The 98th Academy Awards saw the stars come out in celebration of the very best films from 2025, and while there was much anticipation to see who would reign victorious in the fight between “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” for Best Picture, there were a number of memorable moments along the way to that final award.
That included host Conan O’Brien toeing a line between silly and somber, a hilarious “Bridesmaids” tribute that brought the house down and a musical reenactment from one of the most iconic scene in “Sinners.”
Plus much more. So let’s break down the good and the bad. Here were the best and worst moments from the 2026 Oscars.
Best: Conan O’Brien’s Intro
Conan O’Brien completely understood the assignment with his introduction to the 98th Academy Awards, as he paid homage to all the Best Picture nominees in a hilarious. As the former “Tonight Show” host finished getting ready, he told writer, actress and producer Ashley Nicole Black that his makeup – which was inspired by Amy Madigan’s “Weapons” villain Gladys Lilly – was a bit “much.” With time ticking and the show about to start, Black urged him to hurry and take the stage, but he pushed back, forcing Black to take drastic measures and break Glady’s magic stick, which triggered all the “Weapons” children to chase him to the event’s stage.
On his way there, he traveled through all the films, including crashing a “Marty Supreme” ping pong game, and ending up at Smoke and Stack’s juke joint in “Sinners.” The kids then chased him all the way onto the Oscars stage where the show began.
Worst: The Band Kept Playing People Off Early
In a year where “KPop Demon Hunters” took the world by storm and became a global sensation, the Oscars nearly blew it by giving Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle Wong hardly any time to celebrate their Best Animated Film win. They were allowed to speak a bit longer and say their thank yous but with a film as big as this one, it felt odd that they were nearly ushered off the stage so fast.
Later in the show, when a tie was announced in the Short Film category, the mic retracted in the middle of the recipients for Two People Exchanging Saliva while they were talking about their film and thanking people. It came back up but another odd move for the show with few slips. It very much felt like the show was sticking more strictly to its rule that only one person from a winning film’s group could speak before getting cut off.
Best: ‘Sinners’ Cast and More Reenact Juke Joint Dance Scene
In between awards presentations, the cast of “Sinners, plus some cultural icons and artists in the Black community, took the stage to reenact one of the film’s most praised scenes – its juke joint dance sequence. As in the film, and while Miles Canton blessed the mic with his guitar and the vocals of the movie’s song “I Lied to You,” several dancers performed the scene.
“Sinners” stars Jayme Lawson, Jack O’Connell, legendary blues musician Buddy Guy, Alabama Shakes guitarist Brittany Howard, Grammy award-winning country singer Shaboozey and even world-renowned ballet dancer Misty Copeland joined the celebration. The performance paid homage to the Black and Asian communities’ historical connection to music.
Best: Fab 5 Presentation of First Casting Oscar
Five fabulous Oscar nominees – Chase Infiniti, Paul Mescal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Wagner Moura and Delroy Lindo – participated in the very first presentation of the Best Casting category. The Oscars has used the “Fab Five” format in other telecasts before, and they brought it back for this inaugural win, with actors from each of the nominated films explaining what their casting director brought to their movies.
“One Battle After Another’s” Cassandra Kulukundis took home the gold. Infiniti shared that she was on the Oscars stage because of what Kulukundis saw in her for the character Willa.
“She saw something in me that I didn’t even know was there,” Infiniti said. “Her belief in me helped me believe in myself and thanks to her determination, imagination and instincts, I was cast in my very first feature.”
Interesting Moment: Oscars Tie
Now, this one was truly a moment to remember from the awards. For the first time in 13 years, an Oscars tie was called during the presentation of the Best Live Action Short Film. Both “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” won the gold. This is the seventh official tie in the Academy’s history.
Worst Moment: Sean Penn Wins, Doesn’t Show Up
Sean Penn was a no-show for the Academy Awards and ended up winning Best Supporting Actor for his role in “One Battle After Another,” his third Oscar. It was felt in the room when Renate Reinsve comforted her “Sentimental Value” co-star Stellan Skarsgård and fellow nominee Delroy Lindo was not clapping when Penn’s name was announced.
Presenter Kieran Culkin even threw a little shade when he read Penn as the winner, saying that the actor — who only attended a smattering of awards events during the “One Battle” Oscar campaign — “couldn’t be here tonight, or didn’t want to.”
Best Moment: Ryan Coogler Receives Standing Ovation as He Wins First-Ever Oscar
Filmmaker Ryan Coogler won his very first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his “Sinners” script. He is now the second Black writer to ever win in the category in this category, following Jordan Peele’s win for “Get Out.” The crowd stood and applauded the writer-director, who took the stage to thank his fellow nominees, Warner Bros. Discovery and his family and friends.
“I want to thank the fellow nominees. I want to thank y’all for the gifts that y’all movies were and for your friendship over the past years and months,” Coogler said. “I want to thank everybody that was involved with this movie, starting with the Warner Bros. … Everybody on my cast and crew, please stand up. You guys are amazing.”
Best: Rob and Michele Reiner Tribute
Billy Crystal kicked off an extended In Memoriam segment at this year’s Oscars with a tribute to his friend Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, who were murdered by their son Nick Reiner.
After his speech, Crystal was joined on stage by several of Reiner’s other past collaborators, including Crystal’s “When Harry Met Sally…” co-star Meg Ryan and Kathy Bates, who won an Oscar for her performance in Reiner’s 1990 Stephen King adaptation “Misery.” In addition to Ryan and Bates, the actors who joined Crystal in honoring Reiner were: Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton, Fred Savage, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Annette Bening, John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga.
This was followed by Rachel McAdams paying teary tribute to Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara and, finally, Barbra Streisand honoring Robert Redford with a rendition of “The Way We Were.”
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Worst: The Hulu Stream Was Up and Down
While the Oscars aired on ABC, many likely also streamed the show on Hulu and it was…not always great. There were constant cuts to black and pauses for buffering as the show went for some but not all. This meant that if you were talking to others about the show, it was likely you were all in different parts of the presentation. Not the best way to inspire the show moving to YouTube entirely in 2029.
Best: ‘Bridesmaids’ Reunion Is as Funny as Expected
The cast of “Bridesmaids” – Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ellie Kemper – presented two awards during the show and served as the perfect shot in the arm as the long presentation rolled on. A funny bit where the cast read little messages from some of the nominees was the highlight: whether it was Stellan Skarsgård applauding all the “work” the ladies had done to keep themselves looking good or Leonardo DiCaprio apologizing for looking at Rose Byrne all night.
Of the few reunion-inspired presentation gimmicks this year, the “Bridesmaids” one was by far the best.
Best: Autumn Durald Arkapaw Wins Best Cinematography Oscar, Makes History as First Woman to Do So
“Sinners” director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history Sunday night when she took the stage to accept the award for Best Cinematography for her work on the hit film. Arkapaw, who is of Filipino and African American Creole descent, is now the first woman and the first woman of color to win in the category.
During her speech, she paid tribute to women creatives in the room.
“I really want all the women in the room to stand up, ’cause I feel like I don’t get here without you guys,” Arkapaw said.
Best: Michael B. Jordan Wins First Oscar
Michael B. Jordan received a standing ovation as he took home his very first Oscar ever for his double performance as twins Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” This was also his first Oscar nomination. During his acceptance speech, he thanked the Black artists he says paved the way for him to win the award — Black actors and actresses who made history by winning Oscars in the past.
“Because of the people that came before me — Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forrest Whitaker, Will Smith,” Jordan said. “Thank you, everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting me over my career. I feel it. I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for betting on me, and I’m gonna keep stepping up, and I’m keep being the best version of myself I can be. So I just want to say thank you for everybody in this room that has something to do with my success.”
