Everything that happened at the 2026 Oscars

After the show, it’s the afterparty.

Aside from the Governors Ball, the official post-Oscars celebration, the Vanity Fair Oscar Party is the hottest ticket in town. This year, the soirée moved from the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In addition to changing venues, the outlet’s new global editorial director, Mark Guiducci, has made radical changes: slashing the guest list and banning outside media. Non-Vanity Fair photography hasn’t been allowed in years past, but reporters from other news organizations were still invited inside to observe.

Hollywood’s biggest night is here, along with the biggest red carpet of awards season.

Not only is it massive in size — it takes about 2,400 hours and more than 400 workers to assemble the red carpet, measuring 900 feet long and 60 feet wide — but enormous in influence. It boasts the most memorable, stylish and extravagant fashion in entertainment history. In fact, stars have been taking cues from Hollywood history at precursor awards shows. Old Hollywood glamour dominated January’s Golden Globes. And the Actor Awards, held two weeks ago, were themed “Reimagining Hollywood Glamour from the ‘20s and ‘30s.”

Put a cold-blooded spin on it and “Sinners” is now the biggest loser in Oscars history, ceding 12 of its 16 record-breaking nominations to other films. But Ryan Coogler still won the night.

In another year, I might have said “Sinners” lost to “rivals” or “competitors.” But on Sunday, anyone with an ego got swatted on the nose. Last year’s best actor, Adrien Brody, made amends for flinging chewing gum at his wife by swallowing a fresh wad of it (and his pride). Meanwhile, this year’s thirstiest aspirant, Timothée Chalamet, sat in the front row and gamely took his lumps as the only contender who got repeatedly roasted, including an awkward gag when the band wheeled out a “Marty Supreme”-style “bum drum” that stood in for his public spanking.

Wendi McLendon-Covey shared a message to everybody wondering why she missed the “Bridesmaids” reunion at the 2026 Oscars: Don’t worry, she’s fine.

“I had a neck lift last week because I’m tired of looking like a melting candle,” McLendon-Covey wrote in an Instagram post Sunday. “So I had to skip the Academy Awards. No drama. Everything is fine.”

Michael B. Jordan was all about sharing the love Sunday night, giving unsuspecting fans a thrill when he swung by an In-N-Out Burger with his lead actor Oscar after the Academy Awards.

And we’re not talking the In-N-Out typically served to the beautiful people at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Nope. Jordan showed up at an actual In-N-Out location, much to the delight of the burger lovers and paparazzi who swarmed the restaurant with him.

An Oscars slugfest for the ages ran its course, with “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” duking it out and tallying up wins while the low but steady hum of host Conan O’Brien’s patented brand of weirdness tied the room together. A few unnecessarily curt speech interruptions threatened the calm, but mainly, this was a smoothly run machine of a show, devoid of mishaps. Even the rare circumstance of a tie was handled expertly by live-action-short award presenter Kumail Nanjiani, never bringing to mind the immortal confusion of “Moonlight” vs. “La La Land.”

But what didn’t make it to the telecast? Here are some flavorful takeaways — small yet memorable — that stick in mind from our several reporters in the room on Sunday.

The highlight of the Governors Ball, the first stop of the night for many winners after the Oscars, is the stage where victors get their Oscars engraved.

Or if you didn’t win, there was still plenty to savor Sunday night, including buffet stations bursting with sliders, spring rolls and short rib bao buns.

With the state of the nation worse on pretty much every metric, it’s good we can still gather round our screen of choice to watch film professionals win awards for a few hours on a March evening. This happened Sunday for the 98th time at the Academy Awards, sent via ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and other platforms into the world.

The question, this year as it is every year, is how this Oscars night was different from any other Oscars night. With Conan O’Brien returning as host in 2026, the ceremony was much in the spirit of his first go in 2025, except this was all in all a livelier, funnier show. Not perfect, of course, as the only program to ever occupy three hours of television without flagging was “Sábado Gigante,” but, gagwise — the Oscar broadcast is fundamentally a comedy with speeches — its hits-to-misses ratio was good or better than your average “Saturday Night Live” episode.

Some of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary shorts hit so hard, viewers may be grateful to come across one that simply follows donkeys visiting an observatory in the desert — even if it bumps up against the very boundaries of the genre.

Before Paul Thomas Anderson walked away from Ovation Hollywood with three personal Oscar wins for his career epic “One Battle After Another,” he told the press room that Teyana Taylor’s character, while controversial, was the true heart of his film.

“That was our hero, Perfidia, who becomes an antihero,” Anderson said. “The point of that is to set up the story of Willa (Chase Infiniti), the next generation.”

“What happens when your parents, who are damaged, hand quite a difficult history to you? How do you manage that?” the director said. “That’s our story.”

As Anderson spoke with conviction about his film 20 years in the making, his longtime partner Maya Rudolph watched from the far side of the room, wearing an ever-so-slight smile.

Coming off of his first Oscar win, “Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan told the press room that while academy recognition is a true “pinnacle” for actors, he never set out to make such recognition the goal of his career.

“My father always told me, ‘Don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Do the work, and everything else will figure itself out,’” Jordan said. He added, “What’s for you is for you, and you can’t take anybody’s blessings away from anybody else.”

The actor continued to express his gratitude toward all the industry assistants, executives and others who positioned him for success throughout his 25-year career: “They looked out for me when they didn’t have to.”

VIDEO | 00:28

Michael B. Jordan displays his Oscar, Jessie Buckley gets hers engraved

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Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley appeared onstage at the engraving station during the Governors Ball post-Oscars celebration. As Buckley got her statue engraved she stopped to beam at Jordan, who stood facing the press with a proud grin on his face, his statue hoisted in the air.

After dancing her way onto the Oscars press room stage following her lead actress win, “Hamnet” star Jessie Buckley announced proudly to the crowd, “My daughter got her first tooth this week.” (They responded in kind, with cheers and wide smiles.)

Evidently holding dearly both her titles as first-time mother and Oscar winner, Buckley expressed her gratitude for all that playing Agnes in the film taught her about motherhood.

“This role cracked a kind of tenderness in me,” the actor said, ultimately showing her that “tenderness is as vibrant and strong as strength.”

Buckley concluded that she’ll be keeping Agnes with her for a long time: “Why would I ever want to let that go?”

VIDEO | 00:30

Ryan Coogler gets his Oscar engraved

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As Ryan Coogler emerged from behind a golden curtain to have his Oscar engraved, the entire room moved in a collective rush toward him. The crush of photographers surrounding him was so great that it blocked out everyone else. Coogler bent his head closely to his partner and gave his full attention to the woman engraving his statue on this historic night.

Following his Oscar win for original screenplay for “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler told the press room that he always envisioned his longtime collaborator Michael B. Jordan leading his monumental film as twin ex-mob enforcers turned juke joint owners, Smoke and Stack.

“As soon as I imagined what those two characters were going to be, I knew I had to call Mike,” Coogler said Sunday evening. But Jordan ended up getting to him first, pitching the director an indie he was working on.

“I told him it wasn’t the right time and he got a little upset,” Coogler said, adding that he consoled the actor by telling him about “Sinners” a bit earlier than he’d intended to.

“He jumped the gun a little bit so I had to jump it back,” he said.

The Governors Ball is the first obligatory stop for all Oscars guests, nominees and winners. It’s directly above the Dolby Theatre, where the ceremony is held, and it’s the place you have to go to get your Oscar engraved.

Guests are greeted with a panoply of beverages, including a Don Julio tequila bar, and a wide assortment of culinary choices including rare roast beef bites, mini cheeseburgers and onion rings, as well as more Oscar-themed gold-flaked desserts than any sane human knows how to consume.

For about an hour after the show, this is the party to be at. But after that, guests move on to a variety of more elite parties hosted by individual studios, and, of course, the coveted Vanity Fair party, which is being hosted for the first time at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and is not allowing entrance to outside press.

“Sinners” entered the night with the record for the most Oscar nominations for a single film, with 16.

It leaves with four awards, won by Ryan Coogler for original screenplay, Michael B. Jordan for lead actor, Autumn Durald Arkapaw for cinematography and Ludwig Göransson for score. Arkapaw became the first woman to ever win in her category.

Actor Sterling K. Brown strode through the packed crowd at the end of the Oscars ceremony with a solemn but proud look on his face. Shaking hands with a friend, he said, “Its a great night, man, I won’t lie.”

“Sinners” shooter Autumn Durald Arkapaw on Sunday became the first woman to win the Oscar for cinematography. As she arrived backstage following her historic win, the press room erupted into applause, with many reporters delivering a standing ovation.

Arkapaw was equally thrilled, telling the room, “A lot of little girls that look like me will sleep really well tonight.”

“I heard Karen O say once at a concert… ‘You have to see you to be you,’” she said. “Ryan gives us, the women on this film, and our heads of department, he gives us those opportunities to shine and be ourselves and work in a creative environment where we’re leading.”

Such trust is rarely extended by directors, Arkapaw said, and she is grateful.

When Michael B. Jordan walked off stage and the show went to commercial break, Timothée Chalamet, who was up against Jordan in the lead actor category, took a sip of his drink as Elle Fanning, sitting behind him, gave him a pat on the back.

Fanning has been talking to Chalamet throughout the night, who barely turns around to look at her. Kylie Jenner keeps rubbing and patting his hand while he nervously jiggles his right leg.

Times columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp spent the 2026 Oscars ceremony discussing the winners, speeches, presenters and much more. Here’s their take on the best and worst moments of the night, as they happened.

Winners list | Best red carpet looks | Complete coverage

7:47 p.m. Watching that highlight reel at the end, there were so many great moments in tonight’s show, capped by Teyana Taylor putting Paul Thomas Anderson in a headlock heading to the stage after “One Battle” won best picture. It was long. But not short on feeling. — G.W.

My dogs thought it would be over closer to 7, which would guarantee them a walk. Now I’m not so sure. But I always have a great time with you, Glenn. “One Oscars After Another” indeed. — M.M.

Warner Bros. tied the record for most wins for a studio in a single night with 11 Academy Awards on Sunday, a milestone as the company faces an uncertain future.

The studio won six Academy Awards for “One Battle After Another” and four awards for “Sinners.”

“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s political epic, took home the award for best picture at Sunday night’s Oscars, edging out “Sinners,” which gained considerable momentum late in the game, in a tight and dramatic race to the finish line.

Entering the night with 13 nominations, the film had been an early favorite after sweeping most of the major industry prizes, including the PGA Award — a key bellwether in this category. But “Sinners” picked up steam after claiming top prizes for “Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan, as well as the film’s ensemble cast, at the recent Actor Awards and created a tense run-up to the Oscars. It all made for an unpredictable moment for the Oscars’ main category, even as Warner Bros., the studio behind both movies, stood to have a rare and enviable night whatever the outcome — while in the midst of a takeover deal that could rock the industry.

It was a big night for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” taking home six Oscars, including best picture, best director and adapted screenplay at the 98th Academy Awards. The film also won for Sean Penn for supporting actor, film editing and casting, the first time the category was presented.

“Sinners,” which earned a record 16 nominations, won four awards, including Michael B. Jordan for actor in a leading role, Ryan Coogler’s original screenplay, his first, original score and cinematography, with Autumn Durald Arkapaw making history as the first woman to win an Oscar in the category.

Jessie Buckley was another first-time winner, taking the Oscar for actress in a leading role for “Hamnet.” Amy Madigan won for supporting actress for “Weapons.”

The Korean musical fantasy “KPop Demon Hunters” won two Academy Awards, for animated feature and original song. “Frankenstein” won three awards, for production design, costume design and makeup and hairstyling.

Awards

Everything that happened at the 2026 Oscars

Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley won top acting prizes; “One Battle After Another” bests “Sinners” for Oscars gold. Catch up on the winners, the fashion and what happened at the show — and after.

March 20, 2026

Michael B. Jordan is a first-time Academy Award winner.

The “Sinners” star won the lead actor Oscar for his dual roles as Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s Southern Gothic horror film, which received a record 16 Oscar nominations including best picture.

The thing about being Jacob Elordi is there’s nowhere to hide. As the actor descended a ramp from the theater to make his way to the lobby, he greeted “F1” star Damson Idris before making his way to the other side of the room. One man stopped and whispered “Jacob Elordi” to his date and signaled to the left wing of the room, where Elordi’s height made him visible in the crowd. He eventually made his way with his mother, caressing her back, to the bar where “Frankenstein” star Mia Goth was already stationed. After getting a pink drink with blackberry garnish, the group took note of the nearby TV screen to briefly marvel at the performance of “Golden” by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices of “KPop Demon Hunters,” which had stars swaying with lighted wristbands. As Elordi’s mom was engaged with Goth, Elordi broke into a silly dance as he talked.

Inside the theater, Oscar attendees strapped on LED wristbands that were stuck onto the back of seats. The purpose of the unexpected accessory became clear when the bands, popular at K-pop concerts, blinked gold once the song started.

If you sensed a disturbance in the Force, don’t worry — that was just Grogu crashing the Oscars telecast.

Yes, Baby Yoda made a cameo appearance at the glitzy event while his “Mandalorian and Grogu” co-stars Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver were on stage to present the Academy Awards for production design and visual effects. He was seated next to actor Kate Hudson, who could not resist fawning over the adorable alien creature.

One person able to resist Grogu’s charm was host Conan O’Brien, who called out to the Force-sensitive alien to ask him to clap. Grogu, of course, could not.

“What a cruel thing to do — to bring a creature who cannot clap to an award show!” O’Brien said.

The “Star Wars” promo was not completely surprising. The Oscars telecast is airing on ABC, the network owned by Disney. A trailer for the upcoming “Star Wars” spinoff film “The Mandalorian and Grogu” aired during the commercial break immediately following Grogu’s appearance.

Earlier in the telecast, “Avengers” co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans had a brief reunion as they presented the awards for the two screenplay categories. The two will reunite on screen in “Avengers: Doomsday,” slated to hit theaters in December.

But first up for Disney is “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which will be released in May.

Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the more directly political moments of the night were in presenting the awards for documentary short and feature. Introducing the awards, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said, “We hear a lot about courage at shows like this, but telling a story that could get you killed for telling it is real courage. As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which, let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS.”

The Oscar for documentary short film went to “All the Empty Rooms” directed and produced by Joshua Seftel and produced by Conall Jones. The film features the bedrooms of children murdered in school shootings across the United States. After a few words from Seftel, Gloria Cazares, whose daughter Jackie was shot and killed in Uvalde, Texas, at her elementary school in 2022, stepped to the microphone.

“My daughter Jackie was 9 years old when she was killed in Uvalde,” said Cazares. “Since that day, her bedroom has been frozen in time. Jackie is more than just a headline. She is our light and our life. Gun violence is now the number one cause of death in kids and teens. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms we’d be a different America.”

Awards

Your guide to the 5 Oscar-nominated documentary shorts

In the last of three shorts roundups ahead of the March 15 ceremony, we profile this year’s Oscar nominees for documentary short.

Feb. 23, 2026

The winner of the documentary feature award was “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin. The film shows Talankin, a schoolteacher near the Ural Mountains, as he documents Russian propaganda efforts around the war in Ukraine.

From the stage Borenstein said, “‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ is about how you lose your country. And 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 murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume it” — at this the crowd erupted with applause — “we all face a moral choice. But luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.”

Speaking through an interpreter, Talankin said, “For four years, we look at the sky for shooting stars to make a very important wish. But there are countries where instead of shooting stars, they have shooting bombs and shooting drones. In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now.”

With her win at Sunday’s Oscars for “Sinners,” Autumn Durald Arkapaw becomes the first woman to take home the prize for cinematography.

The film is her second collaboration with “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler, following 2018’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Set in 1930s Mississippi, “Sinners” is a tale of vampires and blues music, cultural appropriation and the enduring relevance of Black art.

Following their production design Oscar win for “Frankenstein,” production designer Tamara Deverell and set decorator Shane Vieau told the press room that Guillermo del Toro did not merely support their creative vision for the gothic horror film but co-created it.

“He’s an amazing storyteller,” Deverell said. “He’s a visual artist himself, and we’re completely entrenched in his world and joined at the hip when we work together.”

For Del Toro, she continued, filmmaking is about “making paintings out of cinema.”

“In all seriousness, we don’t stand here today without the man,” said Vieau, echoing Deverell’s praise. “That man has promoted this film and what we do as art, and no other director does that today.”

Gasps erupted in the press room after presenter Kumail Nanjiani announced the seventh-ever tie in Academy Awards history Sunday evening, between live-action shorts “The Singers,” directed by Sam A. Davis and produced by Jack Piatt, and “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” directed by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata.

Speaking to the press room after the ultra-rare event, Piatt was unbothered and even enthused by the outcome, saying he wished there could be a “five-way tie” among all the category’s nominees.

Davis agreed, confiding that he’d previously told the “Two People Exchanging Saliva” team “in confidence, that if we lost, I hope we lost to them.”

Shortly thereafter, Musteata said tying with “The Singers” folks was “such a dream.”

“Someone on Reddit asked us if we would be happy to share the award, and we were like, ‘Heck yeah, we would love to share it with another film that is equally beautiful and totally different.’ ”

“Hamnet’s” Paul Mescal and his partner, Gracie Abrams, were parked by the staircase of the first-floor lobby chatting with country singer-songwriter Shaboozey, while Spike Lee whizzed past just as an event worker, carrying a hefty stack of toilet paper, made his way to the restrooms to restock. Across the room, Kirsten Dunst and husband Jesse Plemons’ “Bugonia” co-star Emma Stone stole time with each other as Plemons was engaged in a separate conversation. At the bar, “Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams was in a whirlwind of introductions while onlookers sneaked photos of him.

The Oscar voters have spoken — “Frankenstein” looks amazing.

Guillermo del Toro’s gothic horror adaptation won its third Oscar for the evening, for production design.

“Guillermo … thank you for your humanity and your artistry,” said production designer Tamara Deverell as she accepted the award along with set decorator Shane Vieau. “You are truly a master storyteller. It was an honor for us to help steer your fantastic, operatic ship.”

“Frankenstein” also notched wins for costume design and makeup and hairstyling earlier in the evening, and, like Deverell, the winners had nothing but praise for the film’s director, cast and fellow nominees.

“On behalf of myself and the amazing team that I work with — the artisans, the alchemists, the dream weavers — we’re so grateful to the academy for recognizing our craft,” said costume designer Kate Hawley in her acceptance speech.

Makeup and hairstyling winners Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey made sure to shout out to actor Jacob Elordi, who sat for 400 hours in the makeup chair while filming the movie to become the film’s creature.

Barbra Streisand had the Dolby Theatre in tears when she performed a tribute to Robert Redford during the Oscars on Sunday.

“I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail and won the Academy Award for best director. And I miss him now more than ever,” Streisand said.

“One Battle After Another” marks casting director Cassandra Kulukundis’ 10th movie with Paul Thomas Anderson. While the pair’s collaborative dynamic changes with each film, Kulukundis told the Oscars press room they always try to mix seasoned actors and new faces because it “keeps everyone on their toes.”

“We keep it mixed because that’s what life is, isn’t it?” the casting director said, adding “everyone has a story to tell.”

Kulukundis continued that in early auditions, “One Battle” star Chase Infiniti was “so demure and so polite and so fresh and so new and so innocent.”

“For her, it was like, ‘Girl, you gotta be a fighter,’” she said. “And she did it. She found it… I mean, she found things that she didn’t even know she had.”

Billy Crystal led honors for Rob Reiner onstage during the In Memoriam segment at the Academy Awards on Sunday. He was joined onstage by actors from Reiner’s films, including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally...” and “A Few Good Men.” Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton, Fred Savage, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kathy Bates, Annette Bening, John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga all took the stage to celebrate his work.

“And for us, who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, ‘Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle,’ ” Crystal said.

Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler each won their first Academy Awards on Sunday night, Anderson for adapted screenplay for “One Battle After Another” and Coogler for his original script for “Sinners,” its first award of the night.

In accepting the award on his 14th nomination, a visibly moved Anderson said, “I’m incredibly honored to be part of this history.”

He added, “Any writer knows that you either beg for forgiveness or your special thanks is really to your family and the people that you share a roof with, who put up with what it means to live with a writer,” thanking his partner, Maya Rudolph, and other family members.

Anderson ended by mentioning his four children, “I wrote this movie for my kids, to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world we’re handing off to them. But also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.”

Winning his first Oscar following five prior nominations, Coogler took to the stage to a huge ovation and said, “Please sit down because I’m very nervous and they’re going to play me off because I grew up in Oakland — in Richmond, Calif. — and we can talk a lot.”

He added, “I want to thank the academy for thinking of our movie that came out almost a year ago. This is an incredible honor.”

Coogler asked for his cast and crew in the audience to stand and then thanked his wife and producing partner, Zinzi Coogler, and his parents, who were also in the room. He noted his children watching at home and finished by saying, “Memories are all we have. I hope I’ll give you some great ones. And when you’re all blessed to live a long life and Dad becomes just a memory, I want you all to remember this one thing — I love you all more than anything.”

During a commercial break, 6-foot-5 “Frankenstein” star Jacob Elordi and 6-foot-6 Oliver Laxe, director of international feature nominee “Sirāt,” greeted one another at the lobby bar. The pair, who have been impossible to miss as two of the tallest people at various events throughout awards season, shared a warm, high-altitude embrace and Elordi introduced the French-born Laxe to his date for the Oscars: his mother, Melissa.

Stellan Skarsgård, of “Sentimental Value,” enjoyed a cocktail in a VIP room just off the main auditorium fresh off of losing the Oscar for supporting actor to Sean Penn for his performance in “One Battle After Another.”

Fans rushed Skarsgård anyway, shaking his hand and telling him how much his performance as a troubled alcoholic father and artist resonated with them. “We had four actor nominations on an international film,” Skarsgård told one of them. “That’s never happened before.”

For only the seventh time in Academy Awards history, a tie shocked the room on Sunday night in the live-action short category. The Oscar went to both “The Singers,” directed by Sam A. Davis and Jack Pratt, and “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” directed by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata.

Announcing the win carefully, presenter Kumail Nanjiani, said he would say the name of one winner, have them onstage to accept and then say the name of the second winner and have them up. Before saying the second winner, Nanjiani said, “Ironic that the short film Oscar is going to take twice as long.”

The “Two People” team were saying their thank you’s when the stage lights seemed to go dark to get them offstage. The TV feed cut to host Conan O’Brien on the side of the stage chuckling to himself. As they finished their remarks, Singh said, “We can change society through art, through creativity, through theater and ballet” to a cheer from the crowd “and also cinema.”

As they were leaving the stage, O’Brien joked, “I just want to say congratulations to both winners — you just ruined 22 million Oscar pools.” He added, “And I know we’re tight, but to retract a microphone on a man as he’s speaking, is hilarious.”

Sean Penn won the supporting actor Oscar on Sunday night for his performance as the ruthless, racist Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.”

However, Penn was not present for the ceremony, which became the subject of jokes from Kieran Culkin and Conan O’Brien.

“One Battle After Another” casting director Cassandra Kulukundis is the first ever winner of the new Academy Award for casting.

“I have to obviously thank the academy for even adding this category,” said Kulukundis as she accepted her Oscar, “and for the casting directors that fought tirelessly to make it happen despite everything in their way. I dedicate this to you and to the casting directors who never got a chance to get up here, who didn’t even get a chance to get their name on the movie.”

She also thanked her longtime collaborator, director Paul Thomas Anderson.

“Ten movies. We’ve done this together for over 30 years,” Kulukundis said. “We grew up together. This is freaking insane. I have one before you, which is also crazy.”

The award marks “One Battle After Another’s” first win of the evening.

After taking the stage to accept her first Oscar win for “Weapons” on Sunday, Amy Madigan paused operations in the press room to ask how moderators decide who gets to ask questions of the night’s winners.

“Is it like bingo?” the actor asked. As laughter swelled across the crowd in response, she clarified hers was a “serious question.”

The Oscars stage transformed into a juke joint Sunday, blending music of the past and the present during the 98th Academy Awards.

Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq performed “I Lied to You,” a musical centerpiece of “Sinners.” Caton plays a preacher’s teenage son in the movie who risks his soul to sing blues music.

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons arrive at the 98th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

“Bugonia” star Jesse Plemons stood near the main lobby bar talking with friends and posing for pictures with fans while finishing the dregs of a drink. A server approached him and asked if he’d like another. Plemons politely declined and the server laughed, saying, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to give you any peer pressure.”

“KPop Demon Hunters” brought a celebration of Korean culture to the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday.

The movie struck gold twice and made history Sunday, winning Oscars for animated feature and original song. “Golden” became the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. Six of the credited writers were also the first South Koreans to win in the category.

Each year, guests at the Academy Awards are given a small cardboard box of snacks left beneath their seats to get them through the always lengthy ceremony. A note from the host is generally inside. This year’s note, signed by Conan O’Brien, reads, “I hope you enjoy this Conan O’Brien ‘Moderately Happy Meal’ ^TM. These snacks may not look like much but in any movie theater they would run you $85.” The snacks in question are a box of Junior Mints (Times reporter Josh Rottenberg has Raisinets), a small bag of Skinny Pop and a tin bottle of water.

A note from Conan O’Brien left for attendees in snack boxes.

(Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times)

Timothée Chalamet arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

See more photos from the red carpet of the 98th Academy Awards.

Security is tight at this year’s Oscars, and the major concerns came from the opera and ballet communities, Conan O’Brien joked as he kicked off the 98th Academy Awards.

“They’re just mad you left out jazz,” O’Brien quips at Timothée Chalamet, who smiled from the crowd.

Michael B. Jordan arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

See more photos from the red carpet.

During the telecast’s first commercial break, supporting actress nominee Elle Fanning of “Sentimental Value” took her loss in stride and leaned over her seat to chat with former “A Complete Unknown” costar Timothée Chalamat, nominated this year for “Marty Supreme,” and his partner, Kylie Jenner.

Across the aisle, “One Battle After Another’s” Leonardo DiCaprio stood up and reached over to lock fingers with Benicio del Toro.

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The best looks from the 2026 Oscars

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Amy Madigan was horror’s secret weapon this awards season, and now she has the gold to prove it.

Madigan won the Academy Award for supporting actress for her turn as the ginger wig-donning witch Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s “Weapons.” She was the supernatural film’s sole nominee and beat out contenders Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”), Elle Fanning (“Sentimental Value”) and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (“Sentimental Value”) for the award.

In his opening monologue Sunday at the 98th Academy Awards, host Conan O’Brien nodded to lead actor nominee Timothée Chalamet — without uttering his name — for saying “nobody cares” about opera and ballet during a Variety and CNN town hall with Matthew McConaughey in February. “Security is extremely tight at the Oscar’s this year,” O’Brien said. “I’m told there is concerns from both the opera and ballet communities.” He gleefully dove into the controversy that has roiled the internet since last weekend while the celebrity audience roared. A writer who helped with the monologue told The Times that there was a behind the scenes discussion about how to best handle Chalamet’s explosive comments without generating more controversy. This is, apparently, what they came up with.

Then the show went even further, by having O’Brien imagine what it would look like if he won an Oscar by presenting a very opera-like performance by Josh Groban — who has been vocal on social media in defense of ballet and opera, noting that it is possible to celebrate one’s own art form without knocking another.

Just before the show began, British comedian Matt Berry — best known as the vampire Laszlo Cravensworth on “What We Do in the Shadows” — appeared on screen inside the Dolby and offered a message for attendees. “First and foremost, congratulations, tonight is your night — well, that is, for one out of every five nominees,” he said.

“You all look fantastic, except, of course, for those of you who overdid it — we all know exactly who you are. And now some basic rules: Please turn off your cellphone — you’re not driving or pretending to watch your children. Sit back and act like you’re having a great time…. If you win, please remember to keep your speech brief. Thank your spouse and one child. What you don’t want is for your final words to be drowned out by that godforsaken orchestra. The second you hit the stage, the violinists are ready with their bows and they’re really not afraid to give you the musical middle finger.”

Pedro Pascal arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

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In the 15 minutes leading to showtime, last year’s nominees Demi Moore and Zoe Saldaña (who won supporting actress for “Emilia Perez”) as well as this year’s nominees Wagner Moura, up for lead actor for “The Secret Agent” and “One Battle After Another’s” Teyana Taylor, began filtering into the orchestra section of the Dolby Theatre.

Screens inside showed nominees like Amy Madigan doing red carpet interviews. Behind the stage divider, orchestra members dressed in white tuxedos and garments, took their places with their instruments.

Teyana Taylor arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

“One Battle After Another” star Teyana Taylor has been a star at all of the red carpets this awards season.

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As she strode through the lobby of the Dolby Theatre, Jessie Buckley, nominated for lead actress for her role in “Hamnet,” was fanned with praise by other attendees. Even in the restroom, she couldn’t escape the well-wishers. On her way back to the buzzing lobby, she held the train of her red and pink Chanel gown graciously saying, “Thank you, thank you.”

Nicole Kidman arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Nicole Kidman is among the biggest stars who have arrived at the Oscars.

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“Marty Supreme” star Odessa A’zion arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

See more of the iconic looks from this year’s red carpet.

Looking a bit like Cinderella in a puffy white dress with a cinched waist and dazzling gemstone insets, Elle Fanning emerged from her shiny limo into the blinding sun at the top of the red carpet as ushers literally gasped. “A princess,” one guest was overheard whispering to her date.

As Fanning, nominated in the supporting actress category for “Sentimental Value,” stepped into the crush of media on the carpet, her name was called from a thousand directions at once.

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At the Dolby Lounge bar, Oscars attendees could choose from specialty cocktails such as Best in Show” (tequila forward with lime juice and cucumber syrup) and After Glow (a non-alcoholic option with faux gin, lime yuzu juice and blackberry syrup).

On tap for the event were enough bottles of Tequila Don Julio 1942 to stretch across the Hollywood sign. Throughout the evening, nearly 20,000 glasses of specialty cocktails, Champagne and other libations were expected to be served.

At a little after 2:30 p.m., cars with special auto passes to enter Hollywood Boulevard (closed off for the ceremony) were lined up for many blocks and not moving at all. Pedestrians were filming the frustrated drivers in their cars.

Warnings were issued in the days leading up to the Oscars that security would be extra tight, including a special mile-wide perimeter. In previous years, the car line mostly flowed, even with the obligatory trunk-bomb checks and concrete-barrier zig-zags.

This year, in addition to popping their trunks, drivers must also pop their hoods and roll down all their windows with their engines off. If arriving cars and limos continue to remain jammed in the baking sun, it will be a wonder if everyone gets to the show on time.

Oscar campaigns are not won, they are endured. There are parties, festivals, For Your Consideration screenings, press junkets and talk show appearances. The night before the Academy Awards, I found myself — not an important person in the industry by any means — at two separate parties. Imagine if you’re a nominee, getting shuttled to and fro, shaking hands and making small talk. At the first event, I caught a glimpse of the legendary actor Minnie Driver, who was nominated for supporting actress for the film “Good Will Hunting” in 1998. She posed, smiled and looked as glamorous as ever. And, with an extreme amount of grace, she disappeared through a door in the back. Poof. Gone.

And like magic, she reappeared on the carpet right in front of me, at Chanel’s legendary pre-Oscar dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She dazzled in a sparkling gown, a totally different outfit than the one I’d seen just an hour prior. After years of being in L.A., I’m not particularly starstruck anymore, but at this moment, I was something close to it. How does one glide through the chaos and the camera flashes of Oscar season with poise and perfection? And how do they keep a level head through it all?

Malgosia Turzanska, costume designer of “Hamnet,” stood out in the Dolby Theatre lobby in her safety pin-emblazoned dress with exaggerated hips.

“I am the only one from my department here but I would not be here without everyone from the costume department,” she said. “These safety pins are representing all the hands that touch the costumes to make a whole.”

There was another meaning to the ensemble too: When you start a new project, you open up a fresh box of safety pins. That process is so full of hope and promise, she said.

Also accessorizing her outfit: an ICE out pin. Turzanska, an immigrant from Poland, said wearing it was one small way to send a message. Much like opening the fresh box of safety pins, her arrival in the U.S. was full of hopeful dreams. Now, she said, she and other immigrants no longer feel welcome.

Sandra Delgado and “The Secret Agent” star and leading actor nominee Wagner Moura arrive on the red carpet at the 98th Academy Awards.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Brazilian actor and “The Secret Agent” star Wagner Moura has arrived on the red carpet. He’s up for the leading actor Oscar.

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Rose Byrne waves as she arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Mingling in the lobby before the show, Rose Byrne — a lead actress nominee for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” — bumped into comedy filmmaker Paul Feig, who directed her in one of her early breakthrough roles in 2011’s “Bridesmaids.”

As Byrne’s partner, Bobby Cannavale, chatted with Feig’s wife, Laurie, Byrne and the director — showing his usual flair for fashion in a fuchsia tuxedo jacket and black bow tie — shared a hug and reminisced about their time working together on 2015’s “Spy.”

“So many people ask me about that movie and tell me they think it’s hilarious,” Byrne said, laughing.

Twenty-three years ago, the Oscars were in turmoil. President George W. Bush had just begun an invasion of Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks, and as the nation’s TV screens filled with the “shock and awe” campaign, many did not know quite how to proceed with Hollywood’s biggest night.

ABC wanted to postpone, presenters begged off, Jack Nicholson urged his fellow actor nominees to boycott (animated feature winner Hayao Miyazaki did), documentary winner Michael Moore attempted to directly shame Bush from the stage (to loud boos) and many of the acceptance speeches acknowledged the war and included pleas for peace.

Aidan Delbis, cousin Don in “Bugonia,” and Luke Manley, Dion in “Marty Supreme,” hung out in the Dolby Theatre lobby as attendees started flowing into the Academy Awards.

Both recently made their film debuts — and those films just happened to be nominated for several Oscars.

“The whole thing is insane,” Manley said, taking in the moment. He works as a cable operator coordinator in New York and said his employer has been flexible throughout awards season. “This is so surreal.”

In “Marty Supreme,” his character bankrolls Marty’s competitive efforts (he paid for those orange ping-pong balls), and many of his lines were improvised with Timothée Chalamet.

Manley gushed over meeting Shaboozey and Josh Groban on the red carpet.

“Who knows if I’m ever here again ever,” Manley said.

Meanwhile, Delbis was also absorbing “the big setting.” His mom, Katy Delbis, had brought Goldfish snacks just in case. She need not have worried, though, as servers busily passed out hors d’oeuvres such as carrot hummus on pumpernickel and miso tuna in a sesame cone.

When he had to pick a plus-one, Aidan said it wasn’t hard to choose his mother.

“She particularly insisted on being here,” he said.

“What you’re looking for as an auctioneer is someone who’s truly fearless onstage,” says auctioneer Lydia Fenet. Except when they’re onstage next to Elton John, who hosts his eponymous AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party and fundraiser annually, for which Fenet has been the auctioneer for the last four years.

The former Christie’s auctioneer, author, podcaster and motivational speaker is normally unflappable on the podium.

Rose Byrne, who’s nominated for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” arrives on the red carpet at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Rose Byrne, one of the nominees for actress in a leading role for her performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” walked the red carpet on Sunday.

See more of the best looks from the Oscars red carpet.