98th Oscars 2026: 'One Battle After Another' Wins Best Picture in Epic Night.

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98th Oscars 2026: 'One Battle After Another' Wins Best Picture in Epic Night.

                     The 98th Academy Awards, held on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, delivered one of the most anticipated and competitive ceremonies in recent years.

            Hosted by Conan O'Brien, the night featured a tight race between frontrunners One Battle After Another (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) and Sinners (directed by Ryan Coogler), with the former emerging as the biggest winner with six Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture prize.

Sinners, which made history with a record-breaking 16 nominations—surpassing the previous record of 14 held by films like All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land—secured four wins, showcasing strong support in acting, writing, and technical categories. The evening was marked by surprises, historic firsts, and split momentum across guilds and precursors, proving the predictions right about an unpredictable field.

The ceremony aired live for Indian viewers on Star Movies and JioHotstar starting at 5:30 AM IST on March 16, 2026. Here's a comprehensive breakdown of the winners, key surprises, upsets, and full results, drawing from the night's major moments.
Best Picture

Winner: One Battle After Another (Producers: Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson) Other nominees: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams.

This win capped a dominant run for Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling political thriller/action dramedy, which also claimed key precursors like the PGA (using the same preferential ballot as the Oscars), Critics Choice, and Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture. Despite Sinners' nomination haul and craft momentum, One Battle After Another consolidated guild support to take the top honor. Producers accepted the award, bringing the film's total to six wins.

Lead Acting Categories

Best Actor Winner: Michael B. Jordan – Sinners Nominees: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Jordan's dual role in Ryan Coogler's period horror/vampire drama proved victorious in one of the night's tightest races. This marked a major win for Sinners amid its record nominations.

Best Actress Winner: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet Nominees: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Emma Stone (Bugonia).

Buckley was a strong precursor favorite after her Golden Globe win for Chloé Zhao's drama, and she delivered as expected, adding to Hamnet's likely haul of at least one statuette.

Supporting Acting Categories

Best Supporting Actor Winner: Sean Penn – One Battle After Another Nominees: Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value).

Penn, absent from the ceremony, tied a record for male acting wins with this victory, boosting One Battle After Another's tally.

Best Supporting Actress Winner: Amy Madigan – Weapons Nominees: Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).

Madigan opened the night with the first award announced, a surprise in a competitive field.

Directing and Screenplay

Best Director Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another Nominees: Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value).

Anderson's DGA win proved predictive, earning him his first Oscars after previous nominations. This was a breakthrough for the acclaimed filmmaker.

Best Original Screenplay Winner: Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Other nominees not fully detailed in sources, but Coogler's win marked his first Oscar.)

Best Adapted Screenplay Winner: One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Technical and Other Major Wins.

Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners (Historic first: the first woman to win in this category.)

Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
Best Film Editing: Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another
Best Casting (new or highlighted category): Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another.

Best Animated Feature Film: KPop Demon Hunters (Other nominees included Arco, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Zootopia 2.)

Best Original Song: "Golden" (from an unspecified film; noted as the first K-pop song to win Best Song.)

Sinners excelled in technical crafts, with its four wins highlighting broad Academy support despite missing Best Picture.

Key Surprises and Upsets
One Battle After Another over Sinners for Best Picture: Despite Sinners' record nominations and craft momentum, guild favorites (PGA, DGA) carried the day for Anderson's film.

Michael B. Jordan's Best Actor win: A tight category where DiCaprio and Chalamet were strong contenders; Jordan's performance resonated strongly.

Historic milestones: Autumn Durald Arkapaw's cinematography win broke barriers, and "Golden" as the first K-pop song to win Original Song.

Sean Penn's absence: The supporting actor winner skipped the event, adding intrigue.

Hamnet and Jessie Buckley: Solid wins as predicted, but no sweep.

No clean sweep: Precursors split between One Battle After Another (early dominance) and Sinners (late surge in crafts/acting).

Wins by Film

One Battle After Another: 6 (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Casting)

Sinners: 4 (Best Actor, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography)
Hamnet: At least 1 (Best Actress)

Weapons: 1 (Best Supporting Actress) 

Others: Scattered wins in animated, song, etc.

The 98th Oscars wrapped a volatile season with One Battle After Another as the night's champion, ending on a high note with its Best Picture victory. Congratulations to all winners—this unpredictable race delivered memorable moments and history-making achievements.