Since 1929 the Academy Awards, more commonly known as the Oscars, have been named the most prestigious award ceremony in the film industry that recognizes and upholds excellence in the motion picture arts and sciences. Awards are decided through a large voting process where members of the academy, estimated to be around 10,000, nominate films in their respective categories.
The Academy Award of Merit, or an ‘Oscar’, depicts a small statue of a knight standing on a film reel holding a crusader’s sword and represents the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers—that same symbol of achievement was handed out numerous times on March 15, 2026 to commemorate the 98th annual award ceremony.
As always, the award show included numerous performances and skits ranging from host Conan O’ Brien’s monologues and most notably a rendition of “I Lied to You” with the stars of “Sinners”. Another significant event for this year’s Oscars was a tie happening for only the seventh time in history as both “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” took home best live-action short film.
The most prestigious and challenging categories to win in are known as “The Big Five” which includes Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (original or adapted), and throughout all the years of the Academy Awards, only three films have swept all five.
Best Picture was awarded to “One Battle After Another” that was one of thirteen other nominations for the film from the Academy which won six awards at the end of the night. Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed the movie, also won Best Director for the film as well as Best Adapated Screenplay taking home a total three of the five Big Five awards. The movie stars Bob, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is a paranoid former revolutionary trying to protect his teenage daughter named Willa.
However, as his former nemesis resurfaces, he must simultaneously navigate his paranoia and face the consequences of his past. The film explores themes relating to the cyclical nature of political, social, and personal conflict in America as well as the intergenerational resistance against injustice with the fall of democracy.
Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for his performance in “Sinners” where he plays the role of twin brothers known as Smoke and Stack that marked both his first Oscar nomination and win.
The film follows the brothers in 1930’s Mississippi returning from their trip to Chicago to open a juke joint that features supernatural elements and most importantly blood-seeking vampires. Director Ryan Coogler goes deep into the themes of black life in the American south with Jim Crow laws, as well as the importance of black identity, music, and culture carried on from ancestors.
In a heartfelt speech made by the winning actor, Jordan comments, “I stand here because of the people that came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Fox, Forest Whittaker, Will Smith, and to be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys, thank you everybody in this room, and everybody at home for supporting me over my career…I’mma keep stepping up, and I’mma keep being the best version of myself I can be.”
Though, Jordan’s long-awaited win spiked heavy controversy with those who thought Timothée Chalamet should’ve won for his performance in the A24 film Marty Supreme. Additionally, Coogler also won Best Original Screenplay for his work on “Sinners”.
The final award from the Big Five was given to a heavily deserving Jessie Buckley for Best Actress as Agnes Shakespeare in “Hamnet” for her first Oscar win that reimagines William Shakespeare’s wife that was much affected by the death of their eleven-year-old son, Hamnet.
As the first Irish winner of the Best Actress category, Buckley pays homage to her roots in her acceptance speech, “…My family, my Irish family, they’re all here. Mom, Dad, thank you for teaching us to dream and to never be defined by expectation and to carve your own passion…It’s Mother’s Day in the U.K. today, so I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.”
As Hollywood’s biggest night, the Academy Awards consistently delivers tear-jerking performances and acceptance speeches from both rising and established members of the film-industry and hopefully will continue its upward path to support and encourage all things surrounding film.