Oscars 2026: All The Must-See Moments From This Year's Academy Awards You Might Have Missed

Daniel Welsh

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Oscars 2026: All The Must-See Moments From This Year's Academy Awards You Might Have Missed

Including show-stopping performances, outspoken political commentary and a few moments of unscripted chaos.

The 2026 Oscars saw out awards season for another year on Sunday night.

Sinners and One Battle After Another went into this year’s ceremony vying for the top prizes, but in the end, it was the latter that would come out on top, with six wins in total, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson.

It was still a strong showing for Ryan Coogler’s musical vampire thriller, though, which picked up four awards in total, while Frankenstein scooped three and KPop Demon Hunters managed to pick up two.

But, as usual, some of the night’s most memorable moments had nothing to do with who came away with what.

For those who didn’t feel like staying up until the wee small hours to follow the Academy Awards action live, here’s your quick guide to all of this year’s must-see moments…

Let’s start things off on the red carpet, where Best Supporting Actress nominee Teyana Taylor was undoubtedly one of the best-dressed of the night

Her fellow nominee Wunmi Mosaku was also glittering as she made her way into the event

Best Director contender Chloé Zhao brought plenty of drama to the red carpet

No one was having more fun on the red carpet than Marty Supreme star Odessa A’zion

Speaking of Marty Supreme, shall we take a moment to really take in all of Timothée Chalamet’s look, too?

Kate Hudson marked her Best Actress nod by walking the red carpet with her famous mum, Goldie Hawn

Sinners’ own Michael B Jordan also made the Oscars into a family affair, too

His Sinners co-star Jack O’Connell’s moment on the red carpet came with a surprise for fans of the film

And while Chase Infiniti may have been snubbed in the Best Actress category, she certainly made herself known on the red carpet with this fabulous outfit

Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams kicked off 2026′s awards season with his first major red carpet at the Golden Globes, and rounded it off with an appearance at the Grammys

Conan O’Brien set the tone with an opening monologue referencing the current political climate and world news, as well as the threats of AI to the entertainment industry

Oh, and naturally, he couldn’t resist a pop at Timothée Chalamet, either

Conan O'Brien ribs Timothée Chalamet during his #Oscars monologue, after the "Marty Supreme" star earned criticism for saying "no one cares" about opera and ballet."Security is extremely tight tonight ... I'm told there's concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet… pic.twitter.com/X9zhzWQAlB— TheWrap (@TheWrap) March 15, 2026

The first winner of the night was Amy Madigan for Weapons, and she was visibly delighted with the news, laughing to herself as she finally got to hold the Oscar in her hands

Sinners’ musical performance brought the film’s most memorable scene to life live on stage

Anna Wintour had some fun while presenting an award with The Devil Wears Prada’s own Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway: “Anna… ummm… just curious, what do you think of my dress?”Anna Wintour: “🕶️… And the nominees are…”#Oscars pic.twitter.com/rrNa5Gc6X7— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 15, 2026

Anne Hathaway: “Anna… ummm… just curious, what do you think of my dress?”Anna Wintour: “🕶️… And the nominees are…”#Oscars pic.twitter.com/rrNa5Gc6X7

There was a rare Oscars tie while presenting the award for Best Live-Action Short Film (‘it’s ironic that the short film Oscar is going to take twice as long,’ he then joked)

There was some awkwardness as producers tried to cut Two People Exchanging Saliva’s acceptance speech, but they prevailed

Awkward moment with Conan O’Brien at the #Oscars as they seemingly tried to cut away from winners speech pic.twitter.com/2zsCGIfnkT— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 16, 2026

Awkward moment with Conan O’Brien at the #Oscars as they seemingly tried to cut away from winners speech pic.twitter.com/2zsCGIfnkT

Kieran Culkin accepted Sean Penn’s third (third!) Oscar win on his behalf after he ‘couldn’t be here this evening – or didn’t want to’

“Sean Penn couldn’t be here tonight, or didn’t want to be, so I’ll be accepting this award on his behalf.”- Kieran Culkin while presenting Best Supporting Actor at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/jMj9yh6hB3— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 16, 2026

Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans roped Channing Tatum into one memorable comedy sketch

Robert Downey Jr. gets Chris Evans Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike thong #Oscars pic.twitter.com/QBywZyH5RP— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 16, 2026

Robert Downey Jr. gets Chris Evans Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike thong #Oscars pic.twitter.com/QBywZyH5RP

Sinners director and writer Ryan Coogler celebrated his Best Original Screenplay win by celebrating the work of Sinners’ sprawling cast

Billy Crystal began the ‘in memoriam’ tributes by leading a star-studded homage to Rob Reiner

Billy Crystal honors the late great Rob and Michele Reiner at the 2026 #Oscars alongside stars of his films. pic.twitter.com/yrb1ksSfZe— clubheartbreak (@clubheartbreak) March 16, 2026

Billy Crystal honors the late great Rob and Michele Reiner at the 2026 #Oscars alongside stars of his films. pic.twitter.com/yrb1ksSfZe

Following this, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Rachel McAdams remembered Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara

Rachel McAdams delivers an emotional tribute to Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara during the #Oscars In Memoriam segment, honoring their enduring impact on film. Clip Courtesy A.M.P.A.S.© 2026 pic.twitter.com/Li4pjG5gVo— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 16, 2026

Barbra Streisand then gave a rare live musical performance in tribute to her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford

Barbra Streisand sings The Way We Were for Robert Redford 💔#Oscars pic.twitter.com/npo96Ar0GG— Lunar Surfer (@TheLunarSurfer) March 16, 2026

Barbra Streisand sings The Way We Were for Robert Redford 💔#Oscars pic.twitter.com/npo96Ar0GG

Lightening the mood after a break was this excellent exchange between sci-fi legends Sigourney Weaver and Pedro Pascal, featuring a cameo from Baby Yoda himself

An overprotective Sigourney Weaver over Grogu meanwhile Pedro Pascal just being a fanboy at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/8W3JqiNo88— Pedro Pascal Daily (@pascalarchive) March 16, 2026

An overprotective Sigourney Weaver over Grogu meanwhile Pedro Pascal just being a fanboy at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/8W3JqiNo88

Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t on stage for long, but managed to take a series of shots at Donald Trump and his administration

Jimmy Kimmel takes a dig at CBS at the #Oscars: “As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS.”(via ABC/AMPAS) pic.twitter.com/uagEF93Swn— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026

Jimmy Kimmel takes swipe at Donald Trump at the #Oscars: “Oh man, is he going to be mad that his wife wasn’t nominated for this” pic.twitter.com/h3WUfWAFy7— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 16, 2026

Jimmy Kimmel takes swipe at Donald Trump at the #Oscars: “Oh man, is he going to be mad that his wife wasn’t nominated for this” pic.twitter.com/h3WUfWAFy7

You could hear a pin drop after All The Empty Rooms’ win for Best Documentary Short, as the team behind it made an important point about gun violence

The Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film goes to “All the Empty Rooms.” #Oscars pic.twitter.com/ixCmasGw2g— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 16, 2026

The Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film goes to “All the Empty Rooms.” #Oscars pic.twitter.com/ixCmasGw2g

Mr Nobody Against Putin’s team then had a timely message for the whole world about ‘complicity’ and its effects on society

this was the most important Oscar speech of the night tbh"Mr. Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country. What we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small, little acts of complicity: when we act complicit when a government… pic.twitter.com/QoqDHGS9xM— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 16, 2026

The cast of Bridesmaids – minus one! – then came together to mark 15 years since the film’s release (yes this would have been a lot funnier had their mics been working but as that’s not their fault we’re going to swiftly move on...)

Bridesmaids reunion at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/epXKZQTL7e— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 16, 2026

Bridesmaids reunion at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/epXKZQTL7e

Sinners’ own Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history with her win for Best Cinematography – and shared the moment with every woman in the room

There’ve been plenty of performances of Golden over the course of awards season this year, but the rendition at the Oscars was perhaps the most ambitious yet

HUNTR/X performing “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/S4CMuMdtJ4— EJAE Updates (@EjaeUpdates) March 16, 2026

HUNTR/X performing “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/S4CMuMdtJ4

Javier Bardem used his introduction to Best International Feature Film by declaring ‘free Palestine’

“No to war and Free Palestine”— Javier Bardem at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/qoyMZ8gEM4— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 16, 2026

“No to war and Free Palestine”— Javier Bardem at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/qoyMZ8gEM4

After winning Best Original Song, an emotional Ejae reflected on how far she’d come

"People made fun of me for liking K-pop and now everyone’s singing our song. And all the Korean lyrics... I’m so proud." — EJAE accepting the Best Original Song Oscar for "Golden" 💫 📸: getty pic.twitter.com/noDmeUCM9r— Netflix (@netflix) March 16, 2026

Unfortunately, after Golden won Best Original Song for KPop Demon Hunters, one of its songwriters was cut off by producers, leading to widespread groaning from the studio audience

K-Pop Demon Hunters songwriting crew get speech cut at #Oscars after making history winning Original Song pic.twitter.com/g7WekvTpau— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 16, 2026

K-Pop Demon Hunters songwriting crew get speech cut at #Oscars after making history winning Original Song pic.twitter.com/g7WekvTpau

Michael B Jordan beat stiff competition from Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio to win his first Oscar, and the reaction from everyone around him was just wonderful to behold

Michael B. Jordan receives thunderous applause as he wins the #Oscar for Best Actor. pic.twitter.com/jlHKTZjkdx— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 16, 2026

Michael B. Jordan receives thunderous applause as he wins the #Oscar for Best Actor. pic.twitter.com/jlHKTZjkdx

Jessie Buckley then completed her awards season clean sweep with an Oscars victory, rounding off her heartwarming speech with an Irish-language sign-off

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor weren’t ever going to get through their Moulin Rouge! reunion without a quick musical interlude, were they?

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor singing "All You Need Is Love" while presenting at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/ju6fRhga3T— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 16, 2026

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor singing "All You Need Is Love" while presenting at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/ju6fRhga3T

Paul Thomas Anderson then saw out One Battle After Another’s Best Picture win with a message for his fellow nominees

Paul Thomas Anderson used his Best Picture Oscar speech to shout out a bunch of incredible movies that DIDN'T win, reminding the "losers" tonight that their films will still go down in history:"In 1975, the Oscar nominees for Best Picture were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over… pic.twitter.com/XsudLWPUAB— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 16, 2026

Teyana Taylor playfully puts Paul Thomas Anderson in a headlock as #OneBattleAfterAnother wins Best Picture at the #Oscars(via ABC/AMPAS) pic.twitter.com/nUleWTUfK8— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026

Teyana Taylor playfully puts Paul Thomas Anderson in a headlock as #OneBattleAfterAnother wins Best Picture at the #Oscars(via ABC/AMPAS) pic.twitter.com/nUleWTUfK8

And finally, Conan O’Brien’s final sketch of the night referenced the final moments of One Battle After Another

An honor to be reunited with my mentor, Jim Downey. pic.twitter.com/unxXpF2OvY— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) March 16, 2026

An honor to be reunited with my mentor, Jim Downey. pic.twitter.com/unxXpF2OvY

one battle after another

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