Ashhar Alam/New Delhi
The 98th Academy Awards, held on March 15, 2026, delivered a night full of triumphs, shocks, and history-making firsts, as a handful of films dominated the evening while several expected winners were left empty-handed.
Topping the scoreboard was ‘One Battle After Another’, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which won six Academy Awards, cementing its status as the night’s biggest victor. Ryan Coogler’s critically acclaimed drama ‘Sinners’ followed closely with four wins, adding to a ceremony notable for its historic and unexpected moments.
Among the evening’s milestones, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history by becoming the first woman ever to win Best Cinematography, earning acclaim for her work on Sinners and breaking a long-standing gender barrier in the category.
The ceremony also featured one of the rarest outcomes in Oscars history: a tie in the Best Live Action Short Film category, with The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva sharing the award. It was only the seventh tie in nearly 100 years of the Academy Awards.
Another landmark came with the inaugural award for Casting, which went to Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another, defeating frontrunner Francine Maisler for Sinners. The new category highlights the growing recognition of casting’s creative impact on a film’s success.
Genre-bending achievements were also celebrated. Veteran actress Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the horror film Weapons, marking a rare victory for a genre often overlooked by the Academy.
In a major upset in the Best Documentary Feature category, Mr. Nobody Against Putin triumphed over the highly anticipated The Perfect Neighbor.
While some films made headlines with historic wins, others faced disappointments. Timothée Chalamet’s ‘Marty Supreme’, despite nine nominations and awards-season momentum, failed to secure a single Oscar. Chalamet also lost Best Actor to Michael B. Jordan for Sinners. Similarly, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s ‘The Secret Agent’, along with nominees Bugonia and Train Dreams, left the ceremony without awards, even after multiple nominations.
READ MORE: An officer can't afford to go wrong, says top cop Ajeetha Begum
Director Guillermo del Toro earned three technical awards for Frankenstein, but missed out on Best Director, while high-profile absences like Ariana Grande and Wicked: For Good drew attention, given the franchise’s 10 nominations the previous year.
From historic firsts and rare ties to unexpected victories and shocking snubs, the 2026 Oscars delivered a ceremony full of surprises, redefining expectations and creating moments to remember in Academy history.
