The 98th Academy Awards, held on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, was a night of unprecedented achievements. The ceremony, hosted for the second consecutive year by Conan O’Brien, saw multiple records broken and new milestones set across various categories. From historic first-time wins to long-awaited victories, the 2026 Oscars will be remembered for reshaping the awards landscape.
Heading into the night, Ryan Coogler’s supernatural horror film Sinners made history by securing 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history, breaking the previous record of 14 held jointly by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. Paul Thomas Anderson’s action-thriller One Battle After Another followed closely with 13 nominations. The two films dominated the evening, with One Battle After Another winning six awards, including Best Picture, while Sinners took home four Oscars.
Warner Bros Ties All-Time Studio Record
The success of Sinners and One Battle After Another propelled Warner Bros to a historic achievement. The studio collected 11 Oscars in a single night, tying the all-time record for most wins by a studio. This feat was previously accomplished only by MGM for Ben-Hur (1959), Paramount for Titanic (1997), and New Line Cinema for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
What makes Warner Bros’ achievement unique is that it is the first studio to reach 11 wins with multiple films rather than a single sweeping production. One Battle After Another contributed six wins, Sinners added four, and Amy Madigan’s Supporting Actress victory for Weapons brought the total to 11. The studio entered the evening with 30 total nominations, surpassing its own record of 28 from 1943, the year Casablanca won Best Picture.
Michael B Jordan Makes History with Dual Role Victory
Michael B Jordan won his first Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Sinners. This victory places him in an exclusive group of actors who have won for playing two distinct characters in the same film. Jordan is the first actor in 60 years to achieve this, following Lee Marvin, who won for Cat Ballou in 1965.
Jordan’s path to the Oscar was not straightforward. While Timothée Chalamet won the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award for Marty Supreme, Jordan’s victory at the Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards) shifted momentum in his favor. With this win, Jordan becomes the sixth Black man to win the Best Actor Oscar, joining Will Smith, Forest Whitaker, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington, and Sidney Poitier.
Sean Penn Joins Elite Three-Time Winners Club
Sean Penn secured his third acting Oscar, winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as a corrupt military officer in One Battle After Another. This achievement places him among only four male actors to have won three competitive acting Oscars, alongside Walter Brennan, Jack Nicholson, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Penn was notably absent from the ceremony. When his name was announced, presenter Kieran Culkin joked, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.” Penn previously won Best Actor for Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008).
Jessie Buckley Becomes First Irish Best Actress Winner
Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for her role in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. The victory makes Buckley the first Irish actress ever to win in this category. In her acceptance speech, Buckley dedicated the award to her infant daughter and “the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart,” noting that the ceremony fell on Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom.
Buckley had already collected numerous accolades for her performance, including a Golden Globe, Actor Award, BAFTA, and Critics’ Choice Award. She beat out a competitive field that included Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve, and two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone.
Amy Madigan’s 40-Year Journey to Oscar Gold
Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for her chilling portrayal of Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s horror film Weapons. The victory came 40 years after her first and only previous Oscar nomination for Twice in a Lifetime (1985). This marks the longest gap between a first nomination and a first victory in Academy history.
Madigan was kept out of early marketing for Weapons to preserve the surprise of her character, a testament to how integral her performance was to the film’s impact. During her acceptance speech, she thanked her husband of over four decades, actor Ed Harris, saying, “None of this would mean anything if he wasn’t by my side.”
Autumn Durald Arkapaw Breaks Ground in Cinematography
Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography for her work on Sinners, becoming the first woman and the first Black artist of Filipino descent to win in this category. She was only the fourth woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography, following Rachel Morrison, Ari Wegner, and Mandy Walker.
In her acceptance speech, Durald Arkapaw called for all the women in the room to stand up, stating, “I don’t get here without you guys. I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign.” Her win was considered an upset, as she had lost to One Battle After Another cinematographer Michael Bauman at the BAFTAs and other key precursors.
Diane Warren Extends Unwanted Record
Songwriter Diane Warren received her 17th Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for Dear Me from the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless. When the award went to Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, Warren set the record for the most nominations without a competitive win. She previously received an honorary Oscar in 2022.
Before the ceremony, Warren told ABCNews, “My honorary Oscar gets really lonely. He wants a friend. He hangs out with Rabbit, my cat, but he prefers to have an Oscar buddy.” Warren’s record is now sole ownership, as the previous co-holder, sound mixer Greg P Russell, had his 17th nomination rescinded by the Academy.
Sentimental Value Brings Norway Its First International Feature Win
Joachim Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value won Best International Feature Film, marking the first time Norway has taken home the award. The film, which stars Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, had previously won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language.
In his acceptance speech, Trier paraphrased writer James Baldwin, saying, “All adults are responsible for all children, and let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously.” The film was one of five nominees in the category; India’s submission Homebound did not make the final shortlist.
KPop Demon Hunters Scores Double Win for Korean Talent
The animated feature KPop Demon Hunters won two Oscars: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Golden. This marks the first time South Korean artists have won in both categories. The song’s win also contributed to Diane Warren’s extended losing streak.
Also Read:
Sinners Sets Unprecedented Precursor Record
Despite its historic nomination tally, Sinners became the first film to win the ACE Eddie Award (for editing), the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and the WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay while still losing Best Picture. The award ultimately went to One Battle After Another, which also won Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The evening also featured the first-ever Best Casting Oscar, which went to Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another. In the Best Live Action Short category, a rare tie occurred between The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva, marking only the seventh tie in Oscar history.
Also Read: Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix: Release Date, Cast, and Why Crime Drama Fans Should Be Excited
For more entertainment news and updates, keep reading VvipTimes for the latest from Hollywood.
