Cerermony - Oscars 2026: One Battle After Another triumphs as Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley lead a powerful and unexpected winners list

By Mulder, 16 march 2026

The 2026 Academy Awards ceremony delivered one of the most talked-about line-ups of winners in recent years, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s ambitious drama One Battle After Another emerging as the clear frontrunner of the night, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Casting, confirming the filmmaker’s long-awaited coronation by the Academy after decades of critical acclaim but limited Oscar recognition. The film, produced by Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, and Paul Thomas Anderson, is adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, a project long considered impossible to bring to the screen, and its triumph feels like both a celebration of bold auteur cinema and a statement from the Academy that large-scale, politically charged storytelling still has a place at the center of Hollywood. Many observers noted that the film’s victory follows a trend seen in recent years, where the Academy increasingly rewards directors who maintain strong creative control over their projects, a path previously taken by filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Bong Joon-ho, making Paul Thomas Anderson’s sweep feel less like a surprise and more like the inevitable recognition of one of modern cinema’s most respected voices.

One of the most emotional moments of the ceremony came with the Best Actor win for Michael B. Jordan for his dual performance in Sinners, where he played Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore, a role widely praised for its intensity and emotional range, and one that critics had already described as the most demanding performance of his career even before the awards season began. The film itself, written by Ryan Coogler, also won Best Original Screenplay, confirming the director’s reputation as one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation after the success of the Black Panther films, and insiders had been hinting for weeks that the Academy was particularly impressed by the film’s balance between genre storytelling and social commentary. The Best Actress category delivered another strong and somewhat unexpected victory for Jessie Buckley for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, a role that required a deeply emotional portrayal of grief and resilience, and one that had been gaining momentum throughout the awards season thanks to strong festival reactions and critical praise for the film’s restrained but powerful direction.

Supporting categories also reflected the Academy’s appreciation for veteran performers, with Sean Penn winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, marking another major milestone in a career already filled with awards, and Amy Madigan winning Best Supporting Actress for Weapons, a performance that had quietly built strong support among industry voters thanks to its mix of humor, menace, and emotional depth. In the writing categories, the victory of Sinners for Best Original Screenplay confirmed the growing influence of Ryan Coogler as both a commercial and artistic force, while Paul Thomas Anderson’s Adapted Screenplay win further highlighted the complexity of bringing Thomas Pynchon’s work to the screen, something many analysts had previously considered nearly impossible due to the author’s dense narrative style and layered political themes.

Technical categories were dominated by a mix of prestige productions and large-scale genre films, with Frankenstein winning Best Costume Design for Kate Hawley, Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey, and Best Production Design for Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, confirming the film’s reputation as one of the most visually ambitious projects of the year. Sinners also secured Best Cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson, continuing the composer’s impressive streak after his previous Oscar-winning work, while the high-speed racing film F1 won Best Sound for Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary Rizzo, and Juan Peralta, a category where technical realism and immersive design played a decisive role according to early reports from Academy voters. The Best Visual Effects award went to Avatar: Fire and Ash, with Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett once again pushing the boundaries of digital filmmaking, reinforcing the franchise’s reputation as the gold standard for visual innovation.

Animation and international cinema also had strong representation this year, with KPop Demon Hunters, directed by Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong, winning Best Animated Feature, while the song “Golden,” written by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, Teddy, and Ian Eisendrath, also took Best Original Song, marking one of the rare occasions where an animated film wins in multiple categories. Norway’s Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier, won Best International Feature Film, continuing the director’s rise on the global stage after several critically acclaimed festival entries in recent years, while the documentary category saw Mr. Nobody Against Putin win Best Documentary Feature, a politically charged film that had already attracted attention for its subject matter long before the ceremony. In the short film categories, All the Empty Rooms by Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones, The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, and The Singers by Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt, alongside Two People Exchanging Saliva by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata, completed a winners list that many critics described as one of the most eclectic in recent Oscar history, reflecting an Academy that continues to evolve while still honoring the tradition of ambitious filmmaking, powerful performances, and technical excellence that define the ceremony year after year.

Best Picture
One Battle After Another – Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, and Paul Thomas Anderson, producers

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

Best Actor
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners as Elijah "Smoke" Moore / Elias "Stack" Moore

Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet as Agnes Shakespeare

Best Supporting Actor
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Madigan – Weapons as Aunt Gladys

Best Original Screenplay
Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Best Adapted Screenplay
One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson; based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon

Best Animated Feature
KPop Demon Hunters – Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong

Best International Feature Film
Sentimental Value (Norway) in Norwegian and English – directed by Joachim Trier

Best Documentary Feature Film
Mr. Nobody Against Putin – Nominees to be determined

Best Documentary Short Film
All the Empty Rooms – Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Best Animated Short Film
The Girl Who Cried Pearls – Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Best Live Action Short Film
The Singers – Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt
Two People Exchanging Saliva – Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Best Casting
One Battle After Another – Cassandra Kulukundis

Best Cinematography
Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Best Costume Design
Frankenstein – Kate Hawley

Best Film Editing
One Battle After Another – Andy Jurgensen

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Best Production Design
Frankenstein – Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

Best Original Score
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson

Best Original Song
Golden from KPop Demon Hunters – Music and lyrics by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, Teddy, Ian Eisendrath

Best Sound
F1 – Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett