As predicted, the 98th Academy Awards was essentially a two-film showdown, with “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” trading momentum throughout the night. By the final tally, One Battle After Another emerged as the night’s biggest winner with six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Not far behind, Sinners secured four major wins, keeping the race tight from start to finish and reinforcing the season-long rivalry between the two films.
One of the most talked-about moments came in the Best Actor category, where Michael B. Jordan took home the Oscar for Sinners, beating out Timothée Chalamet, who had been widely considered a strong contender throughout the awards circuit. Jordan’s win ended a nail-biter that had pitted him against the Marty Supreme star, who got into a media maelstrom pertaining to his disparaging remarks toward opera and ballet in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.
Host Conan O’Brien set the tone early with an opening montage parodying Aunt Gladys from the horror movie Weapons being chased by kids across scenes of this years’ nominated movies.
The ceremony also took time to honor recently departed screen legends. Barbra Streisand honored her “The Way We Were” co-star Robert Redford with a rendition of the film’s timeless soundtrack, while Rob Reiner got a moving tribute from the cast of his films like When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and many more, led by Billy Crystal. Additional recognitions were given to icons like Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton, who were feted by actress Rachel McAdams.
Meanwhile, “KPop Demon Hunters” delivered one of the evening’s historic achievements. The film won Best Animated Feature, while its song “Golden” became the first K-pop track to win Best Original Song, a milestone that drew global attention.
Between major wins, industry tributes and a tight race at the top, the 2026 Oscars played out as a full-scale clash of cinematic heavyweights — with just enough surprises to keep everyone watching until the final envelope.