The 98th Academy Awards hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was filled with memorable highlights, major wins, and emotional speeches that defined the night. Hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theatre, the ceremony celebrated the best films of 2025 and delivered several historic moments. ‘One Battle After Another’ emerged as the biggest winner, taking home six awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Michael B Jordan won Best Actor for his performance in ‘Sinners’, while Jessie Buckley earned Best Actress for her role in ‘Hamnet’. Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor, marking his third Oscar, and Amy Madigan received Best Supporting Actress for ‘Weapons’. The ceremony also featured emotional tributes, memorable performances, and historic achievements. Together, these moments made the 2026 Oscars a night that celebrated artistic excellence, diversity, and the evolving landscape of global cinema.
‘ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER’ WINS BEST PICTURE AT 2026 OSCARS
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“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s political epic, took home the award for best picture at Sunday night’s Oscars. Entering the night with 13 nominations, the film had been an early favourite after sweeping most of the major industry prizes. As ‘One Battle After Another’ was announced for best picture by Nicole Kidman, the room erupted into a standing ovation and Anderson quickly embraced his longtime partner, comedian Maya Rudolph, who held onto his directing award. Chase Infiniti jumped and audibly screamed onstage as the actors and filmmakers embraced and celebrated the final win of the night. Teyana Taylor looked tearful as Anderson accepted the award for his 10th film alongside fellow producer Sara Murphy (and in memory of the late Adam Somner). “My heart is exploding in gratitude. Thank you to my family, I’m grateful,” Murphy said, turning to Anderson. Anderson was beaming and breathless as he held the award, joined by lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of the cast. “We’re happy to be part of this, a wonderful journey with our fellow nominees and filmmakers, even those who weren’t recognized by the academy,” Anderson said. ‘One Battle After Another’ is a satirical action-thriller with an intense and timely exploration of American extremism that stars DiCaprio as a retired revolutionary forced back into action.
THE ‘SINNERS’ TEAM WINS 4 AWARDS INCLUDING BEST ACTOR
‘Sinners’ entered the night with the record for the most Oscar nominations for a single film, with 16. It left with four awards, won by Ryan Coogler for original screenplay, Michael B Jordan for lead actor, Autumn Durald Arkapaw for cinematography and Ludwig Göransson for score. Directed and written by Coogler, the film tells the story of twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, both played by Jordan. On the opening night of their juke joint in 1930s Mississippi, they are beset by a small band of vampires, intent on turning everyone inside into bloodsuckers. Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win the Oscar for cinematography ‘Sinners’ shooter Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win the Oscar for cinematography. As she collected her award, she invited all the women in the crowd at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to “stand up” and join her for the milestone. “I’m so honored to be here and I really want all the women in the room to stand up,” Arkapaw said during her speech. “Because I feel like I don’t get here without you guys.” “I really, really truly mean that,” she added. Arkapaw became the first woman to win the Best Cinematography award in the category’s nearly 100 years of existence. Before her, only three other women have been recognized in the category. Rachel Morrison was nominated in 2018 for ‘Mudbound,’ Ari Wegner in 2021 for ‘The Power of the Dog’ and Mandy Walker in 2022 for ‘Elvis.’ Arkapaw and ‘Sinners’ were up against ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Marty Supreme’, ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘Train Dreams’ in the category.
JESSIE BUCKLEY CELEBRATED MOTHER’S DAY WITH A WIN
It was a momentous night for ‘Hamnet’ star Jessie Buckley, who celebrated her Oscars win on her first Mother’s Day. This is Buckley’s first Oscar win, which also makes her the first Irish winner of the best actress Oscar. In ‘Hamnet’, Buckley, 36, plays Agnes Shakespeare, the wife of playwright William (played by Paul Mescal). It is an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, directed by Chloé Zhao. She thanked her father for “teaching us to dream and to never be defined by expectation to carry from your own passion”. She addressed her eight-month-old daughter, saying: “This is kind of a big deal. I love you and I love being your mum and I can’t wait to discover life beside you.” Buckley concluded, “It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today. So I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart. We all come from a lineage of women who continued to create against all odds. Thank you for recognising me in this role. This is the greatest honour. I can’t even believe it.”
OSCARS SHOCK WITH ONE OF THE ONLY TIES IN HISTORY
The Oscars featured one of the only ties in the awards show’s nearly 100-year history. In the category of best live-action short film, there were not one, but two winners, ‘The Singers’ and ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva.’ This was only the seventh tie ever at the Oscars, and the first in the live action short category since 1995. The most recent Oscar tie was in 2013, when there were two winners in the category of sound editing, ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty.’ Before that, the previous Oscar tie was in 1995, when there were two winners for the live-action short Oscar, ‘Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Trevor.’ The category was presented by Kumail Nanjiani, who, upon opening the envelope, announced, “It’s a tie. I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie. So everyone, calm down, we’re going to get through this.” The comedian went on to name ‘The Singers,’ and its filmmakers came up to give a speech. He then named ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva,’ and the winners from that short came up to give their own, separate speech.
