Editing

Andy Jurgensen, “One Battle After Another”

Makeup and Hairstyling

Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, “Frankenstein”

Costume Design

Kate Hawley, “Frankenstein”


HISTORIC WINS/RESULTS

Landmark Win in Cinematography

Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman ever to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography for her work on Sinners. She is also the first woman of color and the first Black person to win in this category. During her speech, she asked every woman in the Dolby Theatre to stand in a moment of collective celebration.

First-Ever Casting Oscar

The 2026 ceremony saw the debut of the Best Achievement in Casting category, the first new competitive category added since 2001. Cassandra Kulukundis became the inaugural winner for her work on One Battle After Another.

An end to a 40-Year Wait

Amy Madigan set a new record for the longest gap between a first nomination and a win in the Supporting Actress category. Her victory for Weapons came exactly 40 years after her first nomination for Twice in a Lifetime in 1986.

Historic Win for Ireland and Twins

  • Jessie Buckley became the first Irish woman to win Best Actress for her performance in Hamnet.

  • Michael B. Jordan made history as the first actor to win an Oscar for playing identical twins (Elijah and Elias Moore) in a single film (Sinners).

K-Pop and Animation Milestones

  • “Golden” (from KPop Demon Hunters) became the first Korean song to win Best Original Song.

  • Maggie Kang became the first filmmaker of South Korean descent to win Best Animated Feature for KPop Demon Hunters.

A Rare Tie

In a moment of “live television chaos,” the Academy announced its seventh tie in history for Best Live Action Short Film. The winners were The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Long-Awaited Sweep

After 14 prior nominations without a win, Paul Thomas Anderson finally secured his first, second, and third Oscars in a single night for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is the dominant force in the aesthetic categories

Frankenstein took home the awards for Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling. The movie received a lot of acclaim for its practical effects and gothic vibe, which contributed to it winning three out of its nine nominations.

The Leo Effect

Leo DiCaprio seems to hold the key for veteran filmmakers to win their first Best Director and Best Picture Oscars!

Last night marked the third occasion where a veteran director, Paul Thomas Anderson, finally nabbed an Oscar for Best Director for One Battle After Another, where DiCaprio played the lead. James Cameron snagged his first Best Director Oscar for Titanic back in 1998, and Martin Scorsese received his first Oscar in that same category for The Departed in 2007.

Leo DiCaprio -Best Picture Oscars


I was live-tweeting last night, and here are some of the notable wins I was excited about as it happened:

I really enjoy the special bond between Michael B. Jordan and his mom, and his heartfelt speech that started with “God is great,” and he also paid tribute to the Black actors who paved the way before him, saying, “I stand here because of the people who came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith.”

THE HIGHS

The two musical numbers from Sinners (I Lied To You) and K-Pop Demon Hunters (Golden) are some of my favorites from the night. I love that some of the actors from the film joined in on the festivities. I think Jack O’Connell even sported fangs as he played the lead vampire villain, ahah. 

The best part of the Sinners segment is Ballerina Misty Copeland making a surprise return to the stage to do a spectacular performance. Take that, Timothee!

Ballerina Misty Copeland - Sinners - Oscars 2026

It’s a night filled with nostalgia and reunions. I particularly love the Moulin Rouge’s 25-year reunion, especially considering what Nicole Kidman‘s been through with her divorce last year. There’s a fun chemistry between her and Ewan McGregor that warms my heart. I wish they’d done a rendition of Come What May on stage!

Another notable reunion is the ladies from Bridesmaids. The bit about reading fake comments and poking fun at Stellan Skarsgård is cute, though I think this reunion segment ran a bit too long.

The In Memoriam part was unexpectedly touching, featuring heartfelt tributes to the legends we’ve lost lately, especially the one from Billy Crystal for Rob Reiner, which wrapped up with the actors who appeared in some of his iconic movies coming on stage together, hand in hand:

Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton, Fred Savage, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kathy Bates, Annette Bening, John Cusack, and Daphne Zuniga.

Rachel McAdams stepped up to honor the Oscar-winning icon Diane Keaton; meanwhile, Barbra Streisand celebrated her dear friend Robert Redford, even singing a tune from The Way We Were.


THE LOWS

It seems that every year, the Academy seems to miss some notable people in their In Memoriam segment. This year, the heavily curated program missed James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Brigitte Bardot, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and Robert Carradine.

Now, I realize that they’re trying to keep track of the time and make sure the show doesn’t go on too long, but it’s still unnerving and awkward to see some of the winning team members getting cut off. The winners of Best Animated Feature, K-Pop Demon Hunters, even got cut off mid-speech!

Well, the lowest moments for me are Disney’s blatant and shameless promotions for The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Avengers Doomsday, ugh! As excited as I am for The Devil Wears Prada sequel, why on earth is Anna Wintour presenting? She is completely boring and charmless; it’d have been more fun if Meryl Streep had presented with Anne Hathaway instead.

Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans delivered the ultimate cringe factor together on stage in a wholly unfunny bit that’s also devoid of charm. Poor Channing Tatum gets dragged in on a tasteless joke about his Magic Mike’s sequined thong. I have no interest in seeing Doomsday, and they managed to make me even less interested in it!

Well, that concludes this year’s award season! What did you think about last night’s ceremony?

 

22 thoughts on “Oscars 2026 – Full Winners list & the Highs and Lows of the 98th Academy Awards

    1. Yeah, work got real busy on Monday morning, so I couldn’t finish my post early. Did you watch the ceremony? I’m really happy with most of the winners! 🎉

  1. Ted Saydalavong's avatar Ted Saydalavong

    Since I’m not on Twitter anymore, I couldn’t find out who won what in real time until the next day when the winners were shown on my YouTube timeline. Lol! I did see that new Leo’s meme, it appears he definitely started a new one. I already saw a bunch of people posted that meme on IG. Ha ha!

    I feel like the Oscar voters had to give Paul Thomas Anderson his trophy now since he was nominated so many times and lost. Very similar to Scorsese, while I loved The Departed, it was no where near as good as his other films that he was nominated for. He should have won it in 1990 for Goodfellas, not Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves. Okay, I can’t go on that rant again. Lol!

    1. Keep Ranting! I hate Dances with Wolves. That film is boring as fuck. We all know Scorsese should’ve won the Oscar for Goodfellas. Who quotes or remembers any great scene from Dances with Wolves? Goodfellas is infinitely quotable. “Don’t put too many onions in the sauce Vinnie”

      1. Ted Saydalavong's avatar Ted Saydalavong

        Yeah, while I enjoyed Dances with Wolves, I hardly ever watch it again. While I have seen Goodfellas countless times. I think it’s the combination of Costner being on the top of Hollywood at the time and the box office numbers of Dance with Wolves and the voters decided to give the trophy to Costner instead of Scorsese.

    2. Totally agreed about PTA’s win— it’s part of an annoying trend of great filmmakers winning for one of their lesser works. Leo for The Revenant. Nolan for Oppenheimer, would be my cited examples… I like Dances With Wolves. Besides the fact it has more to say than a gangster film. And The Native American representation— Graham Greene was in the memoriam… Kevin Costner may be the closest thing the academy has to a republican, even though he’s not one.

      1. Ted Saydalavong's avatar Ted Saydalavong

        I agree about Dances with Wolves’ influences at the time. It was one of very first films that treated Native Americans with respect instead of making them look like savages. But it also a generic story telling and not much creativity as far as the style of the film. Goodfellas is now considered a classic and that film has tons of creativity when it comes to visual storytelling.

    3. Yeah, Leo is the King of Meme and he was such a good sport!

      I think that’s often the case with Oscars; they give the trophies to those who’ve done great work in the past that got overlooked or passed over. I have not seen Goodfellas nor Dances with Wolves… yeah I know, I know, Goodfellas is a classic, but it might be too violent for me.

      1. Ted Saydalavong's avatar Ted Saydalavong

        I think the violence in Goodfellas was too overblown, part of the reasons why it didn’t win the Oscars that year. It’s very tame compare to some of the more violent films that has been release since. I think you can you can handle it. Lol!

          1. Ted Saydalavong's avatar Ted Saydalavong

            Yeah, the next time we hang out, I’ll bring my Blu-ray copy. I purchased the 4K disc, so I don’t need the Blu-ray version anymore.

            1. Oh wow, thanks in advance, Ted! I’ll figure out a time in the calendar for our next meet-up, perhaps in late May? Glad we’re almost done w/ Winter!

  2. I would like to thank Timothee Chalamet for dissing opera and ballet and wasting all of that time and money campaigning for nothing. I still love the guy but he lost it recently. I was ELATED when I heard Michael B. Jordan won. He totally deserved it and gave a great speech. Very humble and I saw after he won. He was overwhelmed and Leo hugged him like a proud papa. I’m also happy for Ryan Coogler for finally getting an Oscar and Autumn making history. I also loved the part that Coogler got her kid just to watch her up close. Now that is a gentleman.

    Happy for P.T. Anderson to FINALLY get his Oscars. I was rooting for Sinners for Best Picture but I have no problem with One Battle After Another winning. Now there’s 2 members of my Bullet Club that are in Best Picture winners. Olivia Thirlby for Oppenheimer and Jena Malone’s voice as the greeting code for OBAA. That’s because they Elite. The Elite, the-the-Elite!!!!!

    I didn’t watch the show as I was busy watching other things on YouTube and playing video games. Still, I’m happy that Frankenstein won a few. Yes to K-Pop: Demon Hunters for winning 2 awards including Best Original Song (SUCK IT WARREN!!!!!)

    I did hear about who got snubbed in the omissions which I’m not happy about but…. there was one name that got rightfully snubbed brother. That’s right dude. That grand-standin’, hot-doggin’, politicking racist Hulk Hogan. Let the Puke-a-Maniacs bitch! Randy Savage (god rest his soul) was right about Hogan back in 1989 at WrestleMania V. We kids should’ve known.

    Right now, I’m just in shock that my Hawks just won their 10th game in a row. This is rare.

    1. Yeah, I was elated as well when Michael B. Jordan’s name was called! It was a great ceremony overall; both Coogler and PTA got their Oscars, so well deserved! I think Chalamet’s ego got overly inflated; he needs to be brought back down to earth, a lesson in humility can’t hurt. I think Jacob Elordi, who’s not even 30 yet, seems to handle fame quite well so far. Speaking of, I’m thrilled Frankenstein won a few; that is an astounding film!

      Ahah, I knew you’d be happy that Warren did not win. Golden was well, golden! The musical number was amazing!

      Oh I didn’t expect Hogan would make it to In Memoriam, ahah.

      1. Elordi was quiet throughout and came off very humble. Plus, his mother is gorgeous. I think Timothee needs to take a few years off after Dune Pt.3 comes out.

  3. Huilahi's avatar Huilahi

    Great posts as always. I didn’t get a chance to see the Oscars this year mainly due to the huge time difference here in Pakistan. However, for the most part I would say I am happy with this winners list. Extremely pleased to see Sinners win major awards like Best Actor. I thought that Michael B. Jordan was phenomenal in such a difficult role playing twin brothers. I’m also happy with the Best Picture winner. I loved One Battle After Another and felt it was a great movie encapsulating the times today. If I had a pet peeve, I would have liked to see Hamnet win more awards. It was my favourite film of last year. I’m glad Buckley won, but the entire film deserved far more recognition than it got. Overall, though, I would say I am pleased with this list of winners.

    Here are my thoughts on this year’s Best Picture winner “One Battle After Another”:

    “One Battle After Another” (2025) – Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bold Oscar-Winning Masterpiece About Fathers

    1. Hey Hasan! I too wish Hamnet won more than one Oscar, but hey, I know Chloe Zhao will go on to make more astounding films. I’m just glad she now gets to work with the likes of Steven Spielberg, glad that more female filmmakers get to get more visibility, though Hollywood still has a long way to go!

      Unlike the year before, I’m pretty happy with the acting winners and the films nominated. I’m generally not a fan of Sean Penn but I have to admit he’s sensational in OBAA so he deserved that Oscar!

  4. lifeinthedark.film's avatar lifeinthedark.film

    These winners are all deserving of their Oscars (some more than others), unlike last year (Anora and Emilia Perez).

    The best speech was by the filmmakers of Mr Nobody Against Putin.

    I also like the stage design that eliminates the usual glitz and bling (there’s a war on!) and replaces glamour with a few artificial trees.

    It was too much to expect a miracle for Train Dreams to win Cinematography. At least it didn’t go to Marty Supreme.

    I suppose Mr Chalamet will need to wait a few decades until his hair turns grey and lines appear on his face before he finally gets his hands on an Oscar.

    1. Yeah, glad there’s no Anora and Emilia Perez this year; I still can’t get over Anora winning Best Picture over The Brutalist!

      I didn’t quite hear the speech by by David Borenstein, the director/producer of Mr Nobody Against Putin as I got too excited that it won over The Perfect Neighbor. I just saw it on YouTube, and you’re right, the film serves as a warning against rising authoritarianism and apathy. It’s extra chilling to watch given we are at war.

      Was the stage less glitzy? I still think it’s still looks pretty glamorous, but it’s good if they did try to tone it down.

      Yeah, I think the race came down to Sinners and One Battle, with Frankenstein dominating the aesthetic categories. Hamnet only won one for Jessie Buckley, wish it had gotten more. But hey, I’m glad Chalamet came home empty-handed. He just needs to learn a bit more grace and humility. Whether or not it was because of his insipid comment, I think Jordan is more deserving of the award.

  5. Pingback: The Minnesota Movie Digest: Issue No. 181 – Minnesota Film Critics Association

Leave a reply to Ted Saydalavong Cancel reply