Oscars 2026: List of winners and highlights!

Written By Patty Kralj

What a special night the Oscars were! I always love watching the ceremony to see familiar faces, the well-deserved lifetime achievements, and the small changes the Academy makes. But the most important part is the soul of the films,  because cinema connects human experiences through stories.

Big Winners:

  • One Battle After Another won 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), and Sean Penn made history with his third acting Oscar.

  • Sinners took 4 awards including Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan) and made history with the first woman ever to win Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw).

  • Frankenstein earned 3 Oscars for Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup.

Memorable Moments:

• Tribute to Mary Shelley:  When "Frankenstein" won Best Costume Design, producer Stephanie Meurer said: "Thank you, Mary Shelley, for the story." Shelley was just 18 when she wrote the novel in 1818, becoming the first woman to pioneer science fiction,  a genre she invented during that famous "haunted summer" in Switzerland .

• Barbra Streisand honoring Robert Redford:  She sang "The Way We Were" after honoring her lifelong partner. Standing ovation.

• The Singers won!:  My intuition was right. It won Best Live Action Short in a historic tie, only the 7th in 98 years.

• Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman: They reunited to present Best Picture, singing "All You Need Is Love." Moulin Rouge! feelings forever.

• One Battle After Another:  Benicio del Toro was fantastic, this film was very entertaining.


Key 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: Sinners

  • Best Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another

  • Best Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters

  • Best International Feature: Sentimental Value (Norway)

  • Best Original Song: "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters

  • Best Live Action Short: The Singers (TIE) and Two People Exchanging Saliva (TIE)


– Patty K.

Patty Kralj
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