The Oscars 2026 winners crowned Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another with six awards, while Sinners took four and KPop Demon Hunters made K-pop history. Here is the complete list of all 24 categories and the stories behind them.
The Oscars 2026 winners were led by One Battle After Another, which won six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Michael B Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners, Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet, and Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Golden”.
The 98th Academy Awards were held on 15 March 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with Conan O’Brien hosting for the second year running.
Oscars 2026 winners at a glance
- Ceremony: 98th Academy Awards
- Date: Sunday 15 March 2026
- Venue: Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles
- Host: Conan O’Brien
- Best Picture: One Battle After Another
- Most wins: One Battle After Another (6), then Sinners (4) and Frankenstein (3)
- Most nominations: Sinners, with a record 16
Oscars 2026 winners: the main categories
- 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: Sentimental Value (Norway)
- Best Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters
- Best Documentary Feature: Mr Nobody Against Putin
- Best Original Song: “Golden”, KPop Demon Hunters
Winners as published by Al Jazeera’s full list of winners.
Oscars 2026 winners: craft and short film categories
- Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
- Original Score: Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
- Film Editing: Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
- Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis, One Battle After Another
- Production Design: Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, Frankenstein
- Costume Design: Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
- Makeup and Hairstyling: Frankenstein
- Sound: F1
- Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms
- Animated Short: The Girl Who Cried Pearls
- Live Action Short (tie): The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva
The tie in Live Action Short was only the seventh in Oscar history, according to the Wikipedia record of the ceremony.
The stories behind the Oscars 2026 winners
The stories behind the Oscars 2026 winnersPaul Thomas Anderson’s coronation
After decades of nominations, Anderson won Director and Adapted Screenplay and took Best Picture as a producer. One Battle After Another had already won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, so this completed the season.
Fellow producer Adam Somner, who died before the ceremony, became only the second person to win Best Picture posthumously. Sean Penn’s win made him the fourth man to collect three acting Oscars.
Sinners turned a record into wins
Ryan Coogler’s film went in with 16 nominations, the most in Oscar history, and came out with four Oscars: Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and Score. Michael B Jordan, who played twins, became only the second actor to win for a dual role, capping a partnership with Coogler that began with Fruitvale Station.
A historic cinematography win
Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win Best Cinematography, and also the first Black and first Filipino winner in the category. Cassandra Kulukundis made history too, collecting the first Oscar ever given for Casting.
Jessie Buckley’s sweep
Golden Globe, BAFTA and now the Oscar. Hamnet won one award on the night, but it was the one everyone expected, and Buckley became the first Irish winner of Best Actress.
KPop Demon Hunters went all the way
A Netflix original that grew into a global music phenomenon won both Animated Feature and Original Song. It is the first animated film outside Disney and Pixar to win two Oscars, and “Golden” is the first K-pop song to win Best Original Song.
The moment had a sour note when the song’s speech was cut off by the playoff music, drawing boos in the theatre. For K-pop’s huge fan base in the UAE and across the Gulf, it was still the result of the night.
Amy Madigan’s long wait
Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons 40 years after her previous nomination, the longest gap between nominations for an actress. Warner Bros., which released both Sinners and One Battle After Another, ended the night with 11 wins, tying the record for a studio in a single year.
The night itself
Barbra Streisand paid tribute to Robert Redford, and Billy Crystal honoured Rob Reiner, who was killed in December 2025. The show ran 3 hours and 44 minutes and drew 17.86 million viewers in the US, down 9% on the previous year.
The Oscars 2026 winners and the Arab world
Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, was nominated for Best International Feature but lost to Norway’s Sentimental Value, the first Norwegian submission to win the category. Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees could not attend because of new US entry restrictions, writing that “a passport can be blocked, but not a voice”.
India’s entry, Homebound, reached the shortlist but did not get a nomination.
How the Oscars 2026 winners compare with the season
The Oscars 2026 winners closely matched the BAFTA results: Best Film, Director, Leading Actress and Supporting Actor all repeated. The biggest change was Best Actor, where BAFTA chose Robert Aramayo and the Academy chose Michael B Jordan.
Where to watch the Oscars 2026 winners in the UAE
KPop Demon Hunters streams on Netflix. Availability of the other Oscars 2026 winners on UAE streaming services varies by title and over time, so check OSN+, Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+ in the UAE before you search elsewhere. The full nominee list is on the Academy’s official website.
Oscars 2026 winners FAQs
What won Best Picture at the Oscars 2026?
One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It won six Oscars in total, the most of any film on the night.
Who won Best Actor and Best Actress at the Oscars 2026?
Michael B Jordan for Sinners and Jessie Buckley for Hamnet.
Did KPop Demon Hunters win an Oscar?
Yes, two: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Golden”.
Compare this year with the Oscars 2025 winners, revisit India at the Oscars through the years, and find more in our Hollywood section.