Biggest moments from the 2026 Oscars
By Molly Miller · Contributing Writer
This past Sunday evening, ABC aired the 98th Academy Awards Show.
Of the film and television award shows, few to none are more highly anticipated and widely viewed as the Oscars. The red carpet fashion, jokes that don’t quite land and the commended and controversial award choices always draw a crowd, either from live viewers, day-after “best dressed” reviewers or Twitter cinephiles.
The Academy, while always thanked by award recipients, is not always thanked by film fanatics and cinephiles, and this year boasted the usual controversial picks.
As it stands, it’s been an interesting year for film. The highs have been high, and the lows have been low. Some have called “One Battle After Another” the “movie of the decade,” and “Sinners” broke the record for the most Oscar nominations ever, cashing in at a whopping 16.
Movies like “Marty Supreme” and “F1” were also box office successes with some nominations, including both for Best Picture, but other than that, 2025 was a year filled mainly with high-grossing franchise films, remakes and sequels, with a few decent indie projects mixed in.
This presents a critical question: Are the films sweeping the Oscars this year actually that good, or are they simply better than the slop Hollywood has been churning out recently?
In his second run as host, Conan O’Brien remained mostly inoffensive (other than the usual political digs), but his bits, including a 20-minute opening monologue, have been criticized for being too long winded and not all that funny.
Of the biggest award moments, “One Battle After Another” was the night’s biggest winner, walking away with six awards, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson).
“Sinners” was also a big winner with four wins, including Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan) and Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkpaw). Arkpaw fittingly made history as the first woman to ever win the award, after her work on “Sinners” made history as the first film to be shot on film using her method.
After an almost perfect sweep of the best actress category this awards season, having already won the category at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Actor Awards, BAFTA Awards and several others, Jesse Buckley completed the set for her role in “Hamnet.”
The seventh ever tie in Oscars history went to both “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” for Best Live Action Short Film.
The moment was almost stolen by an awkwardly early pan away from the winners’ acceptance speech. After taking away the microphone and panning to O’Brien, the camera awkwardly returned to the winners and let them finish their speech.
“Marty Supreme” was a notable snub at this year’s Oscars. After receiving nine nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Josh Safdie) and Best Actor (Timothée Chalamet), the film left empty-handed.
Several have cried injustice for Chalamet, and others have commented that it serves him right for his recent comments regarding opera and ballet as a dying art form.
The most impressive original song performance must go to “I Lied to You” from “Sinners,” as Miles Caton and a colorful ensemble featuring actors and dancers from the film, as well as Shaboozy, Brittany Howard and ballet legend Misty Copeland.
Despite the nearly euphoric performance perfectly capturing the essence of the film, the Best Original Song actually went to “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.” “KPop Demon Hunters” also won for Best Animated Movie.
All in all, it was a very eventful night, full of big wins for not just the specific movies represented but the film community as a whole. And now it’s time to look forward to the 2026 season.
