On the night of March 15-16, the 98th Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Conan O'Brien hosted the ceremony, as he did the previous year.

Ryan Coogler's horror film "The Sinners" received the most nominations—16—setting an all-time record in the awards' history. The previous record belonged to "All About Eve," "Titanic," and "La La Land," which each received 14 nominations. Ultimately, "The Sinners" won four awards.

The big winner of the evening was "Battle After Battle," directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which took home six awards, including in key categories.

The 2026 ceremony marked a historic milestone: for the first time, a woman won the Best Cinematography statuette. This year also marked the first time the Best Casting award was presented.

Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress, 40 years after her previous nomination, and Michael B. Jordan won his first Oscar. Sean Penn was not present at the ceremony, but he did win Best Supporting Actor.

The winners of the Best Live Action Short Film category shared the prize—only the third time this has happened in Oscar history.

Full list of 2026 Oscar winners

Best Picture — "Battle by Battle"

Best Director — Paul Thomas Anderson ("Battle by Battle")

Best Actor — Michael B. Jordan ("The Sinners")

Best Actress — Jessie Buckley ("Hamnet")

Best Supporting Actor — Sean Penn (Battle by Battle)

Best Supporting Actress — Amy Madigan (Guns)

Best Adapted Screenplay — Paul Thomas Anderson (Battle by Battle)

Best Original Screenplay — Ryan Coogler (The Sinners)

Best International Film — Sentimental Value (Norway, dir. Joachim Trier)

Best Animated Feature — K-Pop Demon Hunters

Best Original Song — "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters

Best Musical Score — Ludwig Göransson (The Sinners)

Best Costume Design — Kate Hawley (Frankenstein)

Best Set Design — Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau (Frankenstein)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Fury (Frankenstein)

Best Visual Effects – Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Casting (new nomination) – Kassandra Kouloudis (Battle by Battle)

Best Animated Short Film – The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best Live Action Short Film – The Singers and Two People Swapping Spit (tie)

Thus, Battle by Battle became the big winner with six awards, while Sinners took home four statuettes and Frankenstein won three technical awards. The 2026 Oscars will be remembered for a number of historic moments: a record number of nominations for a single film, the first female cinematography winner, and the debut of a Best Casting nomination.