At the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, Paul Thomas Anderson’s multi‑generational saga One Battle After Another dominated, taking home six Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won the Academy’s first trophy for Best Casting and Best Supporting Actor for an absent Sean Penn.
Accepting the screenplay award, Anderson said he wrote the film “for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world,” and expressed hope that younger generations will “bring us some common sense and decency.” Anderson, a long‑time awards favorite, earned his first Oscar after more than a decade of nominations.
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Best Picture: One Battle After Another
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet, completing a sweep of the season’s top acting prizes. Buckley thanked her Irish family in the audience and spoke of the lineage of women who “continue to create against all odds.”
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
Michael B. Jordan took home Best Actor for Sinners, in which he plays twin brothers. Jordan honored trailblazers before him — Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and others — and credited family and supporters for his career.
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Other major winners included:
– Best Original Song: “Golden” — Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park. The track, from the hit animated K‑pop Demon Hunters (Netflix’s most‑watched film), has already earned a Grammy; a sequel to the film is reportedly in the works.
– Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson — Sinners. Göransson adds another Oscar to his wins for Black Panther and Oppenheimer.
– Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw — Sinners. Durald Arkapaw asked the women in the room to stand in recognition of their support.
– Film Editing: Andy Jurgensen — One Battle After Another. Jurgensen dedicated his award to his aunt, Barbara Hall, former Academy film archivist.
– Best Sound: Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta — F1.
– Best International Feature Film: Sentimental Value — Norway. The film, starring Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, had also received several nominations in other categories.
– Best Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Co‑directors and producers accepted, and Pavel Talankin — the film’s subject who smuggled footage out of Russia and now lives in exile — urged in Ukrainian to “stop all of these wars now.”
The ceremony mixed triumphant acceptance speeches with moments that reflected the industry’s global reach and political awareness — from K‑pop’s mainstream breakthrough to documentaries spotlighting conflict. One Battle After Another emerged as the night’s clear winner, cementing Anderson’s place among contemporary cinema’s most acclaimed directors.