2026 Oscars Recap – Paul Thomas Anderson Wins One Battle After Another (Full Winners List)3/16/2026  The Friendly Film Fan Recalls All the Triumphs and Tragedies of Hollywood’s Biggest Night. Hello, and welcome back to The Friendly Film Fan! In case you happened to miss it (somehow), the 98th Annual Academy Awards took place last night – hosted by returning late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien – celebrating the industry-voted best in film for 2025. Hollywood’s biggest night got off to a roaring start with an incredibly funny and clever bit featuring O’Brien in Aunt Gladys makeup being chased through many of the year’s nominated films by a bunch of small children to the soundtrack of the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” before segueing into the comedian’s opening monologue. The monologue itself – as well as Conan’s intermittent hosting between presenters – was full of clever jokes and tributes in celebration of the cinematic art form in celebration of the cinematic art form, and even included a musical number led by none other than Josh Groban.  The night got off to a strong start with the opening award of the night when Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Cregger’s horror comedy Weapons, making her only the ninth actress to win the award while being their film’s sole nominee; the last time it happened was in 2008 when Penélope Cruz took home the trophy for Vicki Christina Barcelona. This wasn’t the only rare stat the night achieved either: Michael B. Jordan rode the SAG wave to become only the seventh Black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor in the Leading Role for Sinners, beating out both Timothée Chalamet and Wagner Moura for the award, while Autumn Durald Arkapaw – the first woman of color to ever be nominated for Best Cinematography – also became the first woman ever to win the award for her work on the same film. And, of course, Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson joined an elite class of victors for his Sinners score, marking the second time he’s won the award for his music in a Ryan Coogler film, and the third time he’s won it overall (he previously won this Oscar for Oppenheimer in 2024 and Black Panther in 2019). All in all, Sinners took home four wins from its record of sixteen nominations, including Best Original Screenplay for Coogler himself.  The night, however, ultimately belonged to writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson and his action epic One Battle After Another, which took home 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for PTA, Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn (who was not present), Best Film Editing, and a surprise win in the Academy’s first-ever Best Casting award for casting director Cassandra Kulukundis. There were some other surprises as well, as The Girl Who Cried Pearls took home the award for Best Animated Short, besting both Butterfly and Retirement Plan – considered the two frontrunners for the category – and Best Live-Action short saw only the seventh tie in Oscars history, with awards going to both The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva, also the two frontrunners. The indie documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin also happened to win its David vs. Goliath fight by beating out frontrunner The Perfect Neighbor for Best Documentary Feature despite the ethical concerns raised by many who saw it.  As for the telecast itself, let’s just say I have some notes for the producers and directors of this year’s ceremony, especially wherein it concerns playing international winners off too early and turning the lights out during their speech before cutting to commercial break to save time, when some of the more extended bits – the Bridesmaids one in particular – could have been cut down to achieve the same effect. (The In Memoriam segment was perfect, though; no changes necessary there.) I understand that the show was already running way over schedule, but none of the American winners were cut off quite as disrespectfully as the KPop Demon Hunters song crew, especially considering Best Original Song would be one of the film’s only two wins in total, and my heart breaks that they never got to have their full moment in the spotlight. Hell, as much as I enjoyed them both (or at least the former), the two original song performances of both “I Lied to You” and “Golden” could have been cut if time was that big of a concern. Nevertheless, the night was what it was, and despite some significant production hiccups along the way, a healthy crop of nominees ultimately led to a solid slate of winners for the cinematic year, a full list of which can be found down below. Now, it’s time to start prepping the nomination predictions for 2027! Let’s go Dune: Part Three!  BEST PICTURE The Nominees:
BEST DIRECTOR The Nominees:
BEST ACTRESS The Nominees:
BEST ACTOR The Nominees:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS The Nominees:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR The Nominees:
BEST CASTING The Nominees:
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE The Nominees:
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM The Nominees:
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE The Nominees:
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY The Nominees:
BEST FILM EDITING The Nominees:
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN The Nominees:
BEST COSTUME DESIGN The Nominees:
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING The Nominees:
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE The Nominees:
BEST ORIGINAL SONG The Nominees:
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Nominees:
BEST ORIGNAL SCREENPLAY The Nominees:
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS The Nominees:
BEST SOUND The Nominees:
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT The Nominees:
BEST ANIMATED SHORT The Nominees:
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT The Nominees:
What did you think of the Oscars this year? Any surprises you were excited about? What were your thoughts on the telecast? Let us know in the comments section below, and for all things film, keep it right here on The Friendly Film Fan. Thanks for reading!
- The Friendly Film Fan
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