Warner Bros. Discovery might have recently sold itself off to the highest bidder (twice), but it wouldn’t have traded its performance at the 2026 Oscars to anyone. One Battle After Another and Sinners took home a combined ten awards at this year’s Academy Awards, including the first ever wins for both Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler.
Returning host Conan “Aunt Gladys” O’Brien opened this year’s show with a very funny pre-taped bit where the kids from Weapons chased him through all the Best Picture nominees. Both Conan and the pre-taped sketches had a good night. The show’s sound quality and many of the presenter bits did not. There were some standout on-stage moments during the 2026 Oscars, though. That included the fantastic Bridesmaid reunion and Anna Wintour calling Anne Hathaway, “Emily.” The show also featured a moving in memoriam (minus the overly loud music) that included some incredibly touching speeches. It ended with Barbara Streisand singing in tribute to her late friend, Robert Redford.
But ultimately, Oscar night 2026 belonged to Warner Bros. and the two films that came in with the most nominations. Sinners record setting 16-nominations led to four wins. Writer-director Ryan Coogler took home his first career Oscar for best original screenplay. Michael B. Jordan won for Best Actor. Autumn Durald Arkapaw was the first woman ever to take home the gold for cinematography. And composer Ludwig Göransson nabbed his third career statue.
Paul Thomas Anderson, who somehow went into the night with zero Oscars, went home with three of the biggest. He won for adapted screenplay and director. He took home his third when One Battle After Another ended the night with the Academy’s biggest trophy. One Battle After Another was named Best Picture at the 2026 Oscars. The film also saw Sean Penn grab a Supporting Actor win, his third. No one in the theater saw Sean Penn, though, as he did not attend, a fact that led to last year’s winner Kieran Culkin throwing some shade. One Battle After Another led to wins for Andy Jurgensen in best editing and Cassandra Kulukundis, who won the first-ever Best Casting award.
Sinners wasn’t the only horror movie to earn Hollywood’s highest accolade at the 2026 Oscars. Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for playing Aunt Gladys in Weapons. Her first career win came forty years after her first nomination. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein got called up three times for production design, makeup and hair, and costume. Fellow monster movie (technically true!) KPop Demon Hunters also hunted down two wins, best animated feature and original song. Alas, Marty Supreme took home nothing.
Hamnet star Jessie Buckley gave one of the night’s best speeches after her win for Best Actress. As did Joachim Trier after Sentimental Value won for Best International Feature. Sports nerds and Na’vi fans also each had a reason to celebrate. F1 grabbed best sound, Avatar: Fire and Ash won best visual effects. And the nerds (a.k.a. us) got to geek out when Grogu showed up as his upcoming big screen co-stars, Sigourney Weaver and mustache-less Pedro Pascal, presented together at the 2026 Oscars. (Shout out to that amazing Ghostbuster II reference!)
The award for staying calm under pressure went to the best live-action short presenter, Kumail Nanjiani, who deftly handled a highly rare Oscars tie. Both “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” won, and Nanjiani was very funny while making sure everyone in the theater knew what was going on and that each film got its proper recognition.
But in the end, Oscar night 2026 belonged to Warner Bros. Discovery. And after the 2026 Academy Awards, it’s even harder to believe Warner Bros. Discovery will soon belong to someone else.