The 98th Academy Awards were always going to be special. But nobody quite predicted how special. Between a groundbreaking first, Ireland’s long-overdue win, a genuinely rare tie, and the birth of a brand-new Oscar category, the March 15, 2026 ceremony delivered one of the most historically significant nights in the Academy’s near-century-long history.
Table of Contents
2026 Oscars — Historic Wins & Key Snubs at a Glance
| Category | Winner | Historic First / Snub |
|---|---|---|
| Best Picture | One Battle After Another | PTA’s first ever Best Picture win |
| Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | First win after 11 nominations |
| Best Actor | Michael B. Jordan – Sinners | — |
| Best Actress | Jessie Buckley – Hamnet | First Irish woman to win Best Actress |
| Best Supporting Actor | Sean Penn – One Battle After Another | Record 3rd Oscar win |
| Best Supporting Actress | Amy Madigan – Weapons | Maiden Oscar win |
| Best Cinematography | Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners | First woman & first Black person to win |
| Best Animated Feature | KPop Demon Hunters | First K-pop Oscar win (Original Song) |
| Best Live Action Short | TIE: The Singers & Two People Exchanging Saliva | Only 7th tie in Oscar history |
| Best Casting (Inaugural) | Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another | First-ever casting Oscar |
| Biggest Snub | Sinners — 16 nominations, only 4 wins | Most-nominated film in Oscar history |
The Historic Moments That Defined the Night
Autumn Durald Arkapaw — Breaking the Cinematography Ceiling
Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win Best Cinematography, as well as the first Black cinematographer to take the award IMDb — for her breathtaking work on Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, shot on IMAX and 65mm film. She had previously collaborated with Coogler on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. During her acceptance speech, she asked all the women in the room to stand up, saying she couldn’t have got there without them — and they obliged, filling the Dolby Theatre with thunderous applause. Plex
Jessie Buckley — Ireland’s Long-Awaited Best Actress
Buckley made Oscar history as the first Irish actor to win Best Actress Theviewersperspective for her performance as Agnes in Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel. She had swept every major precursor — Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice — and her win was the ceremony’s most anticipated moment. Brenda Fricker had previously won Best Supporting Actress in 1990 for My Left Foot, but no Irishwoman had ever claimed the lead actress prize until now. IMDb
Sean Penn’s Record Third Oscar Win
Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, setting a record with his third Oscar win Rotten Tomatoes — joining an elite group of three-time Academy Award winners. He wasn’t even present at the ceremony to collect it.
The First-Ever Best Casting Oscar
The Academy introduced its first-ever award for Casting — the first new Oscar category since 2002 — and casting director Cassandra Kulukundis won the inaugural honour for One Battle After Another, pulling off an upset over widely expected frontrunner Francine Maisler for Sinners. Blex Media
The Rare Short Film Tie
In the Best Live Action Short Film category, the Academy announced a tie between The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva — only the seventh tie in the nearly century-long history of the Oscars. Blex Media
The Big Snub — Sinners‘ 16 Nominations
Sinners entered as the most-nominated film in Oscar history with 16 nods Wikipedia, yet left with just four wins — Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. Ryan Coogler missed out on Best Director, and Best Picture went to One Battle After Another. It’s a bittersweet night for a film that rewrote the record books before the ceremony even began.
Learn more about the full history of the Academy Awards on the Wikipedia page for the Academy Awards.
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FAQs
Q: Who won the most Oscars at the 2026 ceremony?
One Battle After Another led the night with six wins including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, and Best Casting.
Q: Did Sinners win Best Picture despite its record 16 nominations?
No — despite its record-breaking 16 nominations, Sinners won four awards but was beaten to Best Picture by Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
