Oscars 2026: Political Cinema, Vampires and the Return of the Auteur Film

The 98th Academy Awards were dominated by the film One Battle After Another, which won the award for Best Picture and went home with a total of six statuettes. The political thriller directed by Paul Thomas Anderson prevailed in a strong competition and confirmed the filmmaker's status as one of the most influential auteurs in contemporary cinema.

In second place in the awards standings was the vampire drama Sinners, which won four awards, including the trophy for Best Actor, won by Michael B. Jordan. The production directed by Ryan Coogler entered the gala with a record number of 16 nominations. The film Frankenstein won three awards, especially in the technical categories, confirming the production's strength in the field of visual design and costumes. The gala was presented for the second consecutive year by comedian Conan O'Brien.

• Important awards and historic performances

One of the surprises of the evening was the victory of Irish actress Jessie Buckley, who won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film Hamnet. Buckley became the first Irish actress to receive this distinction at the Oscars.

"This is truly something extraordinary," the actress said, visibly moved on stage, thanking her fellow nominees and her family. In the Best Actor category, the award went to Michael B. Jordan for his role in "Sinners." In his speech, the actor mentioned the great African-American figures in the history of cinema, such as Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Jamie Foxx. In the supporting actor category, the award was won by Sean Penn for his role in "One Battle After Another”. Penn thus became the fourth actor in Oscar history to win three awards for his performance. The award for best supporting actress went to actress Amy Madigan for her role in the film Weapons.

• Rare moment in the short film category

One of the unusual moments of the gala was in the Best live-action short film category, where the Academy awarded two awards, after the vote ended in a tie.

The statuettes were won by the films: The Singers, Two People Exchanging Saliva. The production of the second film was attended by the Romanian-born producer Natalie Musteaţă, who took the stage to receive the award. "Thank you to the Academy for supporting a strange and queer film made mostly by women”, she said in her acceptance speech.

• Director and Screenplay Awards

In the Best Director category, Paul Thomas Anderson was awarded for "One Battle After Another.” "You make a guy work hard for one of these,” the filmmaker said upon accepting the trophy. The Original Screenplay Award went to Ryan Coogler for "Sinners,” and the Adapted Screenplay Award went to "One Battle After Another.”

• Technical and Animation Awards

In the technical categories, "Frankenstein” was honored for its costumes and makeup, and "Sinners” won the Best Picture award. In the Best Animated Feature category, the trophy was won by KPop's Demon Hunters. The Visual Effects Award went to Avatar: Fire and Ash, and the Sound Award went to F1.

• Political and Emotional Moments

The Oscars were not without political statements. Spanish actor Javier Bardem declared on stage "no to war and freedom for Palestine”, being applauded by the audience in the hall. In the segment "In Memoriam”, singer and actress Barbra Streisand paid tribute to actor and director Robert Redford, performing a fragment of the famous song "The Way We Were”. Another emotional moment was the speech of actor Billy Crystal, who paid tribute to director Rob Reiner. The Norwegian film Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier, won the award for Best International Feature Film.

The host of the evening, Conan O'Brien, emphasized the global nature of the film industry in his final speech.