Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another was the dominant film at the 98th Academy Awards, held on Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The film, described as an ironic look at nativism and activism, took home six awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Teyana Taylor hugging Paul Thomas Anderson as he accepted the Oscar for Best Picture.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 16, 2026
See the full winners list: https://t.co/2LO8EZqZIM pic.twitter.com/z1N2fJr116
Ryan Coogler's Sinners made history going into the night as the most nominated film in Oscar history with 16 nominations, ultimately walking away with four awards. Among them was Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, whose win was far from certain.
Jordan had faced stiff competition from Timothée Chalamet, who had picked up early momentum after winning at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, before Jordan shifted the tide with an upset at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The theme of the night was first-time winners. Seven of the eight major categories went to first-time Oscar recipients, including Anderson himself, who had gone 30 years in his career without winning a single Academy Award.
Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet, while veteran character actress Amy Madigan took home Best Supporting Actress for Weapons.
JUST IN: Jessie Buckley accepts Best Actress Oscar for her role as Agnes Shakespeare in HAMNET. #Oscars 🎬🏆🤩 pic.twitter.com/2W8mf6Us8D
— Ian Speed (@IanSpeedHQ) March 16, 2026
The one exception to the first-timer trend was Sean Penn, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role in One Battle After Another, making him only the fourth male actor to win three acting Oscars, joining Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and Walter Brennan. Penn did not attend the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in the Best Picture winner, left empty-handed despite his nomination for Best Actor.
Full List of Winners:
Best picture
WINNER: One Battle After Another
Best actress
WINNER: Jessie Buckley - Hamnet
Best actor
WINNER: Michael B Jordan - Sinners
Best supporting actress
WINNER: Amy Madigan - Weapons
Best supporting actor
WINNER: Sean Penn - One Battle After Another
Best director
WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another
Best animated feature
WINNER: KPop Demon Hunters
Best international feature
WINNER: Sentimental Value
Best documentary feature
WINNER: Mr Nobody Against Putin
Best original screenplay
WINNER: Sinners - Ryan Coogler
Best adapted screenplay
WINNER: One Battle After Another - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best original song
WINNER: Golden - KPop Demon Hunters (by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park)
Best original score
WINNER: Sinners - Ludwig Goransson
Best cinematography
WINNER: Sinners - Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Best film editing
WINNER: One Battle After Another - Andy Jurgensen
Best sound
WINNER: F1 - Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A Rizzo and Juan Peralta
Best visual effects
WINNER: Avatar: Fire and Ash - Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
Best production design
WINNER: Frankenstein - Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau
Best casting
WINNER: One Battle After Another - Cassandra Kulukundis
Best make-up and hairstyling
WINNER: Frankenstein - Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
Best costume design
WINNER: Frankenstein - Kate Hawley
Best animated short
WINNER: The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Best live action short
WINNER (TIED): The Singers
WINNER (TIED): Two People Exchanging Saliva
Best documentary short
WINNER: All the Empty Rooms