Oscars 2026: ‘One Battle After Another’ dominates with 6 awards; Michael B Jordon creates history with Best Actor win

LOS ANGELES: Leonardo DiCaprio starrer ‘One Battle After Another’ triumphed at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday (US time), winning six Oscars, including Best Picture and Director. It was closely followed by Michael B Jordon’s ‘Sinners’, which bagged four Oscars after historic 16 nominations at the prestigious award ceremony.

Among many wow moments at the 98th Academy Awards, Michael B Jordon’s win as the Best Actor for ‘Sinners’ stood at the top. “God is good,” an emotional Jordan said. He went on to thank Coogler, with whom he has made five features. “You gave me opportunity and space to be seen,” the ‘Sinners’ actor added.

Michael B. Jordan’s reaction to winning his first ever Oscar.

See the full winners list: https://t.co/2LO8EZrxyk pic.twitter.com/p4yQuQKf5n

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 16, 2026

Ryan Coogler, the creative force behind the movie, clinched the Oscar in the category of Best Original Screenplay, whereas Paul Thomas Anderson won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay on Sunday (US Time).

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

Jessie Buckley was named best lead actress for her searing portrayal of a woman coping with the death of her young son in ‘Hamnet.’ Buckley noted that her win coincided with Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. “I’d like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart. We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds,” said Buckley while accepting the award.

Supporting actor prizes went to Sean Penn for playing a racist soldier determined to become a member of a secret society in “One Battle After Another” and Amy Madigan for her scene-stealing turn as a witch with some of the wildest makeup in movies in “Weapons.”

According to Variety, Penn, a previous winner for ‘Milk’ and ‘Mystic River,’ did not show up to collect his prize as he became only the fourth male performer to win three Oscars, joining Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson and Walter Brennan. “He couldn’t be here this evening or didn’t want to,” presenter Kieran Culkin quipped of the awards-averse Penn while presenting the Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards.

‘Mr Nobody Against Putin,’ a look at how Vladimir Putin has cracked down on free expression during the Russo-Ukrainian war, received the award for best documentary feature. The film’s co-director David Borenstein talked about the evils of autocracy during his acceptance speech.

“Mr Nobody against Putin’ is about how you lose your country, and what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity. When we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities. When we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume it,” said David Borenstein.

‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ Netflix’s most popular film, won the best animated feature and best original song for its anthem, ‘Golden.’ The film’s co-director Maggie Kang fought back tears as she stressed how the animated feature’s victory is an important moment for representation.

BREAKING: The Oscars audience erupted in anger and boos when EJAE got emotional as she made history as the first Oscar win for a K-pop song and the academy played music over her as she attempted to speak.

Viewers are currently pissed online, no way to put it lightly. pic.twitter.com/PvTnCoHswN

— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 16, 2026

“I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here. And that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere,” said Maggie Kang at the Oscars.

It was a year of milestones, with Cassandra Kulukundis capturing the inaugural Academy Award for casting for her work on ‘One Battle After Another.’

There was also a rare tie in the best live action short category, with both ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ and ‘The Singers’ winning the prize. And ‘Sinners’ Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history by becoming the first woman to win best cinematography.

“No to war and free Palestine,” Javier Bardem said while presenting the best international feature prize to “Sentimental Value.”

Here’s the full list of winners:
Best Picture: One Battle After Another
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan — Weapons
Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler — Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Best International Feature Film: Sentimental Value
Best Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Best Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters
Best Original Song: “Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters
Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson — Sinners
Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw — Sinners
Best Film Editing: One Battle After Another
Best Production Design: Frankenstein
Best Costume Design: Kate Hawley — Frankenstein
Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Frankenstein
Best Sound: F1
Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Conan O’Brien returned for the second year as host. The late-night icon kicked off the evening with an extended video parody that had him chased by a group of children through Oscar-nominated films like ‘F1’ and ‘Sentimental Value’ while dressed as Aunt Gladys from ‘Weapons.’

His opening monologue poked fun at Timothee Chalamet’s controversial dismissal of opera and ballet, Netflix’s failed bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and the titles of nominated films, noting “Bugonia” and “Hamnet” sound like off-brand lunch meats.

O’Brien also nodded to the political upheaval in the country, reported Variety. “Last year when I hosted, Los Angeles was on fire, but this year everything’s going great!” he cracked. O’Brien did strike a serious note in between the jokes.

It was a politically charged ceremony, with presenters like Jimmy Kimmel mocking President Donald Trump by pointing out that his wife Melania’s self-titled documentary wasn’t up for any awards, and other stars using their time on stage to advocate for different causes.

The 98th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States. (ANI)