The 2026 Oscars in Review
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THE biggest night in the Hollywood calendar has come and gone, with last Sunday’s Academy Awards bringing the 2026 awards season to a dramatic close. Overall, the night seemed to be a resounding success, with some surprise wins, moving speeches, showstopping performances and, thankfully, no misplaced envelopes or guests slapping the host.
Conan O’Brien firmly established himself as a reliable host, with this being his second year in a row hosting the prestigious event. O’Brien’s trademark comedy style kept the show energised with a sharply written and expertly delivered opening monologue that only ever missed the mark on one or two occasions. While Sinners made history receiving the most amount of Oscar nominations for a movie – an incredible 16 in total – the film only came away with four awards, while Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another claimed the top prize for best picture.
Most notably, Ireland’s Jessie Buckley also made history, becoming the first Irish woman to win an Oscar for best actress. With this being the penultimate award of the evening, it made for a wonderfully moving end to the show and only strengthened Ireland’s ever-growing take-over of the acting world.
The night began with the stars comfortably seated, having spent the preceding hours mixing outside, posing on the red carpet and answering questions of the world’s press when host Conan O’Brien finally appeared onstage ready to begin proceedings. Introduced by a playful prerecorded sketch that nodded to and gently poked fun at all the nominated films of the past year, O’Brien ran on stage, chased by a frenzied horde of children – a moment referencing the unhinged final sequence of the brilliant horror Weapons.
As O’Brien began his opening monologue, it quickly became clear he would be taking no prisoners with his cutting humour. While hosts of years’ past have sometimes made the mistake of crossing lines with scathing jokes, O’Brien carefully walked the line between comedy and controversy, delivering each joke with well-judged measure. Among those who found themselves on the receiving end were Timothée Chalamet for his controversial comments on ballet and opera made earlier in the week; Michael B Jordan for his dual performance in Sinners; Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for the streaming giant’s harmful effect on cinemas; and, of course, President Trump came under fire on more than one occasion.
As O’Brien’s opening monologue concluded, no time was wasted in proceeding with the awards. Commencing with the award for best supporting actress, Amy Madigan took home the gold man for her unnerving and haunting role as Aunt Gladys in Weapons. Fellow nominees included Teyana Taylor, Elle Fanning, Wunmi Mosaku and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. Madigan seemed truly surprised and genuinely moved by her receiving the award and she delivered a touching speech as she commented on her 40 years in the industry and thanked her husband, veteran actor Ed Harris.
As the show progressed, the award for best supporting actor was won by Sean Penn, to the surprise of no one, for his chilling performance as Colonel Steven Lockjaw in . Penn, having previously expressed his disdain for the Academy and its annual awards ceremony, did not attend and the award was accepted on his behalf by presenter Kieran Culkin.
The award for best visual effects went to Ireland’s Richard Baneham and his team for Born in Tallaght, Baneham has previously worked on trilogy and the films. This award marked his third Oscar win, having previously won in the same category in 2023 and 2009. In his speech, Baneham thanked the families of the 2,200 visual effects artists working on his team for their love and support over the years. Keeping his speech gracious, humble and brief, Baneham’s marked the first of two fantastic wins for Ireland.
The show was punctuated by two musical performances, both nominated for best original song. First, the powerful from was performed, recreating the iconic scene as Miles Caton and co. were joined by Shaboozey and Raphael Saadiq, as well as a host of ballerinas and other dancers. Later, the endlessly replayed Golden, from the animated global sensation that is KPop Demon Hunters was performed, with everyone in the audience being handed a glowstick to add to the spectacle. Golden eventually won the award, becoming the first K-pop song to be nominated, and win, best original song. A surprise musical performance by Barbara Streisand accompanied an emotional tribute to the late Robert Redford, during the show’s ‘In Memoriam’ segment.
Other notable awards were won by Mr Nobody Against Putin for best documentary feature; Sentimental Value for best international feature, Ryan Coogler for best original screenplay with Sinners; Ludwig Goransson, for best original score with ; and Paul Thomas Anderson for best adapted screenplay and best director with
As the final three awards of the evening loomed, all eyes were on the best actor nominees as last year’s winner Adrien Brody presented the award. With strong competition from Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Ethan Hawke and Wagne Moura, it was Michael B Jordan who claimed the prize for his role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in A technically demanding and constantly commanding performance, Jordan was undeniably deserving of the award and his heartfelt speech clearly resonated with everyone in the audience as he paid particular tribute to his mother, who he brought as his guest.
Next was the award for best actress and, though her win was all but guaranteed, Jessie Buckley was nevertheless brought to tears at the announcement. Hugging her husband Fred, and co-star Paul Mescal, the Kerry-born actress made her way to the stage to collect her Oscar. Shaking with excitement and visibly overwhelmed, Buckley delivered a heartwarming speech as she acknowledged her family and colleagues before closing with a patriotic Go raibh míle míle maith agat. The final award of the evening went to for best picture. While many, myself included, may have hoped for Sinners to claim the top prize, director Paul Thomas Anderson proved a gracious and appreciative recipient of the award and his achievement with cannot be argued.
With all the gold statues handed out, and the tuxedos and gowns tucked away for another year, Academy members will already be considering films currently in cinemas as potential nominees for next year’s Oscars. Here’s hoping 2027 will continue Ireland’s winning streak in Hollywood.
