98th Academy Awards: “One Battle After Another” Wins Six Oscars as “Sinners” Sets Nomination Record

The 98th Academy Awards ceremony was held on 15/03/2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor films released in 2025. Conan O'Brien hosted the ceremony for the second consecutive year, with Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan producing and Hamish Hamilton directing. The broadcast aired on ABC and streamed on Hulu, running 3 hours and 44 minutes. U.S. viewership averaged 17.86 million. The event presented awards across 24 competitive categories. The night’s top winner was One Battle After Another, which earned six awards including Best Picture. The producing team Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, and Paul Thomas Anderson received the Best Picture Oscar, with Somner winning posthumously. Paul Thomas Anderson also won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for the film, which was based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the same film, and the production also secured awards for Best Film Editing and the inaugural Best Casting category. Sinners entered the ceremony with 16 nominations, the highest total in Oscar history, and won four awards. Michael B. Jordan received Best Actor for portraying dual roles, while Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay. Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography, becoming the first Black person to win the category, and Ludwig Göransson won Best Original Score. Frankenstein followed with three awards including Production Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Costume Design. KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Golden.” Acting winners included Jessie Buckley winning Best Actress for Hamnet, Sean Penn winning Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, and Amy Madigan winning Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. Sentimental Value from Norway won Best International Feature Film. Mr Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature, while All the Empty Rooms received Best Documentary Short Film. The Best Visual Effects award went to Avatar: Fire and Ash, and F1 won Best Sound. The ceremony introduced the new Academy Award for Best Casting, the first new competitive category since Best Animated Feature in 2001. Cassandra Kulukundis became the inaugural winner for her work on One Battle After Another. The nominees for the ceremony had been announced on 22/01/2026, with Sinners leading nominations and Warner Bros. earning 30 total nominations across films. The broadcast featured musical performances including “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, and “I Lied to You” from Sinners performed by Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq with accompanying musicians and dancers. The In Memoriam segment honored film industry figures including Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, and Rob Reiner, with tribute performances by Barbra Streisand and appearances by Billy Crystal and Rachel McAdams. Presenters during the ceremony included Robert Downey Jr., Zendaya, Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Javier Bardem, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Adrien Brody. The stage design for the ceremony followed a “humanity” theme featuring a garden style layout with trees, layered architectural elements, and moving LED panels. Security around the Dolby Theatre was increased following warnings issued before the event, with additional personnel, surveillance systems, and controlled access around the venue. The ceremony also marked the first year in which Academy voters were required to watch all nominated films in a category before casting final round votes.