Oscars 2026 recap: The biggest winners and best moments

Host Conan O'Brien guided viewers through the evening.

Last Updated: March 15, 2026, 10:52 PM EDT

The biggest and brightest stars from across Hollywood and the world of entertainment gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday for the 98th Academy Awards.

"One Battle After Another" won the Oscar for best picture, while Jessie Buckley and Michael B. Jordan took home the Academy Awards for leading actress and leading actor. "One Battle After Another" won six total Oscars -- including best picture -- out of 13 nominations.

Scroll below to see how the night unfolded.

Mar 15, 2026, 8:38 PM EDT

'One Battle After Another' wins for best adapted screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson won his first Academy Award with his win for best adapted screenplay for "One Battle After Another."

Paul Thomas Anderson wins the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "One Battle after Another" at the 98th Academy Awards, March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, Calif.
Mike Blake/Reuters

“I wrote this movie for my kids, to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world we're handing off to them,” he said in his acceptance speech, "but also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.”

He also gave a shoutout to his longtime partner, actress Maya Rudolph.

Anderson and Rudolph, who share four children, met at a "Saturday Night Live" after-party over 20 years ago, Rudolph told Town & Country magazine in 2024.

"He said he saw me in a sketch and said, 'That's the girl I'm going to marry,'" Rudolph said of Anderson at the time. "But I don't know. I wasn't there. Maybe he just told me that to be sweet."

Other nominees in the category were Will Tracy ("Bugonia"); Guillermo del Toro ("Frankenstein"); Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell ("Hamnet"); and Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar ("Train Dreams").

Mar 15, 2026, 8:31 PM EDT

'KPop Demon Hunters' filmmakers react to Oscar win

After their winning best animated feature for "KPop Demon Hunters," filmmakers Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle Wong reacted to their historic Oscar win while speaking to press in the Oscars press room.

Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong pose with the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film for "KPop Demon Hunters" in the Oscars photo room at the 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood, March 15, 2026.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Kang talked about her love for K-Pop music and having the genre being "beloved by audiences globally just means so much to me."

"It was a real honor to feature all aspects of my culture that I loved," she said. ""It’s just so meaningful as a Korean filmmaker. I just hope to see more films, especially in animation that focuses on different cultures. We really need that."

Read more about "KPop Demon Hunters" Oscar win here.

Mar 15, 2026, 8:24 PM EDT

Sean Penn wins Oscar for best supporting actor

Sean Penn won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in "One Battle After Another."

Penn was not in attendance to receive the award.

Other nominees in the category included Benicio del Toro ("One Battle After Another"), Jacob Elordi ("Frankenstein"), Delroy Lindo ("Sinners") and Stellan Skarsgård ("Sentimental Value").

Mar 15, 2026, 8:28 PM EDT

'The Singers,' 'Two People Exchanging Saliva' tie for best live action short film

"The Singers" and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” have tied, with both films winning the Oscar for best live action short film.

Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh accept the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for "Two People Exchanging Saliva" at the 98th Academy Awards, March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, Calif.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt win one of the Oscars for Best Live Action Short Film for "The Singers" at the 98th Academy Awards, March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, Calif.
Mike Blake/Reuters

There have been six ties in Oscars history, most recently at the 2013 ceremony when "Skyfall" and "Zero Dark Thirty" tied for sound editing.

Other nominees in the category were "Butcher's Stain," "Jane Austen's Period Drama" and "A Friend of Dorothy.”

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