2026 Oscar Winners: The 98th Academy Awards concluded Sunday with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” securing Best Picture and five additional honors, marking a definitive shift in Hollywood’s creative hierarchy. The ceremony, held at the Dolby Theatre, was defined by historic milestones, including a landmark win for female cinematography and the first ever tie in the Live Action Short category.
The evening’s results solidified the dominance of original auteur-driven cinema over traditional studio blocksters. While Anderson’s action-dramedy took the top prize, the acting categories spread the wealth across the year’s most critically acclaimed performances, emphasizing a year of international diversity and technical breakthrough.
Full List of 98th Academy Award Winners
One Battle After Another secured the evening’s most prestigious honors, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film’s sweep was complemented by high-profile wins for Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley, who earned their first career Oscars in the leading actor categories.
| Category | Winner | Film |
| Best Picture | One Battle After Another | Paul Thomas Anderson, et al. |
| Best Actress | Jessie Buckley | Hamnet |
| Best Actor | Michael B. Jordan | Sinners |
| Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | One Battle After Another |
| Best Supporting Actress | Amy Madigan | Weapons |
| Best Supporting Actor | Sean Penn | One Battle After Another |
| Best Original Screenplay | Ryan Coogler | Sinners |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson | One Battle After Another |
| Best Cinematography | Autumn Durald Arkapaw | Sinners |
Historic Milestones and Technical Breakthroughs
Beyond the primary categories, the 2026 Oscars established several institutional “firsts.” Most notably, Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography for “Sinners,” making her the first woman in the Academy’s 98-year history to win the award. Her victory followed decades of underrepresentation for female directors of photography in the category.
The ceremony also saw a rare tie in the Best Live Action Short category between “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva.” Such occurrences are statistically infrequent in Academy history, usually resulting from an exact parity in the accounting firm’s final tally of the preferential ballot system.
One Battle After Another: The Complete Narrative Architecture of a Modern Masterpiece
Analytical Depth: The Impact of Original Cinema
Industry analysts suggest the 2026 results indicate a “correction” in the theatrical market. “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners”—both major winners—were championed as original visions rather than franchise extensions.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s six-win sweep is particularly significant given his long history of nominations without a win in major categories. This “institutional validation” likely reflects the Academy’s desire to reinforce the value of established directors who maintain high technical standards in an era of shifting production models.
Oscars 2026: Official List of 98th Academy Award Nominees Confirmed
🎭 Performance Categories
Actor in a Leading Role
- WINNER: Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
- Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
- Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
- Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
- Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent
Actor in a Supporting Role
- WINNER: Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
- Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another
- Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
- Delroy Lindo — Sinners
- Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value
Actress in a Leading Role
- WINNER: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
- Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
- Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue
- Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
- Emma Stone — Bugonia
Actress in a Supporting Role
- WINNER: Amy Madigan — Weapons
- Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
- Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
- Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
🎬 Directing & Narrative Excellence
Best Picture
- WINNER: One Battle After Another — Producers: Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson
- Bugonia — Producers: Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen, Jerry Kyung-wook Ko, Emma Stone
- Frankenstein — Producers: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
- F1 — Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, Joseph Kosinski, Lewis Hamilton
- Hamnet — Producers: Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Sam Mendes
- Marty Supreme — Producers: Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
- The Secret Agent — Producers: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Bel Berlinck, Fernando Meirelles
- Sentimental Value — Producers: Maria Ekerhovd, Juliette Schrameck, Nathanaël Karmitz
- Sinners — Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
- Train Dreams — Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Jeanie Igoe
Directing
- WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
- Ryan Coogler — Sinners
- Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
- Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
- Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
- WINNER: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
- Bugonia — Will Tracy
- Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
- Hamnet — Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
- Train Dreams — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
Writing (Original Screenplay)
- WINNER: Sinners — Ryan Coogler
- Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow
- It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi
- Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
- Sentimental Value — Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
🎨 Craft & Technical Achievement
Cinematography
- WINNER: Autumn Durald Arkapaw — Sinners
- Dan Laustsen — Frankenstein
- Darius Khondji — Marty Supreme
- Michael Bauman — One Battle After Another
- Adolpho Veloso — Train Dreams
Casting
- WINNER: One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis
- Hamnet — Nina Gold
- Marty Supreme — Jennifer Venditti
- The Secret Agent — Gabriel Domingues
- Sinners — Francine Maisler
Film Editing
- WINNER: One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
- F1 — Stephen Mirrione
- Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
- Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge Coutté
- Sinners — Michael P. Shawver
Production Design
- WINNER: Frankenstein — Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau
- Hamnet — Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
- Marty Supreme — Jack Fisk and Adam Willis
- One Battle After Another — Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino
- Sinners — Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne
Costume Design
- WINNER: Frankenstein — Kate Hawley
- Avatar: Fire and Ash — Deborah L. Scott
- Hamnet — Malgosia Turzanska
- Marty Supreme — Miyako Bellizzi
- Sinners — Ruth E. Carter
Makeup and Hairstyling
- WINNER: Frankenstein — Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
- Kokuho — Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
- Sinners — Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
- The Smashing Machine — Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein
- The Ugly Stepsister — Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg
Sound
- WINNER: F1 — Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta
- Frankenstein — Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern
- One Battle After Another — José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor
- Sinners — Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker
- Sirât — Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas
Visual Effects
- WINNER: Avatar: Fire and Ash — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
- F1 — Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
- Jurassic World Rebirth — David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould
- Sinners — Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean
- The Lost Bus — Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin
🎵 Music
Music (Original Score)
- WINNER: Sinners — Ludwig Göransson
- Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix
- Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat
- Hamnet — Max Richter
- One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood
Music (Original Song)
- WINNER: “Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters (EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, et al.)
- “Dear Me” — Diane Warren: Relentless (Diane Warren)
- “I Lied to You” — Sinners (Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson)
- “Sweet Dreams of Joy” — Viva Verdi! (Nicholas Pike)
- “Train Dreams” — Train Dreams (Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner)
🌍 Features & Shorts
Animated Feature Film
- WINNER: KPop Demon Hunters — Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong
- Arco — Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman
- Elio — Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm
- Little Amélie or the Character of Rain — Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon
- Zootopia 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino
International Feature Film
- WINNER: Sentimental Value (Norway)
- It Was Just an Accident (Iran)
- Sirât (Morocco)
- The Secret Agent (Brazil)
- The Voice of Hind Rajab (Palestine)
Documentary Feature Film
- WINNER: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
- Come See Me in the Good Light
- Cutting Through the Rocks
- The Alabama Solution
- The Perfect Neighbor
Live Action Short Film (TIED)
- WINNER (TIE): The Singers
- WINNER (TIE): Two People Exchanging Saliva
- A Friend of Dorothy
- Butcher’s Stain
- Jane Austen’s Period Drama
Animated Short Film
- WINNER: The Girl Who Cried Pearls — Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
- Butterfly — Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens
- Forevergreen — Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears
- Retirement Plan — John Kelly and Andrew Freedman
- The Three Sisters — Konstantin Bronzit
Documentary Short Film
- WINNER: All the Empty Rooms
- Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
- Children No More: Were and Are Gone
- The Devil Is Busy
- Perfectly a Strangeness
