Oscars 2026: Live updates, winners, best moments 

Host Conan O’Brien is guiding viewers and audience members through the evening.

What movie fans can expect tonight at the 98th OscarsThis year’s biggest movie stars are set to descend on the red carpet for Hollywood’s biggest night as anticipation rises for the entertainment and cameos expected at the Academy Awards.

Mike Blake/Reuters

The 98th Academy Awards are officially here.

The biggest and brightest stars from across Hollywood and the world of entertainment are converging in Los Angeles to honor the most prestigious works of filmmaking delivered over the last year.

Follow below to see how the night unfolds.

‘One Battle After Another’ wins best picture

“One Battle After Another” has won the highly coveted Oscar for best picture.

Producer Sara Murphy took the stage alongside Paul Thomas Anderson to accept the final award of the night.

“Getting to make this film with this cast and this crew and Paul has already been the greatest filmmaking experience I can fathom so receiving this award is just beyond — my heart is exploding with gratitude,” Murphy said.

Anderson closed out the show saying, “What a night, you guys, Let’s have a martini. This is amazing. Cheers.”

Other nominees in the category included “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners” and “Train Dreams.”

Jessie Buckley wins best actress in a leading role

Jessie Buckley won her first Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her work in “Hamnet.”

Buckley, who is Irish, highlighted that today is Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom.

“So I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart,” she said in her acceptance speech. “We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds.”

Other nominees in the category were Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”) Kate Hudson (“Song Sung Blue”), Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) and Emma Stone (“Bugonia”).

Buckley acknowledged her fellow nominees in her speech, saying, “I am inspired by your art and your heart, and I want to work with every single one of you.”

Michael B. Jordan wins best actor in a leading role

Michael B. Jordan won the Oscar for best actor in a leading role for his work in “Sinners.”

Jordan highlighted his family in the crowd in his acceptance speech, he also recognized his relationship with ‘Sinners” director Ryan Coogler in his speech.

“You’re an amazing, amazing person. I’m so honored to call you a collaborator and a friend, and you gave me the opportunity and space for me to be seen, and I love you, too, bro, love you to death,” he said.

He finished with a message of gratitude for his supporters, saying, “Thank you for … betting on me, and I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I can be.”

Other nominees in the category included Timothée Chalamet (“Marty Supreme”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”), Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”) and Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”).

Paul Thomas Anderson wins best director

Paul Thomas Anderson won the Oscar for best director for “One Battle After Another,” his second win of the night after taking home the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

“The best part about being on a film crew is being with people, because we need each other,” he said in his acceptance speech. “This is a wonderful gift, and I’m so happy to call the movies home.”

Other nominees in the category were Chloé Zhao (“Hamnet”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”), Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”) and Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”).

Stars celebrate in the audience

Behind-the-scenes photos show celebrities enjoying their night out at the Oscars, from a selfie with Kate Hudson, Demi Moore, and Emma Stone, to Chase Infiniti catching up with co-star Teyana Taylor.

‘Golden’ wins Academy Award for best original song

“Golden” from the film “KPop Demon Hunters” won the Oscar for best original song.

The song’s music and lyrics were written by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park.

“This award is not about success. It’s about resilience,” EJAE said in her acceptance speech.

This marks the first time a K-Pop song has won the category.

Other nominees in the category included “Dear Me” (“Diane Warren: Relentless,” music and lyrics by Diane Warren); “I Lied to You” (“Sinners,” music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson), “Sweet Dreams of Joy” (“Viva Verdi!” with music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike); and “Train Dreams” (“Train Dreams,” with music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner and lyrics by Nick Cave).

‘Sentimental Value’ wins for best international feature film

“Sentimental Value” (Norway) won the Oscar for best international feature film.

Other nominees in the category were “The Secret Agent” (Brazil), “It Was Just an Accident” (France), “Sirât” (Spain) and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia).

Huntr/x performs ‘Golden’

EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — the singing voices behind the fictional K-pop group Huntr/x — took the Oscars stage and performed the Oscar-nominated hit song “Golden” from their film “KPop Demon Hunters.”

“KPop Demon Hunters” won the Oscar for best animated feature earlier in the evening, while “Golden” is still up for best original song.

“Golden” is the first K-pop song to ever be nominated for best original song.

Other songs nominated in the best original song category tonight include “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless,” “I Lied to You” from “Sinners,” “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!” and “Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams.”

Autumn Durald Arkapaw wins Oscar for cinematography

Autumn Durald Arkapaw has won the Oscar for best cinematography for “Sinners.”

Arkapaw is the first woman to ever win the Oscar for cinematography.

“I’m so honored to be here, and I really want all the women in the room to stand up, because I feel like I don’t get here without you guys,” she said in her acceptance speech.

She continued, “I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign and gotten to meet so many people.”

Arkapaw previously spoke with ABC News about her nomination, saying at the time, “I feel like I really want change for ladies, and it’ll come in time.”

Other nominees in the category included “Frankenstein,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another” and “Train Dreams.”

‘One Battle After Another’ wins Oscar for best film editing

Andy Jurgensen has won the Oscar for best film editing for “One Battle After Another.”

Other nominees were Stephen Mirrione (“F1”); Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”); Olivier Bugge Coutté (“Sentimental Value”); and Michael P. Shawver (“Sinners”).

‘F1’ wins Oscar for sound

Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, and Juan Peralta won the Academy Award for best sound for “F1.”

Other nominees included Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, and Brad Zoern (“Frankenstein”); José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio, and Tony Villaflor (“One Battle After Another”); Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, and Steve Boeddeker (“Sinners”); and Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas, and Yasmina Praderas (“Sirât”).

‘Bridesmaids’ cast reunites onstage

The Oscars brought the cast of “Bridesmaids” together 15 years after the film’s 2011 release.

Rose Byrne, who is nominated for best actress this year for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” was joined onstage by Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy and Ellie Kemper to present the award for best original score.

McCarthy said on the red carpet earlier in the evening that she would film another “Bridesmaids” movie immediately, saying, “We really need comedies.”

‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ wins Oscar for best documentary feature film

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” won the Oscar for best documentary feature film.

David Borenstein, the film’s co-director, shared a powerful message while accepting the award, saying the film “is about how you lose your country.”

“What we saw when working with this footage, it’s that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity. When we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities. When we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume it,” Borenstein said.

Other nominees in the category included “The Alabama Solution,” “Come See Me in the Good Light,” “Cutting Through Rocks,” and “The Perfect Neighbor.”

‘All the Empty Rooms’ wins Oscar for best documentary short film

“All the Empty Rooms,” which documents the bedrooms left behind when children are killed in school shootings, won the Oscar for best documentary short film.

Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter Jackie was killed in the 2022 Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and whose bedroom was among those included in the documentary, spoke onstage as the filmmakers accepted the Oscar.

Since Jackie’s murder, “her bedroom has been frozen in time,” Cazares said.

“Jackie is more than just a headline. She is our light and our life,” she said. “Gun violence is now the No. 1 cause of death in kids and teens. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms, we would be a different America. Thank you.”

Other nominees in the category were “Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud,” “Children No More: ‘Were and Are Gone’,” “The Devil is Busy” and “Perfectly a Strangeness.”

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ wins Oscar for best visual effects

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett have won the Oscar for best visual effects for the film “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Other nominees in the category included “F1” (Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, and Keith Dawson); “Jurassic World Rebirth” (David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan, and Neil Corbould); “The Lost Bus” (Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen, and Brandon K. McLaughlin); and “Sinners” (Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, and Donnie Dean).

‘Frankenstein’ wins Academy Award for best production design

Production designer Tamara Deverell and set decorator Shane Vieau of the film “Frankenstein” won the Academy Award for best production design.

Other nominees were “Hamnet” (production designer Fiona Crombie and set decorator Alice Felton), “Marty Supreme” (production designer Jack Fisk and set decorator Adam Willis), “One Battle After Another” (production designer Florencia Martin and set decorator Anthony Carlino), and “Sinners” (production designer Hannah Beachler and set decorator Monique Champagne).

Ryan Coogler receives applause in Dolby Theatre and Oscars press room after his 1st Oscar win

After “Sinners” filmmaker Ryan Coogler won the Oscar for best original screenplay, he not only received applause in the Dolby Theatre among his peers, but also received thunderous applause in the Oscars press room.

In his acceptance speech, Coogler thanked the academy, his parents and his fellow nominees, saying, “Thank you for the gifts, for your friendship over the past years and months.” To his parents, he said, “Thank you for all the memories. Thank you for making me believe in myself.”

Billy Crystal honors friend Rob Reiner

Billy Crystal honored his close friend of many decades, renowned director Rob Reiner, as well as Rob Reiner’s wife Michele Reiner, at the Oscars.

Crystal highlighted some of Rob Reiner’s most iconic films, including “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men.”

“My friend Rob’s movies will last for lifetimes, because they were about what makes us laugh and cry, and what we aspire to be,” Crystal said. “And when Michele Singer entered his life, they were unstoppable.”

“A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob, but it was her energy that had them working tirelessly to fight social injustice in the country that they both love,” he continued, noting how the Reiners “became the driving force in the landmark decision for marriage equality.”

“Their loss is immeasurable,” Crystal said. “And to the millions who have enjoyed his films all these years, I want you to know, here and around the world, how many times Rob told me that it meant everything to him that his work meant something to you.”

Crystal concluded his tribute to Rob Reiner with a reference to an iconic line from “The Princess Bride.” “For us who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, buddy, what fun we had storming the castle,” he said.

The Reiners were stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025. Their son, Nick Reiner, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and is being held without bail.

‘Sinners’ wins Oscar for best original screenplay

Ryan Coogler won his first Academy Award for best original screenplay for “Sinners.”

Coogler called the award “an incredible honor.”

He thanked the cast and crew before giving his wife Zinzi Coogler and their kids a sweet shoutout.

“Zinzi, you the best wife and mom in the world. Every day I get to spend with you is better than the one that came before it,” the director said.

To his children, Coogler said, “When y’all blessed to live a long life and dad becomes just a memory, I want y’all to remember this one thing: I love y’all more than anything.”

Other nominees in the category included “Blue Moon” (Robert Kaplow); “It Was Just an Accident” (written by Jafar Panahi, with script collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, and Mehdi Mahmoudian); “Marty Supreme” (Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie) and “Sentimental Value” (Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier).

Why didn’t Sean Penn attend the Oscars?

When Sean Penn was announced as the winner for best supporting actor for his performance in “One Battle After Another,” some were surprised to not see the actor in attendance.

It’s unclear as to why Penn wasn’t at the Oscars. Last year’s winner for supporting actor, Kieran Culkin, who announced the category, said, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening, or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”

This past awards season, Penn won the BAFTA for best supporting actor, and the Actor Award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role, but he did not attend those award shows either.

‘One Battle After Another’ wins for best adapted screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson won his first Academy Award with his win for best adapted screenplay for “One Battle After Another.”

“I wrote this movie for my kids, to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world we’re handing off to them,” he said in his acceptance speech, “but also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.”

He also gave a shoutout to his longtime partner, actress Maya Rudolph.

Anderson and Rudolph, who share four children, met at a “Saturday Night Live” after-party over 20 years ago, Rudolph told Town & Country magazine in 2024.

“He said he saw me in a sketch and said, ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry,'” Rudolph said of Anderson at the time. “But I don’t know. I wasn’t there. Maybe he just told me that to be sweet.”

Other nominees in the category were Will Tracy (“Bugonia”); Guillermo del Toro (“Frankenstein”); Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell (“Hamnet”); and Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar (“Train Dreams”).

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ filmmakers react to Oscar win

After their winning best animated feature for “KPop Demon Hunters,” filmmakers Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle Wong reacted to their historic Oscar win while speaking to press in the Oscars press room.

Kang talked about her love for K-Pop music and having the genre being “beloved by audiences globally just means so much to me.”

“It was a real honor to feature all aspects of my culture that I loved,” she said. “”It’s just so meaningful as a Korean filmmaker. I just hope to see more films, especially in animation that focuses on different cultures. We really need that.”

Read more about “KPop Demon Hunters” Oscar win here.

Sean Penn wins Oscar for best supporting actor

Sean Penn won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in “One Battle After Another.”

Penn was not in attendance to receive the award.

Other nominees in the category included Benicio del Toro (“One Battle After Another”), Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”), Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”).

‘The Singers,’ ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’ tie for best live action short film

“The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” have tied, with both films winning the Oscar for best live action short film.

There have been six ties in Oscars history, most recently at the 2013 ceremony when “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty” tied for sound editing.

Other nominees in the category were “Butcher’s Stain,” “Jane Austen’s Period Drama” and “A Friend of Dorothy.”

Cassandra Kulukundis wins inaugural Academy Award for best casting for ‘One Battle After Another’

Cassandra Kulukundis won the Oscar for best casting for the film “One Battle After Another.”

In her acceptance speech,Kulukundis dedicated her award to all the casting directors who “never got a chance to get up here, who didn’t even get a chance to get their name on the movie.”

Other nominees in the category included Nina Gold (“Hamnet”), Jennifer Venditti (“Marty Supreme”), Gabriel Domingues (“The Secret Agent”) and Francine Maisler (“Sinners”).

‘Frankenstein’ takes home Academy Award for best makeup and hairstyling

Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey have won the Oscar for best makeup and hairstyling for “Frankenstein.”

Other nominees in the category were Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino, and Tadashi Nishimatsu (“Kokuho”); Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, and Shunika Terry (“Sinners”); Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, and Bjoern Rehbein (“The Smashing Machine”); and Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg (“The Ugly Stepsister”).

Kate Hawley wins best costume design

Anna Wintour and “The Devil Wears Prada 2” star Anne Hathaway presented the Oscar for best costume design to Kate Hawley for “Frankenstein.”

“I’m so, so grateful, and thank you very much for recognizing our craft!” Hawley said in her acceptance speech.

Other nominees in the category were Ruth E. Carter (“Sinners”), Deborah L. Scott (“Avatar: Fire and Ash”), Malgosia Turzanska (“Hamnet”) and Miyako Bellizzi (“Marty Supreme”).

‘Sinners’ star Miles Caton takes Oscar stage to perform ‘I Lied To You’

“Sinners” star Miles Caton, who plays Samuel “Sammie” Moore in the Ryan Coogler-directed horror film, brought the movie to life when he took the stage to perform the film’s song “I Lied To You,” which is nominated for best original song.

R&B icon Raphael Saadiq, who co-wrote the blues track with composer Ludwig Göransson, joined Caton onstage, along with ballet dancer Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith.

‘The Girl Who Cried Pearls’ wins Oscar for best animated short film

“The Girl Who Cried Pearls” won the Academy Award for best animated short film.

Other nominees in the category were “Butterfly,” “Forevergreen,” “Retirement Plan” and “The Three Sisters.”

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ wins Academy Award for best animated feature film

“KPop Demon Hunters” won the Oscar for best animated feature film.

Other nominees in the category included “Arco,” “Elio,” “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” and “Zootopia 2.”

Amy Madigan wins Oscar for best supporting actress

Amy Madigan won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her work in “Weapons.”

“This is great!” she said as she accepted the Oscar.

Madigan ended her list of thank-yous by shouting out her husband, Ed Harris. The couple has been married for more than four decades.

“The most important is my beloved Ed, who’s been with me forever … and none of this would mean anything if he wasn’t by my side,” she said, as the crowd applauded. “So, thank you very much. I’m very overwhelmed.”

Other nominees in the category were Elle Fanning (“Sentimental Value”), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (“Sentimental Value”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”) and Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”).

Conan O’Brien kicks off the show with wide-ranging opening monologue

Talk show host and comedian Conan O’Brien kicked off the show at the 2026 Oscars with a wide-ranging opening monologue highlighting the stars and films vying for the top prizes at tonight’s ceremony.

The opening segment started with a skit featuring O’Brien getting an undesirable makeover a la Amy Madigan in “Weapons” — ahead of the show before being chased through scenes from the year’s top films and appearing on the Oscar stage.

“I’m honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards,” he said at the top of his speech. “Next year, it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux.”

O’Brien also took swipes at Timothée Chalamet‘s opera, ballet controversy, Netflix’s relationship with theatergoers and more.

The comedian also touched on the film’s top pictures and talent, including joking about Leonardo DiCaprio’s tendency to appear in a variety of online memes, while he attempted to make a new meme on the fly with DiCaprio, “That feeling when you didn’t agree to this.”

O’Brien also took a moment to address current events, saying celebrating the past year’s films was important “not because we think all is well, but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.”

Via: ABC News