Oscars 2026 Shockers: The Winners and Jaw-Dropping Moments You Didn’t See Coming—Unlock the Insider Scoop Now!
Oscar night—it’s that wild, magical moment when glitz meets grit, and every eye in Hollywood is glued to who takes home the golden statuette. But have you ever stopped to wonder: what’s really happening backstage while the spotlight’s on? Between moments of pure joy and the suspense that tightens the air, the Oscars unfold stories far beyond just the winners. This year, as the 98th Academy Awards played out live, I found myself swept up not just in the awards themselves, but in the thrills, the surprises, and the heartbeats behind the scenes. From locked doors guarded against vampires to a few quiet beers shared in camaraderie, and “top-level shit” performances that even Timothée Chalamet can’t get over—this ceremony was brimming with all the electrifying highs and emotional depth that make the Oscars unforgettable. So, let’s dive into how Hollywood celebrated its finest, and why sometimes the real magic is the stories we don’t hear onstage. LEARN MORE
16 min readOscar time, baby! Time to make sure the door is locked against vampires, crack a few small beers, and see how Hollywood chose to honor some “top-level shit” (as Mr. Chalamet likes to call it.)
On Sunday night, I followed along as the 98th Academy Awards unfolded in real time. I’ve been covering the Academy Awards as a journalist since 2001, the year American Beauty took the top prize. Starting in 2004, when The Lord of the Rings: Return of the Kings took best picture, the Academy started trusting me with a crew badge, allowing me to roam the backstage area just behind the curtain. The Oscars are a great assignment because it’s full of emotion, most of it uplifting, but also fraught with tension and drama.
Every now and then, the biggest movie stars in the world announce the wrong best picture winner, or stand up from the audience to slap a beloved comedian.
I had guesses about how things would go down, but truly—anything can happen, including something as incredible as Michael B. Jordan winning Best Actor for his dual role in Sinners. For everything else that mattered on Hollywood’s biggest night, follow along below.
Sinners and One Battle After Another traded awards all night, but Best Picture ultimately went to Paul Thomas Anderson’s film.
Best Picture — One Battle After Another
A Moulin Rouge (now 25 years old!) reunion between Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman is how the best picture of the 98th Academy Awards is presented.
Sinners … or One Battle After Another? That’s what it came down to, amid all the other worthy contenders.
One Battle takes it. Sinners fans will be heartbroken, but as I said at the top of this story, your favorite gets to be your favorite no matter what goes home with a trophy.
My hope is that film fans celebrate all of these movies. When I was 13, watching the Academy Awards for the first time, alone in our living room, I was introduced to countless movies I hadn’t seen but desperately wanted to experience. That’s what made the Academy special to me.
That’s what the Oscars actually accomplish. They are bookmarks. Reminders to future generations about what mattered now. Sinners will be among them. It’s good when your heart has room to love many things.
“In 1975 the Oscar nominees were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Jaws, Nashville and Barry Lyndon. There is no best among them,” PTA says.
Amen.
Jessie Buckley (Of Course) Wins For Hamnet
This was never in doubt. As the grieving mother of a little boy, separated from her husband by the chasm of sorrow, Buckley was immaculate in Hamnet.
The husband in this story is William Shakespeare, played by Paul Mescal. The child who dies gives the name to this movie. You know the title Hamlet, and the similarity between the name of that truly iconic play and the real child whose life was cut short is one of the tragic but powerful things that this movie underscores. You won’t see the play in the same way after watching this movie.
“It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today, so I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart,” Buckley says.
Michael B. Jordan summed up how we all felt when he took home the best actor trophy: “God is good.”
Michael B. Jordan Wins Best Actor
Hot damn. It’s Michael B. Jordan for Sinners.
This was an intensely competitive race, and Timothée Chalamet was long considered the front-runner for Marty Supreme. His over-eager publicity campaign backfired, however, and indelicate disparaging comments about opera and ballet in recent weeks didn’t help.
The fact is: Jordan was at the top of his game in Sinners as the brothers Smoke and Stack, facing down Jim Crow and immortal evil all in the same night.
“God is good,” he says at the start, which should keep the vampires at bay. He thanked Warner Bros. for “betting on culture and original ideas.” Warner Bros. studio bosses Pamela Abdy and Michael de Luca did that. Hopefully whoever takes over that studio now will allow them to keep up the good work.
To Ryan Coogler, who directed him in Fruitvale Station, Black Panther, and Creed, Jordan said: “I’m so honored to call you a collaborator and a friend and you gave me an opportunity and a space to be seen.”
“Hoo, man … y’all.”
He thanked those “who came before”: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Will Smith. “Amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys, thank you. I know you want me to do well. You guys bet on me.”
“I’m going to keep stepping up and being the best version of myself I can be,” Jordan said.
That’s truly all there is to say.
Paul Thomas Anderson Wins Best Director
One Battle After Another looks like it’s going to win the night. But surprises are still possible.
“You make a guy work hard for one of these. I appreciate it,” PTA says. Sinners fans will be distraught, but you can’t argue that this director hasn’t earned it. Boogie Nights. There Will Be Blood. Punch Drunk Love. Magnolia. The Master. Come on.
“There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it, but there’s no questioning the pleasure of having it for myself,” he said.
“I’m here because of people’s faith in me. They give me your faith and time,” Anderson went on. “That’s the best part of being on a film crew, is being with people.”
This is the takeaway tonight. Movies are more than the stars.
“Golden” From KPop Demon Hunters Gets Best Song
I sing along to this song whenever I hear it, which is one of the worst things that could happen to it.
“Golden” would have been a hit no matter what, but it perfectly weaves into this story of finding your inner strength and pushing through resistance.
“It’s not about success. It’s about resilience,” EJAE says from the stage.
“Now everyone is singing our song, and all the Korean lyrics,” she said.
That’s true. Sorry, from this middle-aged white guy. For truly wonderful insight into this song and movie, please read my friend Rebecca Sun’s excellent Substack column: “’KPop Demon Hunters Shows How Culturally Authentic Storytelling is Done, Done, Done.”
I’m going to steal a little part of it here for context: “KPop Demon Hunters exists in a world in which everybody — from little kids to old men at the bathhouse — consumes K-pop and participates in the idiosyncrasies of the fandom, from wielding light sticks to shipping members to voting in weekly music shows.”
Norway’s Sentimental Value Wins Best International Film
Once again, this was one that was locked from the start. It has a best picture nomination, three for acting, and filmmaker Joachim Trier is up for best director. That kind of momentum made it a sure thing in this category.
Trier invoked James Baldwin in his speech: “‘All adults are responsible for all children,’ and let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account,” Trier said.
Late in the show, we were treated to the performance just about everyone was waiting for: “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters.
Cinematography to Sinners
Autumn Durald Arkapaw is why I love the Oscars. She used her moment at the mic to speak from the heart. First the director of photography spoke about Sinners writer-director Ryan Coogler: “Whenever I say thank you to Ryan, he replies ‘Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for trusting me.’ That’s the kind of guy I get to make films with. An honorable person. And he really means it.”
Then she spoke to the audience. “I really want all the women in the room to stand up. Because I feel I don’t get here without you guys,” she said.
In moments of gratitude, those who truly appreciate always see the people who got them there. None of us makes it alone. Someone, somewhere always holds the door.
One Battle After Another Claims Editing
Andy Jurgensen wins for PTA’s film. The editing award is a strong indicator for best picture, standing as one of the most reliable bellwethers for the grand prize.
He gives a shout-out to Barbara Hall, a film archivist with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “I miss her everyday,” he says. “I would not be up here if not for her and my Uncle Val.” She passed away just last year.
Sinners Wins Best Original Score
My Esquire colleague Josh Rosenberg just published an excellent deep-dive into Ludwig Göransson’s music. He previously won for Black Panther and Oppenheimer, and Sinners is another powerful contribution to movie music.
Göransson accepted his award by talking about his Swedish father, and a John Lee Hooker album that changed both of their lives, “even though he was on the other side of the world.”
“When I was seven years old, a little boy, he put a guitar in my hands,” the composer said. “It was the guitar that opened a lot of doors for me, it was the guitar that led me to the states, and it was the guitar that led me to one of our greatest storytellers—Ryan Coogler.”
He then thanked Coogler for “making a movie that resonated with the whole world.”
The Documentary Category Throws Trump Shade
“Man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this,” Jimmy Kimmell said before announcing Mr. Nobody Against Putin as the winner of the best documentary feature prize.
Yeah, don’t hold your breath waiting for Brett Ratner’s Melania to be honored next year.
The winning movie is about a school teacher who secretly filmed the Russian government’s efforts to conscript young men into its war against Ukraine. Director David Borenstein’s speech was a warning to America about losing freedom. “You lose it through countless small little acts, through complicity,” he said, including “hen Oligarchs take over the media and control how we produce it and consume it.”
Pasha Talankin, the subject of the film spoke in Russian through a translator, describing his experience since his homeland started its invasion against Ukraine: “For four years, we look at the sky for shooting stars to make a very important wish,” he said. “But there are countries where instead of shooting stars they have shooting bombs and shooting drones. In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now.”
The doc category is often a place where politics takes center stage at the Oscars (everybody remembers Michael Moore’s incendiary—but correct—warnings as he held his Academy Award two decades ago.) Once again, this is what the show does best. It speaks to the heart.
Frankenstein Wins Best Production Design
Tamara Deverell and set decorator Shane Vieau claim the Oscar for their magnificent work manifesting the worlds of GDT’s gothic masterpiece Frankenstein.
A favorite detail from this set: Guillermo paints models on the weekends, and he brought in his own paints to touch up the tower that channels lightning down into Elordi’s monster. Deverell had a veritable army of builders to help create the castle interiors, the looming face of Medusa in the lab, and the underworld basement where the creature is chained after being given his second chance at life. But GDT rolled up his sleeves to help. That’s what moviemaking is.
That basement below the lab was bifurcated. A canal of water ran down its center, and the ribbed columns looked like ribs holding open a chest cavity. This area was meant to resemble a cardiovascular system. “I equate it to two chambers of a heart,” Deverell told me.
Billy Crystal’s parting words to Rob Reiner began a tribute to remember, in which Diane Keaton, Robert Redford, and many others were honored.
An In Memoriam To Remember
There’s such history for Billy Crystal on that Oscar stage. there is no one better to pay tribute to the lost filmmaker Rob Reiner, given the former host’s long past with Reiner, dating back to when he played one of his pals on All In the Family, up through When Harry Met Sally ….
As he runs through the list of Reiner’s films: This Is Spinal Tap, Misery, A Few Good Men, we are reminded of what an immense impact Reiner had on storytelling for a generation. He does a good job honoring his wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, as well, noting her work as a photographer, and their shared dedication to social causes.
“Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle,” Crystal says, before a truly bravura move: the screen shifts and we see the boys of Stand By Me, Meg Ryan standing alongside Crystal, Kathy Bates, and Cary Elwes and more. Almost too many to absorb at once.
The In memoriam tribute using Mark Knopfler’s theme to The Princess Bride is another fine touch. Not a dry eye. And then they get to Rachel McAdams and her tribute to the singular comedic talent Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton, who wore “many hats, literally.”
What legends we lost this year. My personal favorite was Marvin Levy, not a celebrity, but the longtime publicist who worked with Steven Spielberg for decades. Drew Struzan, the legendary artist who made posters for The Thing and Goonies—another good one to include.
Robert Redford and Robert Duvall were singled out, of course, but I appreciate that the Oscars recognized that the movies are about so much more than the stars. For every name you know, there are countless others who make Hollywood what it is.
Barbra Streisand spoke about her The Way We Were costar Redford: “We had a wonderful time playing off each other because we never knew what the other was going to do or see,” she says. But she also noted his dedication to speaking up about freedom of speech, the environment, and independent filmmaking.
“I called him an intellectual cowboy,” Streisand said. “I miss him now more than ever, even though he loved teasing me. He called me Babs, and I’d say, ‘Ugh, do I look like a Babs?’ But the way he said it, made me laugh.”
Not sure how she managed to sing after that, but she did. It was a cathartic moment, which are always more bearable when they are shared.
Sinners Wins Original Screenplay
Not so fast, One Battle. Ryan Coogler’s original screenplay for Sinners, PTA’s chief rival, gets its first award of the night. This rivalry isn’t decided yet.
Coogler thanks the Academy for keeping the movie in mind, even though it came out “a year ago.” “I want to thank you all for the gifts that your movies were,” Coogler adds to the other writers in this category who penned Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, It Was Just An Accident and Blue Moon.
To his cast and crew in the audience, Coogler says: “You are all winners in my book.”
As expected, One Battle After Another director Paul Thomas Anderson won the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Best Adapted Screenplay Goes To One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling satire is on a roll. This is starting to look like a juggernaut.
“This is an adaption, so I have a huge debt of admiration and love to Thomas Pynchon,” Anderson says, also calling out to his wife Maya Rudolph and their children.
“I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we made in this world that we’re handing off to them, but also the encouragement that they will be part of the generation that brings us some common sense and decency.”
Sean Penn Wins Best Supporting Actor For One Battle After Another
Pretty anti-climactic. He’s not even there.
It’s a Tie For Live-Action Short
This is a rarity, but it happens. About six times before, to be precise. Now it’s seven.
“The Singers” (Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt) and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” (Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata) both win the Oscar for Live-Action Short. Presenter Kumail Nanjiani opens the envelope and says this is no joke: “I’m going to name one winner, they’ll come up and accept their award, and then I’ll announce another, and they’ll come up.”
After “The Singer” team makes their speeches, Nanjiani has a great line: “Ironic that the short film award is going to take twice as long.”
I was backstage at the Oscars when it happened in 2013. Mark Wahlberg was presenting the best sound editing award, and before he walked onstage the accountants who tabulated the awards took him aside to give him a heads up. The last thing anyone wants is for the presenter to get confused and seek clarity.
The accountants closely guard those envelopes before handing them out to presenters, and as Wahlberg arrived backstage, they told him what was going to happen. I wonder if (and suspect) that Nanjiani was given the same heads-up. That’s how he knew how to coordinate the dual speeches.
First-Ever Casting Award Goes to One Battle After Another
Cassandra Kulukundis claims the trophy in this highly competitive category. Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, and Sinners were the competition, and truly any one could have taken this award.
Kulukundis dedicated her prize to all the casting directors over the decades who went unrecognized because the Academy is just now getting around to honoring the work of people in that profession.
Sinners seemed like the most likely contender to come away victorious, and this is a good sign for One Battle’s chances in other categories as the night goes on.
The Academy clearly loves both films, so it’s natural that some splitting will occur. It’s still anyone’s game, though.
Costume Design and Make-Up Go To Frankenstein
This one made me stand up and cheer. If you’ve seen Frankenstein, you know this was deserving. But I’m one of the lucky few who got to see Kate Hawley’s wardrobe workshop when I visited the set of the film during production. (You can read about it here.)
It was appropriately gothic—an apparent office building from the outside, but inside a coven of workers were busy aging, distressing and dying, creating fabrics that were reminiscent of insect exoskeletons and luminous minerals and gems.
It’s not just the glorious and decadent period costumes that earned Hawley this award, it’s her dedication to storytelling. She made the costumes of Guillermo dell Toro’s masterpiece a part of the story. Decay was especially important. “Victor starts off as the gentleman and the creature is this wild, untamed thing,” Hawley told me. “And then they swap gradually. So Victor’s clothes start echoing his own creature. At the end you’ve got two broken men.”
And then the chaser: the wonderful Mike Hill and his colleagues Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey win best make-up for Frankenstein. That same set visit took me up close to Mike and his work, and this was what he said about turning Jacob Elordi into a creature who looks like a Renaissance sculpture that has been shattered and fused back together:
“What attracted me to him was his gangliness and his wrists. It was this looseness,” Hill said. “Then he has these real somber moments where he watches you really deftly, and his eyelids are low, with the long lashes like Karloff. I was like, ‘I don’t know who else you could get with a physicality like this.’ His demeanor is innocent, but it’s encompassed in a six-foot-five frame. He could really do a lot of damage if this man really wanted to be a bad guy.”
Miles Caton’s live performance of “I Lied to You” from Sinners was spectacular.
“I Lied To You” Live Performance
The best-song nominee from Sinners was staged with brilliance, echoing the musical journey through time and tradition that Ryan Coogler created in one of the movie’s most magical sequences. This was so much more than a contender performance.
Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson are the composers who are nominated, but everyone who participated in this is sharing the honor.
“I Lied To You” is one of the long-shots to win, since “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters is one of the biggest hits of the year, but this is a case where the winner doesn’t matter as much as the fact that both are memorable beyond measure. Each song is vital to its movie, not just a closing credits add-on, and each speaks to the powerful themes of resilience.
I couldn’t have loved this performance more. This is why we watch the Oscars.
KPop Demon Hunters Wins Animated Feature
This is one of the absolute sure-things of the night. Netflix’s supernatural musical spectacular was the clear favorite of the year. People of all ages, all backgrounds, love this movie. It’s no wonder whatsoever that the Academy did too.
“This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere,” says director Maggie Kang, who shared the award with co-director Chris Appelhans, and producer Michelle L.M. Wong. Moments like this get to me. The emotion of winning your industry’s top prize after working your way up is endearing no matter who you are, and to stand for others who might find hope in that achievement is a good use of these awards.
It makes them living objects of inspiration, not just trophies for the bookshelf.
Bust out your best witch’s cackle: Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons.
Amy Madigan Wins Best Supporting Actress
Last year’s supporting actress winner Zoe Saldaña presents the first award of the night: Supporting actress to Amy Madigan for Weapons.
Madigan has the record for the longest time between nominations for a winner. Her only previous nomination was for 1985’s Twice in a Lifetime. I love that she opens her speech with a witchy cackle. “This is great! Everybody is asking me, well it’s been 40 years, what’s different about this time? What’s different is this little gold guy!”
She makes a wonderful point about thanking people in speeches. The producers do encourage winners to not rattle off a list, and she doesn’t but she does appropriately note that no one gets to that stage without a lot of support, and this award for Aunt Gladys is a testament to Weapons writer-director Zach Cregger and countless others and her “beloved Ed.” That would be actor Ed Harris, a four-time nominee himself for Apollo 13, The Truman Show, Pollock and The Hours.
When I interviewed Madigan this year via Zoom, Ed was in the background, brewing coffee in their kitchen for his missus. That’s a special kind of support too. They were in a rented place, since they lost their home in the 2025 wildfires. I’m personally overjoyed for her. After all the past year’s difficulties, after entertaining us from Uncle Buck to Field of Dreams, Madigan deserves this. Long live, Aunt Gladys.
At the 2026 Academy Awards, Conan O’Brien cemented himself as one of the greatest hosts in the ceremony’s storied history.
Conan the Conqueror
Here comes Conan O’Brien as the host. He did a superb job in his first time emceeing the show last year, balancing his signature weirdo nonsense with appropriate sensitivity, given the raw emotions in the Dolby Theatre in the aftermath of Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires last year. This year, the mood in the world is just as heavy, so that hard part of the job is still there.
Aaaaannd … he knows this. “Last year, Los Angeles was on fire. But this year … everything is going great!” O’Brien says.
Conan is someone we know. Someone we trust. Someone who knows how to make us laugh no matter what. This is a moment to celebrate excellence and joy.
And this opening montage …? Brutally excellent. As a kid, I used to love seeing Billy Crystal weave himself into the nominated movies, and here’s Conan, his ginger hair styled like witchy Aunt Gladys from Weapons, running across a busy racetrack in F1, riding with a drunk Benicio del Toro from One Battle After Another, having a heartfelt conversation in Norwegian with Stellan Skarsgård in Sentimental Journey, and trying to “Danny Boy” his way into the Sinners juke joint. The crazed kids from Weapons chase him onstage.
It’s a literal sprint through the best movies of the year.
His crack about an alternate Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock at the Dave ‘n Busters down the street is funny because there is literally a Dave ‘n Busters in the shopping complex next to the Dolby Theatre.
I laughed harder than I should have at his joke about F1 doing so well it’s getting a sequel: Caps Lock. (“Some of these I do for myself,” he says.) That’s one for the writers, I guess.
Best Casting — a new category at the show. “Which means tonight, one casting director will win an Oscar. And for the rest of you, we’ve decided to go in another direction.” (That one’s for all the thespians out there.)
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