Paul Thomas Anderson Wins Oscar 2026 | Best Picture & Director

On an Oscar night without movies that were a hit, One battle after another It ended up being the big winner, with six statuettes out of a possible 13, including two of the most coveted: Best Film and Best Director. Paul Thomas Anderson, who had gone 11 nominations without winning, won three statuettes, because he won for Best Adapted Screenplay – the film is loosely based on Vinelandthe novel by Thomas Pynchon– and because he deserves an award for also being the producer of his film.

Sinnerswhich started with 16 nominations, ended up with four, while Frankenstein took three prizes out of nine and the surprising The K-Pop warriorswith two awards, closed the list of multiple winners. On the other hand, films with four nominations such as Bugonia, The secret agent o Train dreams They were left empty-handed, while Valor sentimental y Hamnetwhich had 9 and 8 nominations respectively, won a single statuette.

Conan O’Brien returned to host the ceremony and his beginning video was as effective as it was obvious, considering the number of people on social networks who predicted that he would appear made up like Gladys, the villain of The time of disappearance. In the best style of Billy Crystal, and paying homage to the end of Zach Cregger’s film, the comedian ran through scenes of several of the nominees.

At the time of the initial monologue and as it happened in 2025, he was noted with some discomfort, perhaps knowing that he was in front of an audience that is not so relaxed as to enjoy his routine. His mentions of stars present in the auditorium were less spicy than those of Nikki Glaser at the Golden Globes, but among them the jokes on Ted Sarandos stood out (“it’s the first time he’s in a movie theater”), received with a great sense of humor by the co-executive director of Netflix.

O’Brien’s pace was a bit choppy, with pauses between jokes, as well as a few “yeahs” between the introduction and the punchline, perhaps giving time for some uninterested present to ruminate on what the thing was about. A great moment was when he pointed out that this year there are no British actors nominated, adding that Britain responded: “At least we arrest our pedophiles.” The start closed with a musical moment in which he pretended to be an Oscar winner who does not feign humility, and instead is crowned, blessed by the pope and praised by a choir.

The ceremony went as smoothly as expected, although with quite a few problems with the microphones. The most anticipated categories were interspersed throughout a night that featured musical numbers, tributes to each of the ten nominees for the final award and moments of humor from the ceremony’s host, sometimes accompanied by video segments.

Among the facts to highlight was the little authority with which the live orchestra tried to interrupt the winners’ speeches, which caused more than one to resume their greetings. Something very unusual also happened in the Best Short Film category: a tie that led Conan O’Brien to congratulate the winners for “ruining 22 million pencas.”

He In memory took a whole block. Billy Crystal dedicated an extensive moment to Rob Reiner and his wife, murdered in December of last year, and the remembrance concluded with several performers from his most memorable films together on stage. Then Rachel McAdams would arrive with a farewell to several famous actresses, especially Diane Keaton. Finally, in one of her rare public appearances, Barbra Streisand remembered Robert Redford and sang a fragment of “The Way We Were”, the song from the 1973 film of the same name that starred them.

When it came to the political moments, which were few, those responsible for the documentary stood out. Mr. Nobody contra Putinwho criticized the United States government and called for an end to armed conflicts. His award had been presented by Jimmy Kimmel, who, alluding to Trump, said: “He must be furious because his wife’s documentary is not going to receive an Oscar.” Without pretext and before presenting the nominees for Best International Film, Javier Bardem said loud and clear: “No to war, and free Palestine.”

Full list of winners:

best movie

best director

• Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Best leading actress

Best Leading Actor

Best supporting actress

Best supporting actor

• Sean Penn, One battle after another

Best original screenplay

Best adapted screenplay

• One battle after another (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Best animated film

Best international film

Best documentary

Best Documentary Short Film

Best short film

Best animated short film

• The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best production design

Best photography

• Sinners (Autumn Durald Arkapaw)

best costume

• Frankenstein (Kate Hawley)

Best makeup and hair

• Frankenstein (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey)

Best soundtrack

• Sinners (Ludwig Goransson)

best original song

• “Golden”, The K-Pop Warriors

Better sound

• F1: the movie (Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo y Juan Peralta)

best edition

• One battle after another (Andy Jurgensen)

Better visual effects

Best casting

• One battle after another (Cassandra Kulukundis)