One Battle After Another Sweeps the Winnings at the 98th Academy Awards

Image Courtesy of The Oscars

By Luis Zonenberg

With the 32nd Actor Awards commemorating some of the best actors a couple weeks ago, it’s time to roll up the red carpet since Oscars season has finally come to a close. On March 15th, 2026, the Oscars hosted the 98th annual Academy Awards ceremony which honors not only some of the best films from last year but also some of the incredible people currently working in the film industry. Considering how Sinners already shattered records with its 16 Oscar nominations, audiences were sure to be in for a wild ride with this particular Academy Awards ceremony. 

The ceremony opened with a hilarious cold-open in which the host, Conan O’Brien, donned his Aunt Gladys costume while being chased by a large number of kids on his way to the Oscars. Throughout this entire skit, he runs through various scenes from the nominated films such as Sinners, Marty Supreme and F1. By the time the clip show ends, O’Brien is already in the auditorium being chased down the aisles as he runs onto the stage to begin the show. This was an entertaining bit that probably promised more than it should have. 

There were many films that swept this year’s Oscars, with the biggest of the bunch clearly being Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. The film was nominated for 13 awards, ultimately receiving six in total by the end of the ceremony. It won the newest award for Best Casting as well as many of the major hitters like Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and, yes, even Best Picture. It was evident that the film was primed to sweep this year’s Oscars, considering how it dominated  much of the prior award shows leading up to this. 

Sinners followed behind One Battle After Another with four Oscar wins, including Actor for Michael B. Jordan and Best Original Screenplay for filmmaker Ryan Coogler. By far the biggest win for the film that evening was Best Cinematography being awarded to cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. Arkapaw made history as not only the first woman but also the first person of color to ever receive the award! This marked an incredible achievement in the film industry, with Sinners only cementing its mark on the film industry as a whole. 

Following behind Sinners with the third most wins was Del Toro’s Frankenstein, which brought home three Academy Awards that night. The film was nominated for nine total, taking home a third of them which included Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It was certainly a shame that Jacob Elordi lost the win for Best Supporting Actor, especially considering that he received the Critic’s Choice Award for it a couple months back.

Unlike past Academy Award shows, this year they only showcased two of the five songs nominated for Best Original Song in order to cut down on timing. The first song played was “I Lied to You” from Sinners, which was played for the most part by actor Miles Caton. Caton was later joined by other singers like Misty Copeland, Buddy Guy, Li Jun Li and Shaboozey as the song progressed. The last song they played was “Golden” from kPop Demon Hunters which was performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami: the singing voices behind HUNTR/X in the film. 

kPop Demon Hunters would go on to secure both of its Oscar nominations, one for Best Original Song and the other for Best Animated Feature. While those were very well deserved, there were certainly others that got snubbed big-time! The biggest would be F1 and Sinners losing Best Editing, which went to One Battle After Another. Considering how the editing formed such a large junk of both Sinners and F1’s identities, it felt like such a disappointment seeing the award go to the film with arguably the weakest editing of the bunch. 

There were certainly many surprises and laughs to be had at this latest Academy Awards show, with Conan O’Brien closing the show with a pre-recorded skit that jokingly stated that he achieved the rare honor of being the Oscars Host for Life! While this served as a nice jab at the ending of One Battle After Another, it did feel odd to poke fun at it considering it swept all the biggest awards that night. With 2026 already kicking into high gear, it will be interesting to see which films from this year will be nominated for Best Picture at the next Academy Awards show. 

You can now watch the biggest highlights from the event on the Official Oscars YouTube Channel.