Major Takeaways From The Oscars This Year

Autumn Durald Arkapaw accepts the Oscar for best cinematography for “Sinners” during the 98th Annual Academy Awards (The Oscars) on March 15, 2026. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

The Oscars had a lot for everyone this year. “One Battle After Another,” a personal favorite of mine, won Best Picture, along with five other Oscars, and horror films made strides with films like “Sinners” taking home numerous awards in production and acting categories.

Here are some of the major awards given out Sunday night, with a special lens on “One Battle After Another”’s success this year.

Best Picture (and “One Battle After Another” at large)

This movie gets its own category due to the fact that it won a total of 6 Oscars including best picture, best director for Paul Thomas Anderson, best supporting actor for Sean Penn, and best play adaptation for Paul Thomas Anderson.

“One Battle After Another” is a must-watch for movie-lovers, and the awards back that up. By far one of the best watches of the year.

Best Actor

Michael B. Jordan was incredible in “Sinners.” His ability to play two characters at once, let alone two brothers, focused a careful lens on how good of an actor he is, and is the reason he took home a win in this category.

This was a stacked field with Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ethan Hawke all giving phenomenal performances in their movies, cementing the fact that while all of these actors have a breadth of acting experience, Jordan is able to give the stand out experience when all is said and done.

Best Actress

Jessie Bucly won her second Oscar for “Hamnet,” but is still somehow a relative unknown in the industry. She went up against blockbuster names like Emma Stone and Kate Hudson. “Hamnet” is the story of William Shakespeare in the process of writing his play “Hamlet”  and named for his son who died young.

Best Animated Feature

“K-Pop Demon Hunters” won the hearts of the world this summer with its catchy songs and captivating story. Even if you never saw the movie, “Golden” and “Soda Pop” dominated social media. “Golden” enjoyed regular airtime during Olympics coverage this winter.

It is no surprise the film won best animated feature, along with “Golden” winning best Original Song, due to this popularity and the grab it had on society this past year.

Best Cinematography

Autumn Durald Arkapaw broke ground winning best cinematography for “Sinners”. Arkapaw is the first woman and person of color to win this award, shattering the glass for many generations to come. In a category of majority men, Arkapaw showed that she could dominate and win under any circumstances.