Sound, Style, and Stardom: Inside the Music Wins of the 2026 Oscars
Hollywood’s glamorous night delivered a soundtrack worth remembering. The 2026 Oscars have officially closed their velvet curtains, and the music categories sang loudest. The eight-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Golden,” performed by HUNTR/X trio EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami for Netflix’s animated smash KPop Demon Hunters, claimed Best Original Song, outshining a field that included Diane Warren’s introspective “Dear Me.” Meanwhile, Ludwig Göransson secured his third Academy Award for the score of Sinners. Beyond the music, cinematic prestige was shared: One Battle After Another won Best Picture, Michael B. Jordan took Best Actor, and Jessie Buckley captured Best Actress.
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another – WINNER
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners – WINNER
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet – WINNER
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another – WINNER
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons – WINNER
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Best Director
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another – WINNER
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Best Original Screenplay
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners – WINNER
Best Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another – WINNER
Train Dreams
Best Animated Feature Film
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters – WINNER
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best International Feature Film
The Secret Agent – Brazil
It Was Just an Accident – France
Sentimental Value – Norway – WINNER
Sirât – Spain
The Voice of Hind Rajab – Tunisia
Best Casting
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another – WINNER
The Secret Agent
Sinners
Best Cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners – WINNER
Train Dreams
Best Production Design
Frankenstein – WINNER
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best Editing
F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another – WINNER
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best Original Score
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners – WINNER
Best Original Song
Dear Me – Diane Warren: Relentless
Golden – KPop Demon Hunters – WINNER
I Lied to You – Sinners
Sweet Dreams of Joy – Viva Verdi!
Train Dreams – Train Dreams
Best Sound
F1 – WINNER
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirât
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash – WINNER
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein – WINNER
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Best Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein – WINNER
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Best Animated Short Film
Butterfly
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls – WINNER
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters
Best Live-Action Short Film
Butcher’s Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
The Singers – WINNER (Tie)
Two People Exchanging Saliva – WINNER (Tie)
Best Documentary Feature Film
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
Mr. Nobody Against Putin – WINNER
The Perfect Neighbor
Best Documentary Short
All the Empty Rooms – WINNER
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
The Devil Is Busy
Perfectly a Strangeness
