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One Battle After Another secured the biggest award of the night at the 2026 Oscars, winning Best Picture in a field of 10 superb nominees.
Producer Sara Murphy and director Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the honor during the Sunday, March 15, ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The film took home a total of six awards throughout the evening, including Best Director for Anderson.
“My heart is exploding with gratitude,” Murphy said, in part, before passing the microphone over to Anderson. The director thanked the film’s cast, admitting he “blew it” with his speech after winning Best Directing earlier in the evening. He called out Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall and Chase Infiniti, calling the young star “the heart of this movie.”
“What a night,” Anderson concluded. “Let’s have a martini. Cheers!”
The other nominees in the Best Picture category were Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners and Train Dreams.
Ahead of the 98th Academy Awards, Sinners made history with a record-breaking 16 nominations. The cast received recognition, with nods for Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Delroy Lindo for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Wunmi Mosaku for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In addition to Best Picture, the film also earned nominations for Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Music (Original Score), Best Music (Original Song), Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects and Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
Coogler — who directed, wrote and produced Sinners — reacted to the film’s numerous nods in January.
“I did not have any expectations when it came to the recognition of what [the Sinners team] did. For me, people just showing up to the movies and having a good time, that would’ve been enough. That is worth all the effort,” Coogler, 39, told Deadline. “But that people would consider the craft and the achievements that went into it individually. It’s so rewarding.”
Among the Best Picture contenders, One Battle After Another had the second-most Oscar nominations with 13, followed by Frankenstein, Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value with nine each, Hamnet with eight and Bugonia, F1, The Secret Agent and Train Dreams with four each.
Prior to the Academy Awards, One Battle After Another won the top prizes at multiple events, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, Best Picture at the Critics Choice Awards and Best Film at the BAFTA Awards. Paul Thomas Anderson and Sara Murphy paid tribute to their late producing partner, Adam Somner — who died from cancer in November 2024 at age 57 — in all of their acceptance speeches.
Elsewhere at the Golden Globes, Hamnet earned Best Motion Picture – Drama. Director Chloé Zhao subsequently shared words of wisdom from Paul Mescal, who starred in the film.
“He said that making Hamnet made him realize that the most important thing of being an artist is learning to be vulnerable enough to allow ourselves to be seen for who we are, not who we ought to be, and to give ourselves fully to the world, even the parts of ourselves that we’re ashamed of, that we’re afraid of, that are imperfect so the people that we speak to, they can also learn to see themselves and fully accept themselves,” Zhao, 43, recalled.
Meanwhile, Sinners won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Actor Awards.
“Every single day, we brought ourselves, we brought our hearts, we brought our souls, we brought our spirits to this endeavor,” Lindo, 73, said at the time. “And to be recognized by you all … Thank you does not come anywhere near to encompassing what we feel, the gratitude.”
