Oscars 2026: Winners List & Biggest Moments

Published March 16, 2026

The 98th Academy Awards delivered a night full of historic wins, emotional tributes, memorable reunions and a few controversial moments. While One Battle After Another dominated the awards race, Sinners and KPop Demon Hunters also made huge impressions both onstage and in the record books.

From Canadians winning big to Sean Penn’s notable absence and a show-stopping dance performance, here is everything that stood out from the 2026 Oscars.

The Biggest Winners of the Night

Best Picture

Winner: One Battle After Another

Nominees:

Bugonia
Frankenstein
F1
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams

The film had a massive night, taking home six Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

When accepting the screenplay award, director Paul Thomas Anderson delivered one of the night’s most thoughtful speeches.

“I wrote this movie for my kids, to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world that we're handing off to them,” Anderson said. “But also encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.”

Best Actress

Winner: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet

Nominees:

Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia

Buckley made history as the first Irish actress to win Best Actress, dedicating her speech to the “beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.”

Best Actor

Winner: Michael B. Jordan – Sinners

Nominees:

Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

Jordan earned his first Oscar, thanking generations of Black actors who paved the way.

“I stand here because of the people who came before me,” he said, naming Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx and others.

Best Supporting Actor

Winner: Sean Penn – One Battle After Another

Nominees:

Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

Penn’s win became one of the night’s most talked-about moments because he wasn’t there to accept the award.

Presenter Kieran Culkin joked from the stage:

“Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening… or didn’t want to.”

Culkin accepted the Oscar on Penn’s behalf.

It marked Penn’s third Academy Award, after winning Best Actor for Mystic River and Milk. However, the actor has largely avoided the spotlight during this awards season and skipped multiple ceremonies despite winning for the role.

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A Record-Setting Night for Sinners

Even though it didn’t win Best Picture, Sinners still had an incredible night and made history before the awards even started.

The film entered the Oscars with 16 nominations, the most nominations ever for a single film.

Major wins included:

Best Actor – Michael B. Jordan
Best Original Screenplay – Ryan Coogler
Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson
Best Cinematography – Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Arkapaw made history as the first woman ever to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. As she walked onstage to accept the award, she received a standing ovation.

During her speech, she asked the women in the audience to stand.

“I don't get here without you guys,” she said. “Moments like this happen because of you.”

One of the most emotional moments came when director Ryan Coogler brought Arkapaw’s young son closer to the stage so he could watch his mom accept the award.

The night also featured a powerful live performance from Sinners, when the Oscars stage transformed into a smoky blues juke joint. Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq performed the film’s standout song “I Lied to You,” joined by blues legend Buddy Guy, rapper Shaboozey, and a lineup of musicians including Brittany Howard, Bobby Rush, Alice Smith, Eric Gales and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Ballet icon Misty Copeland even came out of retirement to dance during the performance, while actors from the film, including Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li, appeared on stage as dancers and break-dancers filled the set, recreating the wild juke-joint energy from the movie.

The Big Moment for KPop Demon Hunters

Another standout success story of the night was the animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

The film won:

Best Animated Feature
Best Original Song for “Golden”

The movie was created and co-directed by Canadian filmmaker Maggie Kang, making the win especially significant for Canadian audiences.

During the acceptance speech, Kang spoke about representation in animation.

“For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” she said. “But it is here now, and that means the next generation doesn't have to go longing.”

The film’s music also became a major moment during the broadcast, with the Oscar-winning song “Golden” receiving one of the night’s most energetic performances, complete with a K-pop inspired stage production.

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Canadians Win Big at the Oscars

It was a huge night for Canadians, with several major wins early in the ceremony.

Best Animated Feature

KPop Demon Hunters
Created by Canadian filmmaker Maggie Kang.

Best Animated Short

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

The Montreal-set film from the National Film Board of Canada was directed by Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis.

During their speech, the filmmakers gave a shoutout to Canada and the Montreal animation community that helped bring the project to life.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Frankenstein

The winning team included Toronto-based artists Cliona Furey and Jordan Samuel, adding another Canadian win to the night.

Rare Oscars tie

The Best Live Action Short category resulted in a rare tie between:

The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva

The last time a tie occurred was in 2012, making this a particularly unusual moment.

Conan O’Brien’s Opening Jokes

Host Conan O’Brien wasted no time kicking off the night with jokes.

In the opening monologue he poked fun at Timothée Chalamet, referencing the backlash after the actor joked that nobody cares about ballet or opera.

“Security is extremely tight tonight,” O’Brien said. “There are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities.”

Chalamet was seen laughing along in the audience with Kylie Jenner.

Emotional In Memoriam Tribute

The In Memoriam segment was one of the most emotional parts of the evening.

Highlights included:

A powerful tribute to Rob Reiner, led by Billy Crystal and joined by actors like Meg Ryan, Kathy Bates and Cary Elwes.

Barbra Streisand honouring Robert Redford and performing “The Way We Were.”

Rachel McAdams remembering several stars, including Canadian icon Catherine O’Hara.

However, the segment also sparked controversy when viewers noticed several names missing from the broadcast tribute, including James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.