‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Take Home Oscar Gold

Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’ hit musical comedy nabs wins for both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, while James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ sequel gets the nod for Best Visual Effects; Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s ‘The Girl Who Cried Pearls’ named Best Animated Short.

The 2026 awards season has finally come to an end… returning host Conan O’Brien brought both biting humor and his unique touch of humility to the 98^th Annual Academy Awards held last night at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. And who doesn’t love his signature finely coiffed head of red hair?

To no one’s surprise, Netflix’s mega-hit, KPop Demon Hunters, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, took home Oscars for both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, “Golden,” with music and lyrics by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park. Also to no one’s surprise, James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, with Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett snagging the gold for their work on the epic return to Pandora.

Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s stop-motion tour-de-force, The Girl Who Cried Pearls, the latest Oscar-winning film from Canada’s NFB, was named Best Animated Short Film. And Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein won for Best Production Design, with Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau taking home the gold.

Congratulations to all the winners (listed in bold) and nominees!

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle after Another
Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan in Sinners (winner)
Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Benicio Del Toro in One Battle after Another
Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo in Sinners
Sean Penn in One Battle after Another (winner)
Stellan Skarsgård in Sentimental Value

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Eole

Jessie Buckley in Hamnet (winner)
Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value
Emma Stone in Bugonia

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Elle Fanning in Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan in Weapons (winner)
Wunmi Mosaku in Sinners
Teyana Taylor in One Battle after Another

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Arco – Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman
Elio – Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm
KPop Demon Hunters – Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong (winner)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain – Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon
Zootopia 2 – Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino

Achievement in Cinematography

Frankenstein – Dan Laustsen
Marty Supreme – Darius Khondji
One Battle after Another – Michael Bauman
Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw (winner)
Train Dreams – Adolpho Veloso

Achievement in Costume Design

Avatar: Fire and Ash – Deborah L. Scott
Frankenstein – Kate Hawley (winner)
Hamnet – Malgosia Turzanska
Marty Supreme – Miyako Bellizzi
Sinners – Ruth E. Carter

Achievement in Directing

Hamnet – Chloé Zhao
Marty Supreme – Josh Safdie
One Battle after Another – Paul Thomas Anderson (winner)
Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier
Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Best Documentary Feature Film

The Alabama Solution – Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman
Come See Me in the Good Light – Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen
Cutting Through Rocks – Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
Mr. Nobody Against Putin – David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, Helle Faber and Alžběta Karásková (winner)
The Perfect Neighbor – Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee

Best Documentary Short Film

All the Empty Rooms – Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones (winner)
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud – Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” – Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins
The Devil Is Busy – Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir
Perfectly a Strangeness – Alison McAlpine

Achievement in Film Editing

F1 – Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme – Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
One Battle after Another – Andy Jurgensen (winner)
Sentimental Value – Olivier Bugge Coutté
Sinners – Michael P. Shawver

Best International Feature Film of the Year

Brazil — The Secret Agent
France — It Was Just an Accident
Norway — Sentimental Value (winner)
Spain — Sirāt
Tunisia — The Voice of Hind Rajab

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Frankenstein – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey (winner)
Kokuho – Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
Sinners – Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
The Smashing Machine – Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein
The Ugly Stepsister – Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet – Max Richter
One Battle after Another – Jonny Greenwood
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson (winner)

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

“Dear Me” – Diane Warren: Relentless – Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters – Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park (winner)
“I Lied to You” – Sinners – Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” – Viva Verdi! – Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike
“Train Dreams” – Train Dreams – Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Bugonia - Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen, Producers
F1 - Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
Frankenstein - Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, Producers
Hamnet - Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers
Marty Supreme - Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Producers
One Battle after Another - Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers (winner)
The Secret Agent - Emilie Lesclaux, Producer
Sentimental Value - Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Producers
Sinners - Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, Producers
Train Dreams - Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler, Producers

Achievement in Production Design

Frankenstein – Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau (winner)
Hamnet – Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
Marty Supreme – Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
One Battle after Another – Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
Sinners – Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Best Animated Short Film

Butterfly – Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens
Forevergreen – Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears
The Girl Who Cried Pearls – Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (winner)
Retirement Plan – John Kelly and Andrew Freedman
The Three Sisters – Konstantin Bronzit

Best Live Action Short Film

Butcher’s Stain – Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi
A Friend of Dorothy – Lee Knight and James Dean
Jane Austen’s Period Drama – Julia Aks and Steve Pinder
The Singers – Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt (winner)
Two People Exchanging Saliva – Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Achievement in Sound

F1 – Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta (winner)
Frankenstein – Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern
One Battle after Another – José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor
Sinners – Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker
Sirāt – Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas

Achievement in Visual Effects

Avatar: Fire and Ash – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett (winner)
F1 – Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
Jurassic World: Rebirth – David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould
The Lost Bus – Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin
Sinners – Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean

Adapted Screenplay

Bugonia – Screenplay by Will Tracy
Frankenstein – Written for the screen by Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet – Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
One Battle after Another – Written by Paul Thomas Anderson (winner)
Train Dreams – Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Original Screenplay

Blue Moon – Written by Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident – Written by Jafar Panahi; script collaborators: Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian
Marty Supreme – Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value – Written by Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
Sinners – Written by Ryan Coogler (winner)

Casting