Oscars 2026 live: One Battle After Another wins Best Film, Michael B Jordan wins Best Actor, biggest moments
One Battle After Another emerged the big winner of the 98th Academy Awards, taking home best picture as well as key gongs including director, screenplay, editing and supporting actor for Sean Penn.
But Sinners has a lot to sing about too, with Michael B. Jordan pulling off a high-profile victory in best actor, besting Timothee Chalamet and Wagner Moura, and Ryan Coogler taking home the Oscar for original screenplay.
Sinners’ Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to ever win in the cinematography category.
In the end, One Battle took six wins to Sinners’ four, but those hauls reflect an exciting year in which the calibre of nominees kept it interesting until the finish line.
Jessie Buckley won in lead actress for Hamnet while Amy Madigan won supporting actress for Weapons.
This means all four acting awards went to four separate films.
Animated sensation KPop Demon Hunters won animated feature and original song, while Frankenstein picked up three in the craft categories, for costume, make-up and hairstyling and production design.
Sentimental Value won the international feature Oscar.
Key Events
CATCH UP: The best and worst dressed on the Oscar’s red carpet
With the mercury reaching the late 20s in Hollywood, the film industry’s biggest stars needed little invitation to sizzle on the red carpet as they strutted down the most eye-catching runway in entertainment.
A raft of Aussies turned heads, including Best Actress nominee Rose Byrne who arrived in a black floral gown. If she wins for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, will we get an update on her famous pet bearded dragon?
The angelic figure of national treasure Nicole Kidman was underscored by a flowing blonde mane, as Kidman, 58, attends without long-time husband Keith Urban following the pair’s split in September last year.
Jacob Elordi is vying to become the first male Aussie actor to win an Oscar since Heath Ledger in 2009, with the Queenslander nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Creature in Frankenstein.
The brooding figure wore a three-piece, black tuxedo in a timeless look.
CATCH UP: Conan O’Brien’s best jokes
Conan O’Brien was at his sharp-witted best for a hilarious and memorable opening to the 98th Academy Awards, skewering some of the biggest names in Hollywood and even including a pointed jab about the Epstein scandal.
Over nearly 11 minutes, the jokes flew thick and fast, drawing lots of laughs from the star-filled audience, which is no mean feat.
One Battle After Another wins best picture
What a triumphant moment for One Battle After Another which has claimed the very top prize.
It was touch-and-go for the past couple of weeks as to whether it would be able to hold off a Sinners surge, but it did it.
Paul Thomas Anderson, who along with producers Sara Murphy and Adam Somner, will take home the Best Picture statue said, “I just want to say that in 1975, the Oscar nominees for Best Picture were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Jaws, Nashville, and Barry Lyndon. There is no best among them. There was just what that mood might be that day.
“But we’re happy to be part of this, a wonderful, wonderful journey.
“Our fellow nominees, our fellow filmmakers, filmmakers that even weren’t recognised by the Academy. So many great films this year, and I really blew it when I won the Best Director award, and I forgot to thank my cast.
“Leo, Benicio, Teyana, Sean, Regina, especially Chase, my American girl, Chase. You are the heart of this movie, this entire team. What a night. You guys, let’s have a martini. This is pretty amazing.”
It’s a posthumous win for producer Somner, who died in late 2024.
BEST PICTURE
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another - WINNER
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Jessie Buckley seals off her perfect awards season
Everyone might agree Jessie Buckley was going to win, but she was still authentically emotional when her name was read out.
Buckley said, “It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today and I would 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.”
It also happens to be St Patrick’s Day this week, so that is a nice confluence of events for the Irish Buckley.
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet - WINNER
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Emma Stone, Bugonia
Michael B. Jordan brings it home!
It was looking more and more in Michael B. Jordan’s favour after winning that Screen Actors Guild Award and he has done it.
This was very much between him, Timothee Chalamet and Wagner Moura.
And no, I don’t think Chalamet’s ballet and opera comments cost him the Oscar, that happened way too late in the voting, like hours before it closed.
Jordan is a hugely popular win and you can see that room is electric.
He thanked Ryan Coogler for being his collaborator and friend, and then named the likes of Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forrest Whitaker and Will Smith as the “giants” before him.
“Among those giants, among those greats, thank you to everybody in this room and everybody at home, everybody supporting me over my career. I know you guys want me to do well and I want to do that.
“I want to do that, because you guys bet on me. So thank you for keeping, for betting on me, and I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m gonna keep being the best version of myself I could be.
“I love you guys, and everybody at home, you supported cinemas, you went to go see the movie once, twice, three, four, five times. Thank you because you guys made this movie what it is. I love you.”
BEST ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners - WINNER
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
PTA! PTA! PTA!
An acronym known to film lovers everywhere, Paul Thomas Anderson, the man who has gifted the world the likes of There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights and Punch Drunk Love.
It was finally Anderson’s time, and he joked, “You make a guy work hard for one of these, I really appreciate it.”
Anderson shared the honour with Adam Somner, his assistant director who died.
He’s been a brilliant speech giver this season, and as he mentioned his fellow nominees, he added, “It’s an honour to be counted amongst you guys. There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it, but there is no question at the pleasure of having it for myself.”
Touche!
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another - WINNER
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao, Hamnet
It’s all Golden, kids
KPop Demon Hunters earworm Golden took out the Original Song.
But then the play-off music awkwardly cut off the victors and they were merciless, giving them not even 10 seconds to finish. Yikes.
Singer and songwriter Ejae said, “Growing up, you know, people made fun of me for liking K-Pop, but now everyone’s singing our song, and all the lyrics. I’m so proud.
“I realised the song, this award, is about not about success, it’s about resilience.”
BEST SONG
Dear Me, Diane Warren: Restless
Golden, KPop Demon Hunters - WINNER
I Lied to You, Sinners
Train Dreams, Train Dreams
Sweet Dreams of Joy, Viva Verdi
It’s been a bonkers amazing year for international features
Sentimental Value wins for International Feature, and it’s been a particularly strong year. Not just in the films that were nominated but a bunch of incredible films that missed out.
The Norwegian film had nine nominations so it’s amazing that it’s going home with something afetr Stellan Skarsgard lost out in supporting actor.
Joachim Trier paid tribute to the other nominees, “I want to, because I’m in this category, and I feel I represent global filmmakers, and in a moment like this, I just want to recognise the wonderful films that, um, we were nominated together with, important, beautiful films that reflect our present crisis and the crisis of the past.
“I want to end by quoting, or not actually quoting, but paraphrasing, rather, the wonderful American writer, James Baldwin. It makes us remember that all adults are responsible for all children, and let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account.”
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
It Was Just An Accident
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value - WINNER
Sirat
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Historical win for Sinners, and for an almost-Australian
Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman to ever in the cinematography category, and she is only the fourth woman to ever be nominated.
She’s married to an Australian, so we will kind of claim her!
Durald Arkapaw mentioned Rachel Morrison, the first woman ever nominated for cinematography, and she asked all the women in the room to stand up.
“I really want all the women in the room to stand up because I feel like I don’t get here without you guys. I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign, and gotten to meet so many people, and I just feel like moments like this happen because of you guys, and I want to thank you for that,” she said.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners - WINNER
Train Dreams
One Battle takes important precursor Oscars win
The Editing category is often seen as predictive of the eventual Picture winner, so could this be instructive of where this is going?
One Battle After Another is looking good for the big prize if that’s the case.
Never forget the incredible chase scene at the end, that was masterful editing, and that’s a huge part of why One Battle won this.
Winner Andy Jurgensen called out his aunt Barbara Hall who was an archivist for the Academy for 25 years.
“She loved her dog and she loved showing old movies and teaching me about film history, and I miss her every day.”
BEST FILM EDITING
F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another - WINNER
Sentimental Value
Sinners
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