*The 98th Academy Awards, held March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, delivered a historic night for Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler as their Southern Gothic musical horror film “Sinners” broke records and brought home four Oscars.
The film entered the night with an unprecedented 16 nominations, the most in Academy Awards history. While Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another ultimately claimed Best Picture and Best Director, Sinners secured victories in some of the most coveted categories of the evening.
Michael B. Jordan Wins Best Actor
Michael B. Jordan won his first-ever Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual performance as identical twins Smoke and Stack in “Sinners.” The win marks a significant milestone in the actor’s career and places him among an elite group of Black performers honored by the Academy.
Accepting the award to a thunderous standing ovation, Jordan delivered an emotional speech that paid tribute to the Black icons who paved the way for his success.
“I stand here because of the people that came before me—Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Forest Whitaker, Jamie Foxx, and Will Smith,” Jordan said from the stage. “To be amongst those giants, those greats, amongst my ancestors… Thank you for betting on me.”
Scroll to continue reading
The win solidifies Jordan’s place in Hollywood history and represents a career-defining moment for the actor who has consistently pushed boundaries in his film choices.
Ryan Coogler Takes Best Original Screenplay
Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler also secured his first Oscar, winning Best Original Screenplay for Sinners, which he co-wrote with his wife Zinzi Coogler. The win recognizes the film’s innovative blend of Southern Gothic aesthetics, musical elements, and horror tropes into a singular vision.
While Sinners led all films with its record-breaking 16 nominations, its path to victory in the top categories was blocked by “One Battle After Another,” which took both Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Nonetheless, Coogler’s screenwriting win represents a major achievement for the filmmaker who has been nominated multiple times throughout his career.
Major Category Winners
As noted, the night’s biggest winner was “One Battle After Another,” which claimed Best Picture and earned Paul Thomas Anderson his first Best Director Oscar after years of nominations. Sean Penn also won Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film.
Jessie Buckley took home Best Actress for her performance in “Hamnet,” while Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for “Weapons.”
In the animated categories, “KPop Demon Hunters” had a strong showing, winning both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Golden.” Maggie Kang and Michelle Wong made history as the first female Asian winners for Best Animated Feature.
Best Documentary went to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” while Norway’s “Sentimental Valu”e won Best International Film.
https://youtu.be/4dWV3LBEcEk
Historic Wins in Craft Categories
Beyond the major awards, the 98th Oscars featured several groundbreaking moments in the technical categories. Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman ever to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography for her stunning work on “Sinners,” a historic achievement in a category long dominated by men.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein dominated the technical categories, sweeping Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup & Hairstyling.
A Night of Firsts
The 2026 Oscars will be remembered as a night of historic firsts and barrier-breaking achievements. From Jordan’s emotional tribute to his predecessors to Arkapaw’s groundbreaking cinematography win and the recognition of female Asian filmmakers in the animated category, the ceremony reflected an industry slowly but surely expanding its definition of excellence.
For Jordan and Coogler, the night represented the culmination of years of collaboration and creative risk-taking. Their partnership, which began with Fruitvale Station and continued through the Creed films and Black Panther, has now earned Hollywood’s highest honors—proving that betting on diverse stories and voices pays off in ways the industry is only beginning to understand.
Here’s the full list of winners:
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another – WINNER
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners – WINNER
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet – WINNER
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another – WINNER
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons – WINNER
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Best Director
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another – WINNER
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Best Original Screenplay
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners – WINNER
Best Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another – WINNER
Train Dreams
Best Animated Feature Film
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters – WINNER
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best International Feature Film
The Secret Agent – Brazil
It Was Just an Accident – France
Sentimental Value – Norway – WINNER
Sirât – Spain
The Voice of Hind Rajab – Tunisia
Best Casting
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another – WINNER
The Secret Agent
Sinners
Best Cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners – WINNER
Train Dreams
Best Production Design
Frankenstein – WINNER
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best Editing
F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another – WINNER
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best Original Score
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners – WINNER
Best Original Song
“Dear Me” – Diane Warren: Relentless
“Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters – WINNER
“I Lied to You” – Sinners
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” – Viva Verdi!
“Train Dreams” – Train Dreams
Best Sound
F1 – WINNER
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirât
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash – WINNER
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein – WINNER
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Best Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein – WINNER
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Best Animated Short Film
Butterfly
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls – WINNER
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters
Best Live-Action Short Film
Butcher’s Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
The Singers – WINNER (TIE)
Two People Exchanging Saliva – WINNER (TIE)
Best Documentary Feature Film
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
Mr. Nobody Against Putin – WINNER
The Perfect Neighbor
Best Documentary Short
All the Empty Rooms – WINNER
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
The Devil Is Busy
Perfectly a Strangeness
(If You Like/Appreciate This EURweb Story, Please SHARE it!)
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Chaos at the Oscars: Final Predictions for a Truly Unpredictable Night | WATCH
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE
