The 98th Academy Awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles on the night of March 15-16. The event brought together Hollywood's leading stars, directors, actors and producers to celebrate the most important films of the year. The awards ceremony was held in a special atmosphere: along with traditional jokes, musical performances and historic victories, words about the difficult times we live in were regularly heard on stage. Despite this, this year's ceremony will also be remembered for several positive moments. During the 2026 Oscars ceremony, records were set, viral memes appeared and unexpected celebrity appearances took place.
The triumph of the film “One Battle After Another”
The main winner of the 2026 Oscars was the film “One Battle After Another”. This film ended the awards season with a convincing victory. At the Oscars ceremony, the film received six awards. Among them are “Best Picture”, “Best Director”, “Best Adapted Screenplay”, “Best Editing”, “Best Casting” and “Best Supporting Actor”.
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The film “One Battle After Another” was considered a favorite long before the Oscar ceremony. Before the Academy Awards, this film received the key awards of the season. Among them are BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics Choice Awards and Producers Guild of America. These awards traditionally determine the main contenders for the Oscars.
The main competitor of the film “One Battle After Another” at the Oscars was the film “Sinners”, which set a historical record for the award. The film received 16 nominations for the Oscars. This is the largest number of nominations in the entire history of the award, which has existed for 98 years. For the horror film genre, such a result was exceptional. The film was created by director Ryan Coogler. The film starred a predominantly black cast. That is why the result of the film “Sinners” became an important cultural event for the modern film industry.
Sean Penn didn't come to the ceremony — he went to Ukraine
Another important moment of the Oscar ceremony, which was actively discussed during the broadcast, was the absence of Sean Penn. The actor received the award for best supporting actor in the film “One Battle After Another”. However, Sean Penn was not present at the ceremony.
According to The New York Times, the reason for his absence was symbolic. Sean Penn went to Ukraine, which the actor has been actively and in every way supporting for several years. After the start of a full-scale war, he repeatedly visited the country and publicly expressed support for the Ukrainians. That is why one of the Oscar winners received his award in absentia.
Anna Wintour and Anne Hathaway reenact a scene from “The Devil Wears Prada”
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One of the highlights of the 2026 Oscars was the joint appearance of Anna Wintour and Anne Hathaway on stage. They took the stage to Madonna's song Vogue and presented the awards in the categories of “Best Costume Design” and “Best Makeup and Hairstyling”. The appearance was clearly a promotion for the upcoming film “The Devil Wears Prada 2”, which is scheduled to premiere on May 1. During her speech, Anna Wintour jokingly called Anne Hathaway “Emily” – a direct reference to the original film “The Devil Wears Prada”. In the first part of this film, Meryl Stroup's character – the editor-in-chief of a fashion publication Miranda Priestly – constantly confuses the name of her assistant.
Balletgate: a joke about Timothée Chalamet
One of the most talked-about moments of the Oscars was host Conan O'Brien's joke about Timothée Chalamet. During his opening monologue, O'Brien recalled a recent interview with Chalamet in which the actor said he didn't want to work in fields like ballet or opera. According to Chalamet, these are fields “that not many people are interested in.”
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During the Oscars, Conan O'Brien joked, “Security is very tight at tonight's ceremony. We've been told there's a possibility of an attack from the opera and ballet communities. They're just upset that you didn't mention jazz.” The camera then panned to Timothée Chalamet in the audience. The actor was sitting next to his partner Kylie Jenner. Chalamet smiled and nodded.
Leonardo DiCaprio gave us a new meme
Another viral moment also occurred during Conan O'Brien's opening monologue. The host decided to make Leonardo DiCaprio a new internet meme. When the camera showed Leonardo DiCaprio in the audience, the caption appeared on the screen:
TFW You Didn't Agree to This (“when you didn't agree to this”).
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Leonardo DiCaprio played a confused reaction. This shot quickly began to spread on social networks. This moment from the Oscars ceremony will probably be added to the collection of famous memes with DiCaprio. These include the scene with the glass from the movie “The Great Gatsby” and scenes with the actor in the films “Django Unchained” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…”.
Historic victory for camerawoman Autumn Durald
One of the highlights of the 98th Academy Awards was the historic win for cinematographer Autumn Durald. She became the first woman in the history of the awards to win the Best Cinematography award. She won the Oscar for the film “Sinners.”
Before Durald, only three women had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In her acceptance speech, Durald thanked director Ryan Coogler. She also mentioned cinematographer Rachel Morrison. In 2017, Morrison became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award in the category.