Commentary on the 2026 Oscars: Excellent winners – and one big loser

At the 2026 Oscars, it all came down to the big duel between the top favorites "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners". And rightly so! The two films are undoubtedly among the best that the 98th Academy Awards had to offer. But what makes the two winners stand out? And what about the other films that were in the running? This much can already be revealed: The Academy got a lot of things right this year. However, the Oscar jury should have resisted the Huntr/x hype when it came to Best Animated Film. And: there is one big loser who deserved better.

The big Oscar winner: One Battle After Another

The big winner of the 2026 Oscars is "One Battle After Another". Six Oscars were awarded over the course of the evening, including for best film, director and screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson and supporting actor Sean Penn. It was a win that seemed as compelling as the shower of awards for Christopher Nolan's Oscar runner-up "Oppenheimer" two years ago. Why? Because three irresistible factors came together here too. A movie that is celebrated by critics and audiences alike. Shot by one of the most renowned directors who has deserved an Oscar award for years, but has always come away empty-handed until tonight. With a story that could hardly be more contemporary.

At the center of the story is an ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) who has gone into hiding and has to flee with his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from a racist soldier (Sean Penn). With plenty of humor and even more lunacy, the action thriller tells of the fight against increasingly fascist conditions - and holds up an appropriately grotesque mirror to the current political situation in the US.

Another Oscar contender: Blood & Sinners

However, the award for Best Film would have been no less deserved for "Sinners", which made history in advance with 16 nominations - no other film has been in the running for so many Oscars before. The mix of music, gangster and horror film takes us to a nightclub of the black community in the US South of the 1930s, which is attacked by vampires one evening. Director Ryan Coogler stages the whole thing in an incredibly stylish, atmospheric and - as befits a vampire movie - bloody manner.

In addition, "Sinners" is beguilingly photographed by Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who was the first female person of color to be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Cinematography category - and won. A genre gem set almost 100 years ago, but no less contemporary than "One Battle After Another", it laments the persistence of racism while celebrating the power of music to transcend generations. In the end, it won four Oscars, including the award for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Michael B. Jordan.

The big Oscar loser: Marty Supreme

Jordan, who impressively embodies the dual role of two criminal twin brothers, thus prevailed over Timothée Chalamet, who had long been considered the favorite. No question: the award for Jordan is well deserved. But what Chalamet pulls off in "Marty Supreme" would have been more than Oscar-worthy. He plays an ambitious professional table tennis player from the 1950s in a multi-layered, captivating and engaging way, in which charm and cockiness go hand in hand.

The timeless performance of a film character who seems to feel so ahead of his time that even the soundtrack has to skip three decades to accompany the protagonist through the movie to the new wave sound of the 80s. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough for the Oscar. What's more, "Marty Supreme" is generally the big loser of the 2026 Oscars. Having entered the race with nine nominations, Josh Safdie's turbulent sports drama ultimately came away completely empty-handed.

Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein", on the other hand, was more successful. The film adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic horror novel won three awards, making it the winner of the most awards of the evening after "One Battle After Another" and "Blood & Sinners". The famous story about the creation of Frankenstein's monster has rarely been told as sensitively as by del Toro, and it looks magnificent to boot. The reward for his efforts: Oscars for best production design, costumes, make-up and hairstyling.

Other Oscar favorites prevail

There was no doubt who would win the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessie Buckley came, saw and won. Even Emma Stone, who was also nominated, didn't stand a chance. Even though Stone's galactically good portrayal of a businesswoman kidnapped by conspiracy theorists in the bitterly evil "Bugonia" is unparalleled. As William Shakespeare's wife Agnes, Buckley's performance in "Hamnet " is simply so powerful, heartbreaking and moving that tears are guaranteed in the movie theater. Even if the ending of Chloé Zhao's drama about the Shakespeares' marriage and the creation of "Hamlet" slightly overstretches the emotional arc.

Renate Reinsve is also one of the strongest leading actresses of this year's Oscar season. In "Sentimental Value", she plays the daughter of a famous film director (also nominated Stellan Skarsgård) who has a difficult relationship with his daughters. The great actors came away empty-handed in the face of strong competition. However, the film won the Oscar for Best International Film for Norway. Joachim Trier's family and artist drama was the favorite anyway, so there were no surprises in this category either.

Even though "The Secret Agent" was a strong contender from Brazil, which was also considered to have a good chance. Kleber Mendonça Filho's political thriller might have been the more interesting choice because it plays with the rules of the genre in such an unusual way that you get the feeling you're watching a completely new form of political thriller. "Sentimental Value", on the other hand, seems more conventional, but is just as good thanks to outstanding actors and an unagitated, incredibly nuanced narrative style.

The Oscars also succumb to the KPop Demon Hunters

However, another film should definitely have won the Best Animated Film category. However, "KPop Demon Hunters" was awarded the prize. Everyone predicted this would happen, but it didn't have to. Of course, the fantasy animation adventure about the K-pop girl group Huntr/x, who go on a demon hunt, has had a huge impact. It is the most successful Netflix film of all time. Everyone was talking about it, the songs became hits. Especially "Golden", which is also a catchy tune independent of the film and also won Best Song at this year's Oscars. Apart from that, however, the film is relatively simple, not very funny and characterized by a somewhat strange attitude that preaches self-acceptance, but demands complaisance. Because if the fans go, the world ends too. Literally, in the world of the "KPop Demon Hunters".

In contrast, the biggest competitor, "Zootopia 2", can only be accused of doing the same thing as part 1: telling a clever, funny, carefully constructed criminal case of a slightly different kind, which also shines with its visual richness. But well, apparently the Oscar jury couldn't resist the Huntr/x hype either.

The feature films with the most Oscar awards in 2026

• One Battle After Another (6 Oscars)
• Blood & Sinners (4)
• Frankenstein (3)
• KPop Demon Hunters (2)
• Hamnet (1)
• Weapons (1)
• Sentimental Value (1)
• F1 (1)
• Avatar: Fire and Ash (1)

The 2026 Oscar awards at a glance

Best Film: One Battle After Another

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson ("One Battle After Another")

Best Leading actress: Jessie Buckley ("Hamnet")

Best Leading Actor: Michael B. Jordan ("Blood & Sinners")

Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn ("One Battle After Another")

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan ("Weapons")

Best Casting: One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay: Blood & Sinners

Best Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another

Best International Film: Sentimental Value

Best Animated Film: KPop Demon Hunters

Best Documentary: Mr Nobody Against Putin

Best Cinematography: Blood & Sinners

Best Editing: One Battle After Another

Best Production Design: Frankenstein

Best Sound: F1

Best Original Score: Blood & Sinners

Best Original Song: Golden ("KPop Demon Hunters")

Best Costume Design: Frankenstein

Best Make-Up and Hairstyling: Frankenstein

Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Best Live Action Short Film: The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva (both films won due to a tie)

Best Animated Short Film: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms