Each year, Hollywood pauses to ask itself what stories mattered — and the 98th Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, answered with two films that pulled in opposite directions yet both demanded to be seen. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another claimed the evening's highest honors, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor, while Ryan Coogler's Sinners, arriving with sixteen nominations, proved that breadth of recognition can rival depth of victory. The night also marked a quiet institutional shift: the Academy formally welcomed casting into its canon of h
One Battle After Another Dominates 2026 Oscars; Sinners, Frankenstein Also Major Winners
One Battle After Another emerged as the night's largest winner
Mark
So One Battle After Another won Best Film, but Sinners came in with more nominations overall. How do you square that?
Mimi
Sinners had sixteen nominations, which is a lot of chances to win. But One Battle After Another converted its wins more decisively—it took the top prize, director, actor, and several technical awards. Sometimes the film with the most nominations doesn't win the biggest prize.
Luke
We should note that we don't have the full nomination count for One Battle After Another. We know it won more awards, but the source doesn't tell us how many nominations it actually received.
Mark
Fair point. What about this new casting award? Is that a big deal?
Mimi
It's the first year they've given it, so yes—it signals the Academy is formalizing recognition for work that's always mattered but never had its own category. Cassandra Kulukundis won it for One Battle After Another.
Luke
It's worth noting we don't know if this becomes a permanent fixture or if it was a one-time addition. The source just says it was newly added.
Mark
And Sinners still did well despite not winning Best Film?
Mimi
Very well. Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor, Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay, and it took Best Score and Best Cinematography. That's substantial recognition, even if the top prize went elsewhere.
Luke
Though we should remember Sinners came in with sixteen nominations. Winning four or five major awards is a respectable haul, but it's not a sweep of what it was nominated for.
Mark
What stands out to you about the night overall?
Mimi
That two films really dominated—one won the biggest prizes, the other won the most nominations and spread its wins across categories. It wasn't a fragmented year where ten different films each won one award.
Luke
The source doesn't give us enough context to know if that's unusual for the Academy or typical. We're seeing the results, but not how they compare to previous years.
O Pulso
- One Battle After Another swept the ceremony's most prestigious categories — Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Editing — leaving little doubt about which film the Academy considered the year's defining work.
- Sinners entered the night as the most-nominated film with sixteen nods, creating real tension over whether sheer breadth of recognition would translate into the evening's ultimate prize.
- Michael B. Jordan's Best Actor win for Sinners, alongside Ryan Coogler's Original Screenplay victory, gave the film meaningful creative validation even as the top prize slipped away.
- The Academy introduced Best Casting for the first time, with Cassandra Kulukundis winning for One Battle After Another — a structural change that expands how the institution defines cinematic achievement.
- Technical honors spread across the field: Frankenstein dominated crafts, Avatar: Fire and Ash claimed Visual Effects, and KPop Demon Hunters won both Best Animated Film and Best Original Song, reflecting a genuinely diverse year of filmmaking.
Each year, Hollywood pauses to ask itself what stories mattered — and the 98th Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, answered with two films that pulled in opposite directions yet both demanded to be seen. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another claimed the evening's highest honors, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor, while Ryan Coogler's Sinners, arriving with sixteen nominations, proved that breadth of recognition can rival depth of victory. The night also marked a quiet institutional shift: the Academy formally welcomed casting into its canon of honored crafts, acknowledging at last that the faces we see on screen are themselves a form of authorship.
The 98th Academy Awards unfolded Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with two films dividing the evening's glory between them. One Battle After Another claimed the night's most coveted prizes — Best Film, Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, and Best Actor — while Sinners, which had entered the ceremony carrying sixteen nominations, secured victories across several creative and technical categories.
Conan O'Brien hosted a ceremony that made history by introducing Best Casting as a formal Academy Award. Cassandra Kulukundis won the inaugural prize for One Battle After Another, a recognition that elevates a craft long considered foundational but never officially honored. The addition places casting alongside cinematography and editing in the Academy's permanent framework of achievement.
In the acting categories, Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners, and Jessie Buckley took Best Actress for Hamnet. Sean Penn earned Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, while Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. Paul Thomas Anderson also claimed Best Adapted Screenplay, and Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay for Sinners.
The technical awards spread widely across the year's productions. Frankenstein swept the crafts, winning Makeup and Hairstyling, Costume Design, and Production Design. Sinners secured Best Score and Best Cinematography. Avatar: Fire and Ash won Best Visual Effects, and F1 took Best Sound. In documentary, Mr Nobody Against Putin won Best Feature and All the Empty Rooms took Best Short. The international award went to Sentimental Value, and KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Film, with its song Golden also claiming Best Original Song.
The 98th Academy Awards unfolded Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, delivering a ceremony that crowned two films as the evening's dominant forces. One Battle After Another emerged as the night's largest winner, claiming the Best Film prize along with Best Director and Best Actor honors, while Sinners, which arrived at the ceremony with sixteen nominations—the most of any contender—secured victories across multiple technical and creative categories.
Conan O'Brien returned as host for a ceremony that expanded its scope by introducing a new award: Best Casting. Cassandra Kulukundis won the inaugural honor for her work on One Battle After Another, marking the Academy's formal recognition of a craft that has long shaped the films it celebrates. The addition signals a shift in how the institution measures achievement, bringing casting decisions into the same formal framework as cinematography, editing, and sound design.
Michael B. Jordan took home Best Actor for his performance in Sinners, while Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet. Sean Penn claimed Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, and Amy Madigan earned Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. Paul Thomas Anderson won both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, both for One Battle After Another, cementing the film's position as the evening's most honored work. Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay for Sinners.
The technical categories reflected the year's filmmaking achievements across multiple productions. Frankenstein dominated the crafts, winning Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. Sinners secured Best Score and Best Cinematography. One Battle After Another won Best Editing. Avatar: Fire and Ash took Best Visual Effects, while F1 won Best Sound. The live-action short film category saw The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva emerge victorious, with the Academy noting that seven films shared wins in this category.
In the documentary categories, Mr Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature Film, while All the Empty Rooms took Best Documentary Short. The international feature film award went to Sentimental Value. KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Film, with The Girl Who Cried Pearls taking Best Animated Short Film. Golden, from KPop Demon Hunters, won Best Original Song.
The nominations had been announced on January 22, 2025, with Sinners leading the field by a substantial margin. The ceremony, which began with its red carpet preshow at 3:30 AM IST on Monday, March 16 for Indian viewers, was streamed online through JioHotstar, extending the reach of Hollywood's annual reckoning with its own year of work.
Citações Notáveis
The Academy introduced a new award for Best Casting, recognizing work that has long shaped the films it celebrates— Academy Awards 2026 ceremony
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