Six trophies went home with One Battle After Another at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, his first win in the category after decades of near-misses. The ceremony at the Dolby Theatre also delivered a string of historic firsts, a backstage altercation that went viral within hours, and ratings that gave the Academy fresh reason to worry about its television future.

The night's other dominant force, Ryan Coogler's Sinners, set a record with 16 nominations, surpassing the 14 held jointly by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for his dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack, but the film's haul fell short of expectations against Anderson's war drama.

Background

The Academy has spent the past several years trying to reverse a long slide in viewership while navigating questions about relevance in a streaming-first era. The decision to bring back Conan O'Brien as host for a second consecutive year signaled a bet on continuity after his 2025 stint drew broadly positive reviews.

That bet produced mixed returns. The Los Angeles Times called O'Brien the "King of the Oscars," praising his opening monologue that addressed the Los Angeles wildfires and political tensions with characteristic irreverence. The Brown Daily Herald took a sharper view, calling his performance "distasteful" and arguing his humor undermined the social weight of the nominated films.

Both leading films came from Warner Bros. Pictures, giving the studio an unusual lock on the ceremony's top tier. The dynamic made for an awkward competition where one division's celebration was another's disappointment under the same corporate roof.

Key Details

The ceremony produced several firsts that will mark it in Academy history.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman and the first woman of color to win Best Cinematography, recognized for her work on Sinners. Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet, becoming the first Irish woman to take the lead acting prize. Amy Madigan collected Best Supporting Actress for Weapons four decades after her first nomination.

Sean Penn earned his third acting Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in One Battle After Another but was not present to accept it. He was in Ukraine visiting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian State Railways responded by forging him an "Iron Oscar" from the steel of a train carriage destroyed by a Russian missile strike.

The Academy also debuted Best Casting, its first new competitive category since Best Animated Feature was introduced in 2001. Cassandra Kulukundis won the inaugural award for One Battle After Another.

A rare tie occurred in Best Live Action Short Film, with The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva sharing the prize. It was only the seventh tie in the ceremony's 98-year history.

The night was not without controversy. A backstage video showed actress Teyana Taylor, part of the One Battle After Another ensemble, confronting a security guard from the firm Security Industry Specialists after she was reportedly shoved. "I just don't tolerate disrespect, especially when it's unwarranted and unprovoked," Taylor said. The Academy issued a formal apology, saying it was "extremely upset" by the guard's conduct.

Impact

Viewership fell to 17.86 million, a 9% decline from the 19.7 million who watched in 2025. The 18-49 demographic rating dropped 14% to 3.92, marking a four-year low in the age group most valued by advertisers.

The numbers arrive at a sensitive moment. Despite the decline, ABC reportedly sold out its commercial inventory for the broadcast, which remains the most expensive non-sports advertising block on American television. That commercial appeal has a defined expiration date: the Academy confirmed this year that after the 100th ceremony in 2028, it will end its 50-year relationship with ABC and move the Oscars exclusively to YouTube under a five-year deal running through 2033.

The streaming shift represents the most significant distribution change in the ceremony's history. For YouTube's parent company Google, it is a prestige acquisition. For the Academy, it is a wager that digital reach can compensate for the steady erosion of the traditional television audience.

The 98th ceremony was also the first to enforce a new voting rule requiring members to confirm they had watched every film in a category before casting a ballot. The Academy has not disclosed how many members were affected by the requirement or whether any were barred from voting.

What's Next

The 99th Academy Awards are expected to return to the Dolby Theatre in the March 2027 window, with ABC broadcasting for two more years before the YouTube transition takes effect.

The Academy Scientific and Technical Awards are scheduled for April 28, 2026.

For the industry, the immediate question is whether the ratings trajectory will accelerate the streaming migration or whether the YouTube deal was already the Academy's answer. The ceremony's cultural footprint remains substantial, with nominee gift bags valued at an estimated $350,000 and global media coverage that no other awards show can match. But the audience willing to sit through a three-plus-hour broadcast continues to shrink, and the Academy's next moves will determine whether the Oscars adapt to that reality or simply relocate it to a different screen.