Exhilarating winners, stunning eulogies and a party atmosphere: Six reasons why it was the best Oscars in years

In recent times, the Academy Awards have become stale. But this year, they felt fresher and more exciting than they have for a long while. Here's why.

The Academy Awards ceremony is one of the entertainment industry's biggest annual events, so it's ironic that the ceremony itself is so rarely entertaining. The last decade, in particular, has had as many lows as highs. There was the confusion over the best picture winners in 2017; the three years when there was no host; the dreary little soirée during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021; Will Smith's assault on Chris Rock in 2022; and a persistent air of shambolic incompetence that has made viewing the Oscars a chore.

It's a relief to report, then, that Sunday's Oscars bash was – gasp – exciting and enjoyable. This is why 2026 was a year to remember – for the right reasons:

The big winners at the 98th Academy Awards were Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, which won six Oscars, including best picture, and Ryan Coogler's Sinners, which won four. What was unusual about their rivalry is that the two films had so much in common: both were made by Warner Bros, both were exhilaratingly ambitious, genre-mashing passion projects from respected writer-directors, and both featured white supremacists as villains.

Also, they were both popular. Sinners was the highest-grossing film of last year which wasn't based on existing IP, with a global box-office total of around $370m (£280m). And while One Battle After Another's total was a mere $210m (£160m), that's still far more than the takings of such recent Oscar winners as Anora, Coda and Nomadland. It's been a while since so many people have cared so much about the best picture frontrunners.

Popular wins all round

Frankenstein, which won three Oscars, and KPop Demon Hunters, which won two, are both Netflix films which had limited cinema releases, but, unlike so much streaming slop, millions of people saw them, loved them and wanted to see them bag some Academy Awards. Meanwhile, Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for playing the gloriously scary Aunt Gladys in a hit horror film, Weapons; Brad Pitt's racing car blockbuster, F1, won the prize for best sound; and Avatar: Fire and Ash won best visual effects. In other words, awards kept going to intelligent, well-crafted films – but they also happened to be commercial smashes. It definitely lifts the mood of the evening when Hollywood can feel good about itself.

From his opening Weapons parody onwards, Conan O'Brien was far better at hosting than he was last year, expertly blending silliness and self-deprecation with a smidgen of edgy political material and a generous dollop of celebration. The party atmosphere was apparent, too, in the spectacular performances of best original song nominees I Lied to You from Sinners and Golden from KPop Demon Hunters (which went on to win); in the skit in which Anna Wintour, the former editor of Vogue, snubbed Anne Hathaway, thus demonstrating that she was the inspiration for Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada; and in the reunion of the stars of Bridesmaids, who proved that they still have the comic chemistry they had 15 years ago. Isn't it about time for a sequel?

The Academy Awards have been going for almost a century, yet the first ever woman to win the Oscar for cinematography was Autumn Durald Arkapaw for Sinners. Coolly unfazed by her history-making moment in the spotlight, she asked every woman in the Dolby Theatre to stand up and share that moment with her. Meanwhile, in a widely-expected result, Jessie Buckley became the first Irish woman to win best actress.

There was also the inaugural casting prize – won by Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another – the first new Oscar category in 24 years. And there were healthy signs of increasing inclusivity. Michael B Jordan, who played both of the two lead roles in Sinners, became only the sixth black actor to win the best actor Oscar.  And Ryan Coogler became only the second black screenwriter to win the best original screenplay Oscar.

A stunning 'In Memoriam'

The recent loss of some adored film-industry icons made last year feel like the end of an era, and the organisers wisely and sensitively acknowledged this by giving the In Memoriam segment more time and consideration than usual. Billy Crystal delivered an affectionate eulogy for Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, who were killed in December, and he was joined on stage by a line of actors who had appeared in Reiner's most beloved films. Rachel McAdams then paid tribute to Catherine O'Hara and Diane Keaton. And Barbra Streisand reminisced about her friendship with Robert Redford, finishing the segment by belting out a chorus of The Way We Were. There seem to be more and more film award ceremonies every year, but that was one of those moments which could only happen at the Oscars.

Yes, there were glitches, awkward pauses and a few cringeworthy comedy routines, but in general the ceremony ran smoothly: no one mixed up the best picture envelopes, and no one slapped anyone else in the face. One of the few major surprises was a tie in the best short film category, which meant that two sets of winners took it in turns to accept their statuette. And yet the award's presenter, Kumail Nanjiani, guided us through this complicated business with confidence and spontaneous humour. It was enough to prompt a thought which regular Oscar-watchers don't often have: maybe the organisers know what they're doing, after all.

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