The 2026 Oscars came and went with minimal fanfare. For the most part, the Oscars were predictable. This year, all Oscars voters were required to watch the entirety of each film in a category, or they forfeit their voting rights for that category. With the Oscars increasingly getting more and more criticism for being insular and not reflecting the views of the public, the voting policy change was made in an effort to do just that. The viewership declined nine percent from last year with a total of 17.9 million viewers, perhaps due to a conflict with the semifinal game of the World Baseball Classic after shifting the date to avoid conflict with the Winter Olympics.
“One Battle After Another” took home the most awards of the night with six, including Best Picture (Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn), Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Film Editing (Andy Jurgensen) and Best Casting (Cassandra Kulukundis).
This year, the Academy introduced a new award for “Best Casting.” While some critics have called their casting uninspired after the award was given out, in the inaugural year, no one really knew what to expect. Sean Penn remained absent from the award show to spend time on the ground in Ukraine, echoing his absence from the BAFTAs and SAG Awards. Director Paul Thomas Anderson won his first three Oscars after 14 nominations spanning back to 1998. “One Battle After Another” has had awards buzz throughout the season, and while not the exact audience favorite, its sweep is not entirely unexpected.
“Sinners” set the record for most Oscar nominations by a single film with 16 nods across a wide range of categories. “Sinners” took home the Oscars for Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw) and Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson). The win for Michael B. Jordan marks his first nomination and first win at the Academy Awards. Ryan Coogler also won his first Oscar and is the second Black man to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay after Jordan Peele’s win for “Get Out” in 2018. The award for Best Original Score to Ludwig Göransson was well deserved, but did seem like a consolation prize after losing with “I Lied to You” for Best Original Song to “Golden.” Any other year would have been a definite win for the song. Göransson’s win here marks his third win for Best Original Score, a category he has never lost.
In the only shocking upset of the night, “Marty Supreme” took home no academy awards. Even after an expansive Oscar marketing scheme including songs, the color orange and odd product placement, it wasn’t enough. For those leaping to blame Timothée Chalamet’s comments about opera and ballet, voting closed before. Have no fear, the moment did not go undiscussed at the ceremony. The “Sinner”’s cast brought out retired ballerina Misty Copeland for their performance of “I Lied to You,” and host Conan O’Brien peppered in jabs. The Oscar-bait of an unlikeable extraordinary man simply did not work in the creative team’s favor.
“Frankenstein” (2025) received nine nominations, but was not the favorite for many categories aside from the visuals. They received the awards for Best Costume Design (Kate Hawley), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey) and Best Production Design (Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau). This was well deserved from the immense detail that was used to construct the many unique costumes, as well as the intricacy of the set design.
Of all of the expected wins, “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” won Best Original Song (EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu-Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Teddy Park) as well as Best Animated Feature Film (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Michelle L.M. Wong), beating out major Pixar and Disney projects. Midway through their acceptance speech, the cast was stopped from finishing their speeches with music and a commercial break.
“One thing, as we post mortem for next year, will be to look at how we’re handling speeches,” said Executive Vice President of Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment at Walt Disney Television Rob Mills. The cast finished giving their thanks in the pressroom after the program.
“Hamnet” is what you can consider stereotypical “Oscar bait,” which refers to movies made to appeal to voters, not audiences. Critics expressed concern with the release date being later in the year and overly emotional and heavy, hitting in the sweet spot of awards season and voters’ hearts. The voters also tend to enjoy movies about artists, which Paul Mescal’s “Shakespeare” is, as they see the win as a win for their people. “Hamnet” took home one win with eight nominations, Best Actress (Jessie Buckley, the first Irish winner of the award). This race did have some contention, with Buckley and Teyana Taylor volleying favor throughout the awards season, but ultimately, Buckley won out.
The title of Best Supporting Actress went to Amy Madigan, who played Aunt Gladys in “Weapons.” The award was not without competition, as she was nominated alongside Taylor from “One Battle After Another,” Golden Globe winner Wunmi Mosaku from “Sinners”, Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas from “Sentimental Value.” This win, along with the “Sinners” nods, do show a growing recognition for horror movies in the Academy. It has been speculated that this change may be due to the voting change.
It will be interesting to see how the change to voting policy continues to impact Oscar wins going forward, but this year, it is hard to see its impacts. Next year will see interesting players such as “The Drama,” “Project Hail Mary,” “The Odyssey” and “Wuthering Heights.” Only time will tell.