2026 Academy Awards Winners Made Golden History

The 98^th Oscars made history this past Sunday, March 15, 2026, embracing streaming and international flavor in film. However, the night also brought controversy, as the broadcast cut short the speeches from numerous 2026 Academy Awards winners.

Keep reading to learn more about what happened and who the lucky winners were.

The 2026 Academy Winners Made History Despite Controversy

Held on March 13, 2026, the 98^th Academy Awards celebrated everything film-related through its 24 categories, numerous live performances, and special honors interwoven throughout the night.

The 2026 Oscar winners also showcaseThe 2026 Oscar winners also showcase the changing tastes of the industry and the movie-going audience. That’s because no single film dominates the night.

For instance, Sinners, the record-breaking nominations leader, only bagged four trophies. One Battle After Another, the 2026 Oscar winner, didn’t do much better with just six.

Instead, the Academy chose to spread the love around, with a special notice to stream-only films. Almost half the categories went to stream-only or stream-first films, signaling Hollywood’s increasing comfort with digital releases.

Broadcasting Controversies Shattered Hollywood’s Perfect Night

However, the 2026 Academy Awards also made history in ways the Academy would like to forget.

That’s because the telecast cut short several acceptance speeches, especially those of indie and lesser-known recipients. For instance, Huntr/x was cut short mid-speech while accepting their Best Song award.

The problem became so bad that it became a running joke throughout O’Brien’s monologues and various on-stage presentations.

2026 Oscar WInners for Soundtracks

Another controversy surrounded the Soundtrack categories. However, it wasn’t about getting cut off or who won, but who got to perform.

The 98^th Oscars only allowed two of the five Best Song nominees to perform on stage at the event. While the move saved time for other on-stage performances, it also revealed the 2026 Academy Awards winners long before the event. As a result, it angered the three left-out performers who knew they had lost without stepping onto the red carpet.

Best Original Soundtrack Score: Sinners

However, it was a lucky day for Sinners and Ludwig Göransson. That’s because Göransson was the 2026 Oscar winner for Best Soundtrack Score, his third Oscar win. The Academy loved that he used memorable themes and innovative soundscapes to set the film’s tone.

Here were the nominees:

• “Bugonia” — Jerskin Fendrix
• “Frankenstein” — Alexandre Desplat
• “Hamnet” — Max Richter
• “One Battle After Another” — Jonny Greenwood
• “Sinners” — Ludwig Göransson

Best Original Soundtrack Song: “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters

Meanwhile, Best Song went “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, becoming the first K-pop song to win Oscar gold. It’s well-earned, too, given that the song has sat on top of most Billboard charts since its release in June 2025.

Here were the Best Song nominees:

• “Dear Me” –  Diane Warren: Relentless
• “Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters
• “I Lied to You” –  Sinners
• “Sweet Dreams of Joy” –  Viva Verdi!
• “Train Dreams”  – Train Dreams

2026 Oscar Winner for Best Animated Feature – KPop Demon Hunters

The ladies of KPop Demon Hunters didn’t stop at Best Song either, opting to go for Best Animated Feature as well. That’s a rare feat for an animated film, a testament to how well the current Academy respects music-driven animation. It also represents a greater respect for Korean culture and entertainment.

Here were the nominees:

• Arco
• Elio
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

Best Animated Short Film: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Meanwhile, the Academy awarded Best Animated Short to The Girl Who Cried Pearls.

• Butterfly
• Forevergreen
• The Girl Who Cried Pearls
• Retirement Plan
• The Three Sisters

The 2026 Oscar Winner for Best Picture: One Battle After Another

The coveted 2026 Academy Awards winner for Best Picture went to One Battle After Another.

• Bugonia
• F1
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

One Battle After Another also won Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson.

• Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
• Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
• Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
• Ryan Coogler – Sinners

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley

The Academy crowned Jessie Buckley as the 2026 Best Actress for her work in Hamnet.

• 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

2026 Oscar Winner for Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan won the Oscar for Best Actor for his work in Sinners.

• Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
• Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
• Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madian

The Academy then named Amy Madigan as Best Supporting Actress for her work in Weapons.

• Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
• Amy Madigan – Weapons
• Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
• Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn

Finally, Sean Penn grabbed Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another.

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

2026 Oscar Winner for Best Casting: One Battle After Another

On the technical side, One Battle After Another also took the Oscars’ newest category: Best Casting.

• Hamnet — Nina Gold
• Marty Supreme — Jennifer Venditti
• One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis
• The Secret Agent — Gabriel Domingues
• Sinners — Francine Maisler

Best Production Design: Frankenstein

Best Production Design went to Guillermo del Toro’s reinterpretation of Mary Shelley’s classic, Frankenstein. The film won for its practical textures, gothic architecture, and character-driven design elements.

• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners

Best Costume Design: Frankenstein

Del Toro’s Frankenstein also won the 2026 Oscar for Best Costume Design.

• Avatar: Fire and Ash — Deborah L. Scott
• Frankenstein — Kate Hawley
• Hamnet — Malgosia Turzanska
• Marty Supreme — Miyako Bellizzi
• Sinners — Ruth E. Carter

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Frankenstein

Frankenstein won Best Makeup and Hairstyling, as well, completing the Oscar design trifecta.

• Frankenstein
• Kokuho
• Sinners
• The Smashing Machine
• The Ugly Stepsister

2026 Oscar Winner for Best Sound: F1

Apple’s F1 bagged the Best Sound Oscar to complement its CAS win from the week before.

• F1
• Frankenstein
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• Sirât

Best Cinematography: Sinners

The Academy also made history with the Best Cinematography category.  That’s because they named Autumn Durald Arkapaw the 2026 Oscar winner for her work on Sinners, making her the first woman to win the award.

• Frankenstein
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

2026 Oscar Winners for Live Action Short: The Singers AND Two People Exchanging Saliva

Then, there was Best Live Action Short. The competition was so tough for it that the Academy decided that a tie was the only appropriate solution. That’s right! Both The Singers AND Two People Exchanging Saliva were named the 2026 Academy Awards winners for the category. So now the door is open to multiple winners in each Oscar category!

Here were the nominees:

• Butcher’s Stain
• Jane Austen’s Period Drama
• A Friend of Dorothy
• The Singers
• Two People Exchanging Saliva

Best Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms

The Academy decided to give the Best Documentary Short Oscar to All the Empty Rooms. The short film adapted the work of CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, who chronicled several school shootings.

• 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

Best Original Screenplay: Sinners

Ryan Coogler also made history this weekend by bagging his first Oscar win for his work on Sinners, despite his five career nominations. The win gives him a nice gold Best Original Screenplay trophy to go with the ones he got at this year’s Writers Guild Awards. He celebrated the win by releasing the entire Sinners script, which you can read here.

Here was his competition:

• Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow
• It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi
• Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
• Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
• Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Best International Film: Sentimental Value

Norway’s Sentimental Value failed to win any of its nominated categories except for one. It won the Best International Film Oscar against stiff competition.

• Brazil – The Secret Agent
• France – It Was Just an Accident
• Norway – Sentimental Value
• Spain – Sirât
• Tunisia – The Voice of Hind Rajab

Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash

There is no such thing as an Academy Awards ceremony without an Avatar win, and the 2026 Oscars are no different. That’s because the Academy crowned Avatar: Fire and Ash as the Best Visual Effects. It’s an awesome win for James Cameron, but it was his only win this year, likely reflecting the state of the franchise overall.

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• F1
• Jurassic World Rebirth
• The Lost Bus
• Sinners

Best Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Denmark’s Mr. Nobody Against Putin was the 2026 Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature, which was surprisingly competitive this year.

• The Alabama Solution
• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cutting Through Rocks
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin
• The Perfect Neighbor

Best Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another

After Best Director, Paul Thomas Anderson added to his personal Oscar collection by grabbing Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on One Battle After Another as well. The award made him the ninth person ever to win both Oscars for the same film.

• Bugonia — Will Tracy
• Frankenstein — Guillermo Del Toro
• Hamnet — Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao
• One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
• Train Dreams — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

Best Film Editing: One Battle After Another

Finally, Anderson’s One Battle After Another also took home the Oscar for Best Film Editing.

• F1 — Stephen Mirrione
• Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
• One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
• Sentimental Value– Olivier Bugge Coutté
• Sinners — Michael P. Shawver

2026 Academy Awards Achievements and Honors

In addition to the voting categories, the Academy presented numerous achievement awards and Governorsonors, throughout the event. While there were too many to list, here are the more notable Govenrors 2026 Academy Awards winners:

• Debbie Allen – Academy Honorary Award
• Tom Cruise – Academy Honorary Award
• Wynn Thomas – Academy Honorary Award
• Dolly Parton – Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Final Thoughts

With the lack of a clear count leader and the rise of streaming, the 2026 Academy Awards felt different. Only time will tell whether the changes will stay, but we might be witnessing the start of a new era in Hollywood.

What are your thoughts on the 2026 Oscar winners? Post them in the forums or comments below.