And just like that, the countdown to the 98th Academy Awards has been and gone. After months of red carpets, surprise wins and endlessly debated contenders, we’re sizing up the season so far. From One Battle After Another to Hamnet and Sinners – see who’s dominated the winners’ circle.

It’s that time again. Rallying your friends around the laptop or TV, nestling yourselves comfortably into the plush of a couch or armchair – or perching on the very edge of it – maybe you chose to go at it solo, but ‘tis the occasion for the Oscars. Every year, this star-studded night in March bubbles with buzz, bewilderment, and blithe – and this one has been no different. 

Awards season beats to the rhythm of its own drum – and at best, it’s marvellously unpredictable. One minute the critics’ circles are mutely, albeit tacitly, announcing their picks in December, the next it’s champagne-soaked afterparties and acceptance speeches ricocheting across group chats before the applause fades. But somewhere along the way, a pattern begins to form; a film starts sweeping the circuit, a performance is reposted, reshared and repeated on social channels, making it irrefutably impossible to ignore, and suddenly, the 98th Academy Awards takes centre stage.

This year, a handful of names have steadily risen above the noise. One Battle After Another emerged as a prestige frontrunner, picking up major prizes across the circuit. It was the biggest winner of the night, taking home six awards, including Best Picture, and its director, Paul Thomas Anderson responsible for three of them, with the award for Best Directing firmly in clutch. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners surged as its biggest challenger with industry guild support and a formidable nominations haul of 16 – with a ‘last-minute’ Best Actor win from Michael B. Jordan at the SAG Awards in February boosting his chances of taking away the Oscar for Best Actor, which he succeeded in doing, rising triumphantly to the cause against fellow nominees, which boasted Leonardo DiCaprio and Wagner Moura. Irish starlet Jessie Buckley came out on top as the Mother of Mother’s Day, having stacked up the acting wins over the last few months for her performance in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet. Going from strength to strength, praise to praise, she, naturally, came away with the Best Actress award – the first Irish actress to achieve so. That’s a St Paddy’s win if I ever did see one.

Elsewhere, it was a night to feel “Golden” as the masterminds behind KPop Demon Hunters claimed one of the earliest wins of the night. It proved that they’re more than just a catchy, chart-topping tune with their Best Animation and Best Original Song wins – though, frankly, there was no competition. And, in what was anticipated to be as such, a win for the Kiwis with Frankenstein’s Kate Hawley taking away the Oscar for Best Costume. Another spotlight moment was the Live Action Short Film category that was spoilt for choice with two winners – the seventh time to happen in Oscar history, and the second time of the night for someone to throw shade at Timmy Tim’s recent opera and ballet remarks. Though the latter continued fervently throughout…at least Kylie looked cute!

To further add to the charm and cheer of the night, Wonderland’s Spring ‘26 cover star and Balenciaga boy Hudson Williams was already promising more “sex” ahead of Heated Rivalry’s second season, before he’d even made it through the glossy doors of Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. Then, there was the playful volley of words between Anna Wintour and Emily – sorry, Anne Hathaway – served with just enough shade to keep things interesting, which the internet (obviously) ran with. Another wink of validation from Vogue’s queen bee before the much-anticipated summer release of Devil Wears Prada 2. Mostly, though, it felt like a love letter, as these things often do: actors lavishing affection on one another in full ballgown-and-face-beat splendour (Amelia Dimoldenberg and McKenna Grace, we see you). And for the Barbs – as in Miss Barbra Streisand – we were treated to a little sing-song in tribute to the late Robert Redford, before the cast of Bridesmaids reunited with a short wit-full bit to present the Oscar for Best Score.

In the aftermath of Hollywood’s biggest night, five hours (depending on when you got stuck in) of shock, surprise and major star factor, here’s a look at the winners of the 98th Academy Awards.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET
Marty Supreme

LEONARDO DICAPRIO
One Battle After Another

ETHAN HAWKE
Blue Moon

MICHAEL B. JORDAN
Sinners

WAGNER MOURA
The Secret Agent

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

BENICIO DEL TORO
One Battle After Another

JACOB ELORDI
Frankenstein

DELROY LINDO
Sinners

SEAN PENN
One Battle after Another

STELLAN SKARSGÅRD
Sentimental Value

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

JESSIE BUCKLEY
Hamnet

ROSE BYRNE
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

KATE HUDSON
Song Sung Blue

RENATE REINSVE
Sentimental Value

EMMA STONE
Bugonia

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

AMY MADIGAN
Weapons

ELLE FANNING
Sentimental Value

INGA IBSDOTTER LILLEAAS
Sentimental Value

WUNMI MOSAKU
Sinners

TEYANA TAYLOR
One Battle After Another

COSTUME DESIGN

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
Deborah L. Scott

FRANKENSTEIN
Kate Hawley

HAMNET
Malgosia Turzanska

MARTY SUPREME
Miyako Bellizzi

SINNERS
Ruth E. Carter

DIRECTING

HAMNET
Chloé Zhao

MARTY SUPREME
Josh Safdie

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Paul Thomas Anderson

SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Joachim Trier

SINNERS
Ryan Coogler

FILM EDITING

F1
Stephen Mirrione

MARTY SUPREME
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Andy Jurgensen

SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Olivier Bugge Coutté

SINNERS
Michael P. Shawver

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

BUGONIA
Jerskin Fendrix

FRANKENSTEIN
Alexandre Desplat

HAMNET
Max Richter

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Jonny Greenwood

SINNERS
Ludwig Goransson

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

DEAR ME
from Diane Warren: Relentless; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

GOLDEN
from KPop Demon Hunters; Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park

I LIED TO YOU
from Sinners; Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson

SWEET DREAMS OF JOY
from Viva Verdi!; Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike

TRAIN DREAMS
from Train Dreams; Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

BEST PICTURE

BUGONIA
Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen, Producers

F1
Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

FRANKENSTEIN
Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, Producers

HAMNET
Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers

MARTY SUPREME
Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Producers

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers

THE SECRET AGENT
Emilie Lesclaux, Producer

SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Producers

SINNERS
Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, Producers

TRAIN DREAMS
Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler, Producers

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

BUGONIA
Screenplay by Will Tracy

FRANKENSTEIN
Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro

HAMNET
Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

TRAIN DREAMS
Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

BLUE MOON
Written by Robert Kaplow

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Written by Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators – Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian

MARTY SUPREME
Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie

SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

SINNERS
Written by Ryan Coogler