One Battle After Another Wins Best Picture as the 98th Oscars Deliver the Most Unpredictable Night in Years

Paul Thomas Anderson has been making films for 30 years. He has directed Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza — a filmography that stands among the greatest of any living American director. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director four times. He has never won. On Sunday March 15, 2026, at the 98th Academy Awards hosted by Conan O'Brien at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Paul Thomas Anderson finally won — not once, but twice in a single night. His film One Battle After Another — a madcap Depression-era family drama that had battled Ryan Coogler's vampire thriller Sinners for months in one of the most competitive and genuinely unpredictable awards seasons in recent memory — took home six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was the night's dominant film. And PTA's night to finally claim the recognition that decades of extraordinary work had earned. The Big Winners: One Battle After Another — 6 Oscars One Battle After Another's six wins made it the undisputed champion of the 98th Academy Awards. Best Picture went to the film's producers. Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Directing — his first Oscar after four previous nominations. He won Best Adapted Screenplay — also his first win in that category. Andy Jurgensen won Best Film Editing. Cassandra Kulukundis won the inaugural Best Casting award — a historic new category introduced for the first time in the Academy's history, the first new Oscar since Best Animated Feature was created in 2002 — with One Battle After Another landing the very first statuette ever presented in the category. Sean Penn — who was absent from the ceremony — won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, setting a record with his win. Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. Together the six wins represented a comprehensive sweep of the major craft and performance categories that confirmed One Battle After Another as not just the night's most awarded film but the Academy's definitive choice as the best American cinema had to offer in 2025. Sinners: 4 Oscars, Michael B. Jordan Makes History Ryan Coogler's Sinners — the Depression-era vampire thriller that arrived in cinemas last spring with extraordinary cultural momentum and a record 16 Oscar nominations — claimed four awards on the night. Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for his dual performance in the film — a deeply personal and technically extraordinary piece of work that had been the frontrunner in the category since the film's release. Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay — his first Oscar win. Ludwig Göransson won Best Original Score for Sinners — his third career Oscar, following Black Panther and Oppenheimer, in a speech that paid loving tribute to his father. And Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography — becoming the first woman in the Academy's 98-year history to win in that category, a historic milestone that drew one of the night's longest standing ovations. Sinners' four wins — against the backdrop of its 16 nominations — meant the film departed the ceremony with fewer awards than its nomination count might have suggested, but the historical weight of Arkapaw's win and Jordan's first Oscar ensures it will be remembered as one of the defining films of the 2025-26 season. The Other Major Winners: Jessie Buckley, Frankenstein & KPop Demon Hunters Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet — Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's celebrated novel about Shakespeare's son — in a victory that completed one of the award season's most consistent and beloved campaigns. Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro's Netflix adaptation — claimed three awards for craft excellence: Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. KPop Demon Hunters won Best Original Song for "Golden" — performed live at the ceremony alongside Sinners' "I Lied to You" in a stripped-back presentation the Academy described as designed to keep the show moving. Mr. Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature — with co-director David Borenstein delivering a speech that drew connections between the film's subject matter and the current global moment, saying people face a moral choice when complicity becomes normalised. Co-director Pavel Talankin called from the stage to "stop all of these wars now" — a statement that landed with particular resonance on a night when Operation Epic Fury, as digital8hub.com has reported, entered its fifteenth day. The Night's Moments: Javier Bardem, the In Memoriam & Conan O'Brien Javier Bardem — presenting the Best International Feature Film award, won by Sentimental Value from Norway — delivered the night's most politically charged moment from the stage: "No to war and free Palestine." Conan O'Brien, hosting the Oscars for the first time, was widely praised for a measured, warm, and genuinely funny performance that threaded the needle between ceremony and entertainment with more grace than most recent hosts have managed. The In Memoriam segment opened with Billy Crystal paying tribute to his "best friend" Rob Reiner, who was killed along with his wife Michele at their home last year — a deeply personal tribute to one of Hollywood's most beloved directors. Barbra Streisand honoured Robert Redford and sang a passage from The Way We Were's Oscar-winning theme. Warner Bros. — amid its $110 billion acquisition by Paramount Skydance — led all distributors with 11 statuettes on the night. For the latest entertainment coverage, celebrity news, and film reviews, follow digital8hub.com. The Complete Major Winners List: Best Picture: One Battle After Another Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan — Sinners Best Actress: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn — One Battle After Another Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan — Weapons Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler — Sinners Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw — Sinners Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson — Sinners Best Original Song: "Golden" — KPop Demon Hunters Best International Feature Film: Sentimental Value (Norway) Best Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin Best Animated Feature: Zootopia 2 Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Frankenstein Best Costume Design: Frankenstein Best Production Design: Frankenstein Best Film Editing: Andy Jurgensen — One Battle After Another Best Casting (inaugural): Cassandra Kulukundis — One Battle After Another