It was a night of triumph for One Battle After Another, which picked up six prizes at the Academy Awards, including the coveted statuette for Best Picture.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s big-budget caper edged out vampire horror Sinners, which had entered the night as the most nominated film with 16 nods. The film’s star Michael B Jordan did, however, clinch Best Actor, leaving Marty Supreme and Timothée Chalamet’s ping-pong prodigy empty-handed.
Meanwhile, Irish actor and favourite to win Jessie Buckley took home Best Actress for her searing performance in Hamnet.
It was an evening of emotional highs and lows with host Conan O’Brien praised for his “hilarious” opening monologue, in which he lightly jibed Chalamet over the actor’s controversial comments about the declining audiences of ballet and opera.
Elsewhere, Billy Crystal and Rachel McAdams presented one of the most moving In Memoriam segments in the ceremony’s history, honouring stars such as Catherine O’Hara, Diane Keaton, and Robert Redford. Excluded from the section, however, were notable names including Eric Dane and Brigitte Bardot.
Follow below for the latest from the 98th Academy Awards, and reactions below.
Key Points
- Why One Battle After Another was the right choice
- Brigitte Bardot and Eric Dane among stars excluded from In Memoriam segment
- Autumn Durald Arkapaw makes history
- Barbra Streisand remembers Robert Redford
Time to face the (opera) music
10:50 , Annabel NugentICYMI: Timothée Chalamet was forced to reckon with his recent controversial comments that “no one cares” about the opera or ballet.
Host Conan O’Brien called out the Marty Supreme actor during his opening monologue, with the camera catching Chalamet’s good-humoured reaction as he laughed alongside his girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
In all seriousness, though, that faux pas surely couldn’t have helped his chances last night...
Swedish film legend Stellan Skarsgård isn’t going to let a little thing like losing an Oscar ruin his night.
He is, and I quote, feeling “terrific” after the ceremony – we’d expect nothing less. Icon behaviour, truly.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to attend the Oscars afterparty?
The Independent’s Olivia Petter doesn’t have to wonder anymore after she scored an invite back in 2024. Queuing alongside Emily Blunt, Usher, Jennifer Lawrence, Sydney Sweeney and Kim Kardashian, Olivia had a wild and memorable night partying with Hollywood’s brightest stars. Me? Jealous? Never!
It has been a long and hard night for our reporter Caitlin who was on the ground and reporting live from the ceremony last night. It’s 3am there – and she’s still working!
So here, a little sign off from Caitlin in LA: “Nearly eight hours after arriving at LACMA for the Vanity Fair Oscar party, the last celebrities have walked the carpet.
“Despite many of the nominees expressing their exhaustion, it was a joyful and celebratory evening – punctuated by the smiles on the faces of those lucky enough to be going home with their very own little gold man.”
And the Oscar goes to...
10:10 , Annabel Nugent... The Independent’s very own Caitlin Hornik!
Not really, but Gareth John – who won an Oscar as part of the sound team for Brad Pitt’s fast and furious F1 film – was kind enough to let her take it for a spin.
Caitlin’s takeaway? It’s heavier than you think!
All pong and no ping?
10:00 , Annabel NugentLikewise, our Deputy Culture Editor Ellie Harrison was left disappointed (but unsurprised) by the turn out for Marty Supreme, which picked up a grand total of zero prizes despite its nine nominations.
According to Ellie, there’s only one person to blame...
“Marty Supreme is a film all about one man’s obsession with winning. How apt, then, that Timothée Chalamet’s campaign to win the Oscar for playing that very man was so OTT and so overconfident that, in the end, he actually lost,” said Ellie.
“In fact, Josh Safdie's table-tennis film went home completely empty-handed.
“It’s a shame that Chalamet’s supremely irritating real-life behaviour – from calling his own performance “top-level s***” to offending all the world’s ballet dancers – screwed up the campaign for what was, in my eyes, the most fun and exhilarating film of the year.”
'The most magical win of the night'
09:50 , Annabel NugentLess enthusiastic about how things unfolded is our Culture Editor Jessie Thompson who had wanted Hamnet take home Best Picture instead.
Thankfully, though, Chloe Zhao’s quietly devastating drama did earn Jessie Buckley Best Actress.
Here’s what out Culture Editor had to say about that: “I’m over the moon that Jessie Buckley picked up the Best Actress prize for her performance in Hamnet (unbelievably the first time an Irish actress has done so). Her speech, where she paid tribute to ‘the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart’ the day after Mother’s Day in the UK, had me in bits as I walked to the train station this morning.
“Buckley has an eight month old so quite frankly it’s amazing she was able to juggle an Oscar campaign at all, and boy is she going to have some stories to tell her little girl when she’s older. As I wrote when I made the case for Hamnet to win best picture, stories about motherhood so often get confined to boxes where they are seen as small and domestic. Not this time. The most magical win of the night.”
Personally, I couldn’t be happier with how Best Picture panned out last night. In the weeks leading up to the Oscars, my colleagues and I went to bat for our respective favourites.
I, myself, had the thankless task of advocating for the “boring” bookies bet with One Battle After Another – but for once, they had it right.
One Battle After Another was the correct Best Picture winner
For some, the Oscars are as much about fashion as they are about film and this year’s red carpet had no shortage of show-stopping (or head-scratching?) looks.
Here’s our top picks of the night’s most “daring” outfits – interpret that as you will...
Oscars 2026: The most questionable celebrity looks on the red carpet
And the Oscar goes to...
09:26 , Annabel NugentIn the never-ending battle of film studio versus streamer, it was Warner Brothers who came out on top this year.
The legendary film studio took home the most statuettes at the 98th Academy Awards, pulling in a total of 11 Oscars – six for One Battle After Another, four for Sinners, and one for Weapons.
Netflix was nipping at their heels, though, with a total of seven wins, while Disney, Apple and Focus Features (which is owned by Universal) joined Neon in going home with one award. Paramount had no nominations.
Bridemaids star explains her absence from the reunion
09:05 , Annabel NugentIt was a ceremony of heartfelt reunions last night, with Moulin Rouge stars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman coming together after 25 years to present the award for Best Picture.
Elsewhere, the cast of Bridesmaids also reconnected – though there was one face notably missing from the line-up. Wendy McClendon-Covey, who played Rita in the 2011 comedy film, was absent – and quick to stamp out any rumours of “drama” with a swift post on Instagram explaining that a recent neck lift was to blame.
“I’m tired of looking like a melted candle,” the actor joked, alongside a photograph of herself in recovery.
Given how casting can make or break a film, it’s a wonder that casting directors have gone unrecognised by the Academy all these years.
Last night’s ceremony sought to redress that with the introduction of a prize for casting. Paul Mescal, Chase Infiniti, Gwyneth Paltrow, Wagner Moura, and Delroy Lindo took the stage to pay tribute to their respective casting directors, including Catherine Shoard who later won the inaugural award for her work on One Battle After Another. Better late than never, I suppose!
On stage Shoard thanked Anderson, who she began working with in 1999 on Magnolia. She has cast almost all of his films since then.
“I just thank you for 10 movies,” she said. “We’ve done this for over 30 years. We grew up together, I guess, and this is freaking insane, and I have one before you, which is also crazy.”
Shonda Rhimes defends the Oscars over exclusion of Eric Dane from In Memoriam segment
08:23 , Annabel NugentOne person to have responded to the absence of certain celebrities in last night’s In Memoriam segment is powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes.
The creator of Grey’s Anatomy offered some insight into why the late actor Eric Dane – who rose to fame playing Dr Mark Sloan on her hit medical soap – was left out of the evening’s proceedings, explaining that “he’s not a movie star”.
“And when the Emmys come around, he will be immortalised the way he should be,” Rhimes told Entertainment Tonight. “You can’t fault the Oscars for the fact they were looking at movies and there were so many people who were lost but Eric was unique to television. And I can’t see what they do with him.”
Shonda Rhimes is still in disbelief over Eric Dane's passing, sharing it was a "huge loss" for the Shondaland family. The 'Grey's Anatomy' creator also reacts to the #Oscars leaving Eric out of their In Memoriam segment. pic.twitter.com/YKZky6wUbA
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 16, 2026
While the In Memoriam segment was praised by teary-eyed viewers for its emotional resonance, others were quick to point out that the section, which ran long at 15 minutes, had still omitted notable names such as Brigette Bardot, Eric Dane, James Van Der Beek, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Bud Cort, and Imax pioneer David Keighley.
The absence of Bardot may be explained by the French icon’s embracing of far-right politics in her lifetime. Her inclusion at the César awards’ tribute last month was met with boos and spectators shouting “racist” – which could have prompted her exclusion from last night’s Oscars.
Barbra Streisand pays tribute to Robert Redford
08:08 , Annabel NugentAnd if you missed it last night, it’s certainly worth watching the Oscars’ in memoriam section, which concluded with a surprise appearance by Barbra Streisand to honour her late The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford.
“He was a brilliant, subtle actor, and we had a wonderful time playing off each other because we never quite knew what the other one was going to do in the scene. And I’m thrilled The Way We Were is considered a classic love story,” the Broadway legend said.
“Now Bob had real backbone on and off the screen. He spoke up to defend freedom of the press, protect the environment, and encouraged new voices at his Sundance Institute.”
“He was thoughtful and bold. I called him an intellectual cowboy, who blazed his own trail, and won the Academy Award for Best Director,” Streisand added, before launching into a heartwarming performance of the 1973 film’s title track.
Good morning and welcome!
07:59 , Annabel NugentIf you aren’t one of the few British film fanatics to have stayed up overnight to watch the Academy Awards unfold in real time, we’ve got you covered so you can catch up with everything that happened on the biggest night in Hollywood.
Where better to start than a full list of winners (spoiler alert: One Battle After Another cleaned up)...
Oscars criticized for cutting presenters off
07:01 , Carsen HoladayViewers are calling out the Oscars for cutting off award winners during their speeches, but making time for comedic bits and performances.
oooo the academy you are nasty spirited and evil for playing off that man who had a SPEECH IN HAND #oscars
— trin (@lovelltrin) March 16, 2026
Hey Oscars producers, if you have time for a lengthy Bridesmaids bit and dumb filler presenter intros, you have time to let the winners give their thanks. It’s the best part of the show. Cutting off the mic after one person speaks (esp that Golden speech) is so, so cold. #oscars
— Jada Yuan (@jadabird) March 16, 2026
There was a tie!
06:33 , Carsen HoladayThe 2026 Oscars were nearly thrown into chaos when presenter Kumail Nanjiani announced the rare occurrence of a tie.
During Sunday’s ceremony, hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien for the second consecutive year, the Eternals actor had the privilege of presenting the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
After opening the winner card, Nanjiani revealed, “It’s a tie! I’m not joking! It’s actually a tie. Everyone, calm down, we’re gonna get through this.”
This is the seventh ever tie in the history of the Oscars.
Read more here:
2026 Oscar nominees left baffled as rare tied winners announced
Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at Trump and Melania documentary
06:01 , Carsen HoladayWatch Jimmy Kimmel poke fun at Donald Trump during his brief appearance at the 98th Academy Awards:
Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor reunite
05:30 , Carsen HoladayMoulin Rouge! co-stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor reunited to present the final award of the night: best picture to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...
02:36 , Carsen HoladayONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER has won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw reflects on her historic best cinematography win
02:25 , Kevin EG PerryAutumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman ever to win the Oscar for best cinematography, receives a standing ovation when she arrives in the press room backstage.
She says she didn’t get the chance to say everything she wanted to from the stage, especially that: “A lot of little girls who look like me will sleep really well tonight because they want to be cinematographers. Just getting this award, so many girls will be inspired when they weren’t before.”
She also shouts out Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O, adding: “I heard Karen O say once at concert, she’s such a badass, you have to see you to be you. Ryan gives us, the women on the film, those opportunities. He trusts us. He’s opened those doors. I knew if this was going to happen it would happen with someone like him.”
Michael B. Jordan wins!
02:23 , Carsen HoladayMichael B. Jordan has won the Academy Award for best actor for his performance in Sinners as twins Smoke and Stack.
This was Jordan’s first ever Oscars nomination.
“Keep betting on me,” he said during his speech.
Best director announced
02:17 , Carsen HoladayZendaya and Robert Pattinson presented the award for best director to...Paul Thomas Anderson!
This is Anderson’s second Oscar of the night and his second Oscar ever.
'KPop Demon Hunters' gets played off
02:13 , Carsen Holaday“Golden” won the Oscar for best original song.
However, when the KPop Demon Hunters team got up to accept the award, the musicians were loudly played off the stage.
It is 12 minutes after the show was supposed to end — and we still have four more categories to get through.
Best international film goes to...
02:05 , Carsen HoladaySentimental Value has won the Oscar for best international feature film.
It beat out The Secret Agent, It Was Just an Accident, Sirat and The Voice of Hind Rajab for the win.
Sentimental Value is also still up for best picture, best directing and best lead actress tonight.
Looking back at the emotional In Memoriam segment
01:58 , Carsen HoladayThe Oscars put on one of the most moving In Memoriam segments in its history to honor the numerous Hollywood heavyweights lost over the past year.
When Harry Met Sally star Billy Crystal opened the emotional segment with a special tribute to beloved director Rob Reiner, who was found stabbed to death along with his wife Michele Singer Reiner in their Los Angeles home in December 2025.
Crystal shared a heartfelt message about the filmmaker. “My friend Rob Reiner’s films will last for a lifetime,” he said. “All we can say is, buddy, what fun we had storming the castle.”
Read more here:
Billy Crystal and Rachel McAdams deliver devastating In Memoriam segment at Oscars
Autumn Durald Arkapaw makes history
01:54 , Carsen HoladaySinners has won the Oscar for best cinematography!
Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman to ever win this award — and the first woman of color nominated in this category.
She asked the women in the room to stand up for a round of applause.
'One Battle After Another' wins best editing
01:48 , Carsen HoladayAndy Jurgensen has won the Oscar for best editing for his work on One Battle After Another.
Jurgensen dedicated the award to his aunt, Barbara Hall, who worked as a film archivist for The Academy for 25 years.
'Sinners' wins best score
01:35 , Carsen HoladayLudwig Göransson has won the Oscar for best original score for his work on Ryan Coogler’s Sinners.
“Ryan thank you for your vision and for making a movie that resonated with the whole world,” Göransson said onstage.
He has previously won for Black Panther, another collaboration with Coogler, and Oppenheimer at the 2023 awards.
'Bridesmaids' reunion takes the stage
01:32 , Carsen HoladayMelissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ellie Kemper are reuniting onstage 15 years after Bridesmaids.
In 2011, the iconic comedy earned nominations for best supporting actress for Melissa McCarthy and best original screenplay for Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig.
Director Paul Feig previously said that actor Wendi McLendon-Covey was missing the reunion due to scheduling conflict.
Jimmy Kimmel presents documentary awards
01:19 , Carsen HoladayJimmy Kimmel replaced Conan O’Brien for a moment and made a joke about government censorship while presenting the Academy Awards for documentaries.
“Oh man is he going to be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” Kimmel said, making a reference to Melania Trump’s documentary.
All The Empty Rooms has won the Oscar for best documentary short film.
The award for best documentary feature film went to Mr. Nobody against Putin.
'The Singers' producer says he wishes there could have been a 'five-way tie'
01:14 , Kevin EG PerryAsked how it felt to hear that there had been a tie in the Best Live Action Short category, The Singers producer Jack Piatt said: "For me, that was incredible. We’ve got to know all the other filmmakers, so that was really special.
“I wish there could be a five way tie, to be honest,” Piatt said.
Alexandre Singh, whose film Two People Exchanging Saliva shared the Oscar, added: “We’re Oscars geeks, so we had discussed that this could happen but hadn’t imagined it actually would.”
'Avatar' wins best visual effects
01:13 , Carsen HoladaySigourney Weaver was visibly emotional to announce that Avatar: Fire and Ash won the Oscar for best visual effects.
Best production design goes to...
01:09 , Carsen HoladayFrankenstein has won the Oscar for best production design.
This is Frankenstein’s third win of the night after landing makeup and hairstyling as well as costume design.
Barbra Streisand remembers Robert Redford
00:58 , Carsen HoladayBarbra Streisand took to the stage to pay tribute to her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford during the in memoriam segment.
“He was thoughtful and bold. I called him an intellectual cowboy, who blazed his own trail,” she said. “And I miss him now more than ever.”
She concluded her tribute by singing “The Way We Were.”
In memoriam segment honors Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton
00:52 , Carsen HoladayAhead of the in memoriam segment, Billy Crystal gave a heartfelt tribute to late director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner.
“Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle,” he concluded.
His When Harry Met Sally co-star Meg Ryan joined him on stage, along with Stand By Me stars Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton and A Few Good Men actor Demi Moore.
The emotional score for The Princess Bride played in the background of the in memoriam segment, which honored Catherine O’Hara and Diane Ladd.
Rachel McAdams later took to the stage to honor Diane Keaton, who played her mother in The Family Stone.
'Sinners' wins best original screenplay
00:38 , Carsen HoladayRyan Coogler has won the Oscar for best original screenplay for Sinners.
This is Sinners’ first win of the night.
'One Battle After Another' wins best adapted screenplay
00:35 , Carsen HoladayPaul Thomas Anderson has won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for One Battle After Another.
The director thanked his wife, Maya Rudolph, and said, “I wrote this movie to my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess in this world that we’re handing off to them.”
This is Anderson’s first Oscar win.
Seventh tie in Oscars history sparks media scrum
00:30 , Kevin EG PerryHere in the Oscars press room, there's a designated Academy Awards librarian on hand to answer questions about the history of the awards - and Kumail Nanjiani just sparked a full-on scrum at the table after announcing a tie in the Best Live Action Short category.
For the record, there have been six previous ties in Oscar history: Best Actor in 1932, Best Documentary Short in 1950, most famously Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand for Best Actress in 1969, Best Documentary Feature in 1987, Best Live-Action Short Film in 1995 and Sound Editing in 2013.
'KPop Demon Hunters' director says she's loved K-pop since the '90s
00:29 , Kevin EG PerryKPop Demon Hunters directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans are taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and Kang told press that the award comes after years of loving the genre.
“I mean, I've been a fan of K-Pop music since the '90s when it was first created, really,” she said. “That's where my love started, so for it to be loved by audiences globally just means so much to me, and I was just a really, real honor for me to be able to feature all aspects of my culture that I love, and for it to be accepted and loved locally by other cultures is just so meaningful.
“I just hope to see more films, especially in animation, that focus on different cultures.”
Best supporting actor is MIA
00:27 , Carsen HoladaySean Penn won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in One Battle After Another — but he was not there to accept the award.
Penn has been open about his disdain for the Academy Awards in the past, and gave one of his Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “symbol of faith” in 2022.
First-ever casting award
00:03 , Carsen HoladayTo celebrate the first-ever Oscar for casting, stars Paul Mescal, Chase Infiniti, Gwyneth Paltrow, Wagner Moura and Delroy Lindo took the stage to pay tribute to their casting directors.
Hamnet, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent and Sinners are all up for the historic award.
'Sinners' brings the house down
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:49 , Carsen HoladayA performance honoring Sinners, the most nominated film in Oscars history, just brought the house down at the Academy Awards.
The movie’s star Miles Caton took the stage alongside singers Shaboozey and Brittany Howard to perform “I Lied To You,” which is nominated for best original song tonight.
Also during the tribute, ballerina Misty Copeland danced and blues superstar Raphael Saadiq played the guitar.
Follow along with the winners here
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:41 , Carsen HoladayNow that we’re already through three awards, be sure to follow along with our full list of winners, which will be updated throughout the night.
Best Animated Short goes to...
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:37 , Carsen HoladayThe Girl Who Cried Pearls has won the Oscar for best animated short.
While presenting the award, Will Arnett said, “Animation is more than a prompt, it’s an art form and it needs to be protected.”
'KPop Demon Hunters' wins
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:34 , Carsen HoladayKPop Demon Hunters has won the Oscar for Animated Feature Film.
“This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere,” director Maggie Kang said through tears on stage.
First award of the night goes to...
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:21 , Carsen HoladayZoe Saldaña, who won last year’s best supporting actress award for Emilia Perez, announced that the 2026 best actress in a supporting role is...
Amy Madigan for Weapons!
Conan O'Brien tries on Aunt Gladys
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:14 , Carsen HoladayHost Conan O’Brien kicked off Hollywood’s biggest night with a nod to Weapons — by dressing as Amy Madigan’s terrifying villain Aunt Gladys.
He joked that he borrowed the bright red wig from Madigan, who is nominated for best supporting actress tonight, and was seen laughing in the audience alongside her husband Ed Harris.
