Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been arguing about movies together for decades, so it feels fitting that one of their old Oscar ballots has become a new topic of conversation. Long before The Matrix became required viewing for fans of the best action movies of all time and philosophy students alike, the two friends were apparently among the people trying to push it into the Best Picture race.

While promoting their 2026 movie release, the hit Netflix thriller The Rip, Damon and Affleck revisited that vote in an interview clip shared by BioWorthInfo on Instagram. In the video below, Damon recalled their support drew scoffs at the time, even though the movie was already being praised for its action and revolutionary camerawork. The surprise came later, when Damon discovered playwright and filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan had made the same choice.

Damon said the movie’s technical achievements were only part of the reason it deserved serious consideration. He and Affleck believed the Wachowskis had made something far more ambitious than a stylish action movie. Ben Affleck said the film's notion of the future" was what drew him in most, but Matt Damon I think said it best.

Affleck explained the film had anticipated major questions about technology and what human existence might look like in the future. He described it as not just one of the best movies of the '90s, but one of the most "seminal" movies ever made, and that assessment is much easier to accept now than it might have been in 1999. It certainly sounds like they stand by their Oscars vote.

That gets to the real reason their vote has aged so well. Bullet time was the shiny hook in 1999, but the movie’s ideas kept spreading long after audiences stopped wondering how the camera moved around Neo. The Matrix imagined people living through constructed digital identities, trusting systems they barely understood and struggling to distinguish physical experience from manufactured reality. Those questions sound less like science fiction with every passing year.

The Matrix did not receive a Best Picture nomination for the 1999 movie year. American Beauty won the top prize at the 72nd Academy Awards, while The Matrix competed in four technical categories and won all four: film editing, sound, sound effects editing and visual effects.

That sweep proves the Academy recognized how expertly the movie was made. Damon and Affleck were arguing for something more ambitious because they were ahead of the curve and realized that the action-heavy science-fiction movie could also be the year’s defining artistic achievement. This was still a difficult case to make in an awards culture that often treated genre filmmaking as a technical playground rather than Best Picture material.

The fact that Lonergan, writer and director of the heartbreaking Manchester by the Sea, reportedly reached the same conclusion also makes the story more interesting. Damon and Affleck were not simply two young actors dazzled by leather coats and impossible stunts, but a dramatist known for intimate, character-driven work saw its Best Picture value, too. That's a party I wouldn't mind being in.

More than 25 years later, their “unpopular opinion” barely sounds controversial. The Matrix altered action filmmaking, gave popular culture a new visual language and built its thrills around questions audiences are still wrestling with. (Though some people would love to have skipped the sequels.) Damon and Affleck did not vote for a future classic because they knew exactly where technology was heading, but instead recognized that the movie was already asking the right questions.

Fans can check out the Good Will Hunting writing and acting duo in their own action film, The Rip, with their Netflix subscription. Or, if you want to revisit the groundbreaking The Matrix, you'll need to rent it with an Amazon Prime subscription.

It might be easy to assume that there aren’t any big awards left for Lin-Manuel Miranda to fill his shelves with, as the songwriting playwright and actor has amassed a wide variety of accolades over the past 20 years, including a Pulitzer and a Kennedy Center Honor. But the ever-elusive EGOT achievement remains just beyond his grasp, and it’s a legitimate concern that the live-action Moana’s lower-than-expected box office success could negatively impact Miranda’s next shot at joining the ranks of famed EGOT winners.

Before we jump into talking out the entertainer’s upcoming shot at winning any Oscars during the March 2027 ceremony, let’s take a look at the EGOT-centric awards that he has brought in over the years, as well as the Academy Award nominations that he did not land wins for.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's EGOT-Specific Award Wins And Oscar Noms

• Emmy Wins
  • 2014 Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics - The 67th Annual Tony Awards ("Bigger!")
  • 2021 Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) - Hamilton
• Grammy Wins
  • 2009 Best Musical Show Album - In the Heights
  • 2016 Best Musical Theater Album - Hamilton
  • 2018 Best Song Written For Visual Media - Moana ("How Far I'll Go")
  • 2023 Best Song Written For Visual Media - Encanto ("We Don't Talk About Bruno")
  • 2023 Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media - Encanto
• Tony Wins
  • 2008 Best Original Score - In the Heights
  • 2016 Best Book of a Musical - Hamilton
  • 2016 Best Original Score - Hamilton
• Oscar Nominations
  • 2017 Best Original Song - "How Far I'll Go" (Moana)
  • 2022 Best Original Song - "Dos Oruguitas" (Encanto)

Will Moana's Critical And Box Office Woes Doom Lin-Manuel Miranda's EGOT Chances?

It'd be one thing if Moana drew in fewer moviegoers than expected despite universal praise from any and all critics, or if the movie crushed at the box office despite terrible reviews. But neither of those are the case here. Many critics reviews have been rough, outside of the rare breath of positive air, with general audiences questioning the timing of this remake happening so soon after the animated original. So it's kind of the worst of both worlds by way of positive awards momentum.

However, despite such clear setbacks, the film's key song — "Along the Way," as performed by Catherine Laga'aia, Dwayne Johnson, and Auli'i Cravalho — has earned quite a bit of praise all on its own. It was already on the shortlist of assumed Best Original Song nominations as soon as its existence was revealed, given Miranda's status, but it will be interesting to see if the song can remain a conversational high point not only as the 2026 release continues its theatrical run, but also throughout the many months until the 2027 Academy Awards arrive.

A pessimist might point to "How Far I'll Go" not winning back in 2017, despite the original animated film being beloved in all the ways that the live-action version isn't, and then assume that "Along the Way" can't possibly take home the gold. (That song had a solid live performance as well during that telecast.)

That same pessimist also might point to another Disney release's key track as being a frontrunner for this year's Oscars: Taylor Swift's "I Knew It, I Knew You" from Toy Story 5.

But there's also some hope for the optimists out there! Rotten Tomatoes certainly isn't the most foolproof basis for Oscar predictions, but the are patterns and details that can be gleaned from it. Such as the idea that it's 38% RT score isn't an automatic elimination. As pointed out by Gold Derby, two films in the past 26 years have won Best Original Song despite scoring 70% or lower on Rotten Tomatoes: 2015's Spectre (63%) for "Writing's on the Wall," and 2024's Emilia Pérez (70%) for "El Mal." Both of those are obviously much higher than 38%, but a precedent is a precedent.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has written enough high-quality bops that he inspired a Top 10 Best Lin-Manuel Miranda Movie Songs list, but I guess CinemaBlend rankings don't help a movie's Oscar chances all that much either.

Moana is currently in theaters, with the next Academy Awards ceremony set for March 14, 2027, on ABC.

Tom Holland has already checked off the kind of career goals most actors spend decades chasing. He landed Spider-Man, led a billion-dollar movie and worked with great filmmakers, including Christopher Nolan on The Odyssey. Still, there is one trophy missing from the shelf, and Holland has not pretended to be indifferent if an Oscar eventually joins the collection. That puts him in similar territory to Timothée Chalamet, who has spoken openly about wanting to become one of the greats. Yet, when Holland discussed his own awards ambitions, he compared himself to Leonardo DiCaprio.

Holland took part in an Esquire UK profile ahead of his jam-packed 2026 movie schedule. During the chat, he looked beyond his contemporaries and pointed to DiCaprio as the career model who makes waiting feel worthwhile. According to the outlet’s feature, Holland set himself a 15-year goal of winning an Academy Award amid a 2017 interview. With six years remaining, the actor said he is still interested but is not choosing every project for its awards potential. He explained:

It is a far more relaxed approach than the one Chalamet has taken publicly. After winning the 2025 SAG Award for A Complete Unknown, the Dune: Part Three star said he was “really in pursuit of greatness,” a line that stood out because actors usually sand down that kind of ambition during awards season. Chalamet later admitted he was disappointed when Adrien Brody won the Oscar instead.

The pursuit continued with Marty Supreme. Chalamet earned another Best Actor nomination at the 2026 Academy Awards, but Michael B. Jordan took home the trophy for Sinners. Chalamet remains Oscarless, though he has already collected three acting nominations and another nomination as one of Marty Supreme’s producers. Holland has not entered that part of the race yet, but his willingness to say he wants the same prize carries some of Chalamet’s refreshing refusal to act above it.

Holland also has several projects that could move him closer. His role as Telemachus in Nolan’s The Odyssey, (which he initially thought he was doing terribly), gives him a major dramatic showcase. Also, the long-in-development Fred Astaire biopic looks like the clearest awards vehicle of his career. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day star began as a dancer in Billy Elliot the Musical, making Astaire a natural fit even before the usual biopic and Oscar calculations come into play.

DiCaprio offers the Uncharted star a useful "measuring stick" that a long wait does not mean a failed career. He received his first nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in 1994, then spent more than two decades collecting acclaimed performances and near misses before finally winning for The Revenant in 2016.

Holland may admire that patience, but his closest present-day comparison is still Chalamet. Both became franchise stars at a young age and have pursued more demanding work, and neither is shy about seeking the industry’s top acting prize. The difference is that Chalamet is already deep into the campaign, while Holland sounds pretty content to let the right role find him before he starts writing that speech to his mum.

Tom Holland has one heck of a summer with The Odyssey hitting theaters on July 17 and then his fourth leading role as everyones favorite Web Head in Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31.

Usually, when people refer to the best war movies of all time, they focus on war flicks that take place during their respective conflicts.

However, some war movies are actually about the aftereffects, like First Blood. Well, another such film is one of the best war movies ever to win Best Picture: 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives, directed by William Wyler and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, and Dana Andrews, just to name a few.

Actually, there's one other actor I'd like to highlight, and that's because he's the only person in Academy Award history to win two Oscars for the same performance, and that man is Harold Russell.

Harold Russell's Character, Homer, Lost His Hands, Just Like The Actor Himself

The story of how Harold Russell made his acting debut in The Best Years of Our Lives is an interesting one. Russell lost his hands while teaching how to detonate explosives in the Army during World War II, and he was later given mechanical hooks. Always one to help, Russell was featured in a short film from the American Army titled Diary of a Sergeant, which showcased his rehabilitation at Walter Reed Hospital.

Well, William Wyler saw Diary and wanted Russell for his movie, even though Russell had no prior acting experience. His role as Homer is one of three returning soldiers from the Second World War, but his story might be the most potent, given his struggles with his new hands, since he lost them in the war.

In fact, it was so potent a role that not only was he awarded an honorary Oscar for “bringing aid and comfort to disabled veterans through the medium of motion pictures,” but he also ended up winning the Best Supporting Actor Award, too, making him the only actor in Academy history to win 2 Oscars for the same performance. Now that’s something.

Homer Struggles With Losing His Independence Due To His Disability

To watch somebody with a disability is eye-opening, since the first gut reaction for many of us is to often look away. In our heads, we do this because we don’t want to make the disabled person uncomfortable, but in truth, we ourselves are likely uncomfortable, and we turn our heads because we don’t know what else to do.

This is Homer’s life ever since he returned home from the war. Once a former athlete in high school, he struggles with things he once found simple since he has mechanical hooks. You can tell that he’s embarrassed when he’s around other people, as some of them do look away. When he’s alone, he gets angry since he can no longer be independent like he once was.

As I said, it’s eye-opening to watch somebody who truly struggles with their disability, and there is nothing you can do but sympathize with them. It’s a hard watch, but I’m sure an infinitely harder experience to live through.

Homer Also Struggles When It Comes To Romantic Relationships

A while back, I wrote about how much I love the movie CODA, but one aspect I didn’t mention was how impactful the love story was in the background. There are actually three love stories going on. There are the parents, who are both deaf; there is our protagonist (Emilia Jones), and the boy she’s crushing on, and both of them can hear. Then you have the protagonist’s brother, Leo (Daniel Durant), who’s deaf, but is dating somebody who can hear.

I bring this up because this is probably the most difficult relationship in the film, but they make it work, even though Leo has doubts about its future given his disability. Well, in The Best Years of Our Lives, we have a similar story.

Homer was literally dating the girl next door named Wilma (Cathy O’Donnell), and he doesn’t think their relationship will last once he gets back. In fact, he’s even expecting her to leave him, but she doesn’t, and they ultimately end up getting married. That said, it’s only once he learns to accept his disability that he can truly find peace within himself, and I think that’s a wonderful message–a wonderful message, and a wonderful movie.

It’s been 13 years since Jennifer Lawrence famously fell up some stairs in a voluminous ballgown at the Oscars. I can still remember the moment it happened, and so do many other people. It was awkward. It was cringy. The actress thinks it looked fake. Yet, Ms. Lawrence herself would be the first to tell you that was not even her most embarrassing Oscars moment. Actually, it wasn’t even the most awkward thing that happened that year.

In fact, she admitted as much during an appearance on The Tonight Show. She even noted at the time a lot of people bring up the stairs thing, but that sort of thing is occasionally going to happen if you’re trying to look fashionable in high heels. What did mortify her?

You may already see where this is going. Silver Linings Playbook came out in 2012, and Lawrence was at the Oscars in 2013 in support of the movie, which is both when the stairs incident and this conversation occurred. Elizabeth Taylor died in 2011 at age 79.

At that moment, one of Lawrence’s pals walked by and informed her she was not, in fact, speaking with Elizabeth Taylor. The actress’ reaction was to just extricate herself from the conversation immediately and run and hide out behind a wall. Thankfully, she didn’t trip this time.

It was certainly an instance where Lawrence put her foot in her mouth, and this isn’t the only time she’s had an awkward interaction in a public setting. That’s sort of part of the charm of her personality. She’s exactly who she is at any given moment, and she can sometimes be a lot. She knows it. She once even took a break from Hollywood because she felt like people were sick of her.

She came back in high demand, however, and appeared in Die My Love this year, with a cameo coming in Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, a role greenlighted in Martin Scorsese’s What Happens at Night, and another gig in Luca Guadignino’s Burial Rites, among others, coming up.

I’ve seen two A24 movies in the last few weeks, and I know more are coming as the months roll by. The studio is really busy these days, churning out movies in a unique lane like Death of Robin Hood and the recent hit Backrooms. People can’t get enough. This doesn’t mean every upcoming A24 movie hits with general audiences, though. In fact, after seeing it, I know The Death of Robin Hood is going to be polarizing because of the responses I got from fellow St. Louisans at my recent screening. I also think it’s difficult to see Robin Hood as a villain rather than a hero, and the general tone of this movie is unsettling.

Still, I think the studio should have held it for awards season. Let’s talk it out.

The Death Of Robin Hood Is Not An Easy Watch

By now, if you’ve seen The Death of Robin Hood, you know it offers fans a grim perspective on the life of an outlaw from beginning to end. Yes, I’m going to bring in some spoilers, here, so if you haven’t seen the flick yet, watch out.

In his heyday, Robin Hood may have been a man who gave back to the poor, but he killed a lot of people to get there, and he has a lot of blood debts to pay years later. This leads to many, many graphic scenes, which start at the beginning of the film when Robin Hood warns a young girl off, then kills her when she doesn’t heed that warning.

That’s some Game of Thrones-level horrifying, but it’s really the Death of Robin Hood ending that I think will turn some people off. Also the tone of this movie. Also, it’s an unrelentingly negative portrayal of life in medieval times. But mostly its ending, which involves another young girl and an assisted suicide that is shown onscreen. It is, after all, about death.

To be clear, I really liked The Death of Robin Hood. I’ll also probably never watch it again, but I’ve never seen a portrayal of the famed outlaw quite like it, and honestly I’ve never seen a movie like it, either. It’s not happy-go-lucky, but the script is well-written, and it’s fully circular in a way that stuck with me after I finished watching it. It’s complicated. There are a lot of grey areas. It’s a story about how people can be more than one thing; it’s a story about how people can change if they want to, but often don’t.

Mostly, what I took out of the movie is that I really just think Hugh Jackman is extraordinary.

A24 Should Have Held The Death Of Robin Hood For Awards Season

Almost anyone who has seen a movie in the last 20 years has probably encountered Hugh Jackman. He’s been in a boatload of Marvel films. He’s known for stage work and bringing joy to the masses with projects like The Greatest Showman. One of my fellow editors refers to him as Hollywood’s “Song and Dance Man.”

His one and only Oscar nomination was in 2012 for Les Misérables. He didn’t win, despite Anne Hathaway admitting he once broke down on set from acting so hard. We have seen him play serious and curmudgeonly again, particularly in Logan. The Death of Robin Hood is kind of like that, but Jackman's just completely locked in on every level. He's chewing up that scenery, particularly in the first and last scenes.

The role was hard, no-nonsense and grizzled. It required Jackman to do a lot of hair work to look as old and devastated as possible. It’s just a wig and a beard, but he’s totally lost in the role. I had to remind myself several times this was Hugh Jackman I was watching.

Look, I get it. A24 probably does not want to compete with the likes of Dune 3 and Avengers: Doomsday, an event that fans and Robert Downey Jr. have been calling Dunesday. However, it also tends to be true that movies hitting the 2026 release schedule at the end of the year have a much better chance of a successful awards campaign when the BAFTAs, SAG Awards and Oscars roll around.

This is not a rule. You don’t have to have a late-in-the-year release in order to land nominations. A24 knows this, because they experienced it during the Brennaissance, when Brendan Fraser was nominated for The Whale. The movie also came out in summer, hitting theaters in September of 2022. It's just easier to get votes if you are a movie that is buzzy and fresh on peoples' minds.

So, yes, Jackman could still earn a nod, but there’s a long time and a lot of releases between now (the midpoint of the year) and when we start talking about the Academy Awards. Between this and the divisive nature of the film, I’m worried the bows and arrows will be stacked against him. It’s too bad if it doesn't happen, though, because he slaps in this.

This isn’t an article complaining about Disclosure Day. The goal here is not to talk about how attempt forty-two of the script is a nonsensical mess or how it’s needlessly long or how it asks a bunch of questions it doesn’t really attempt to answer. That’s a different article. This one is about how, despite Disclosure Day being a complete mess, Emily Blunt is absolutely fantastic in a way that needs to be recognized come Oscar season.

The thing is it’s easy to be good when everyone and everything around you is good. It’s easy to rise to the level of the material when you’re delivering thoughtful dialogue that’s part of a well-crafted story. Most actors who are nominated for Oscars every year are honored for doing exactly that. They’re given good material to work with, and they make the material as good as it’s supposed to be.

That’s not what Emily Blunt does here. Instead, she takes consistently mediocre dialogue and makes it sound authentic. She takes moments that should feel emotionally hollow because they’re unearned and instead turns them into a payoff the audience cares about. She is, by a very noticeable margin, the best thing about every single scene she’s in, and that should mean something.

How It Normally Works

The thing is, when it comes to the Oscars, it’s usually not just about the performance itself. Fans and also members of the Academy want to advocate for and ultimately vote for movies they actually like. Earlier this year at the Academy Awards, Best Picture nominees Sinners, One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value and Hamnet all got eight or more nominations. More specifically for the purposes of this conversation, fourteen of the twenty total acting nominations came from those six films.

That’s not to say all of those actors didn’t deserve it. They were huge parts of why those movies connected so well with critics and audiences, but now and again, we also have to leave space for someone delivering a dynamite performance in a movie that’s not worthy of Best Picture. Now and again, we have to recognize someone doing great work in spite of the material they’re given. In this case, that’s Emily Blunt, who is fantastic in the largely disappointing Disclosure Day.

What People Think Of Disclosure Day

Now, you’re probably saying to yourself, but wait, doesn’t Disclosure Day have good reviews? Isn’t it the type of movie people would want to advocate for? Ehhhh, not really. It’s sitting at an 80 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which sounds high, but most of those reviews are lukewarm. They recommend the movie for its grandiose ambition, one epic train sequence that is admittedly fantastic and, of course, Emily Blunt’s performance, but they almost all stop short of endorsing it without qualifiers.

The fan scores are a lot worse. They’re not bad, but being at a 6.8 on IMDB with almost 50,000 reviews and counting is not ideal. Project Hail Mary, this year’s other broad sci-fi movie that crushed at the box office, is at an 8.3, as a contrast. Six months from now, everyone is going to remember how that movie made them feel and want to advocate for it. It’s going to end up in Best Picture (deservedly) and will probably bring Ryan Gosling along with it in Best Actor too.

To Sum Up

I hate Disclosure Day. Some people agree with me. Most people seem to think I’m being a little harsh and it’s more of a mixed bag or a decent movie with some issues. Ordinarily, that’s not enough to get an actor into the Academy Awards race, but in this case, I think it should be.

In a co-leading performance, Emily Blunt rises well above every single other actor and even the material itself to deliver a performance you can’t look away from. Whether she’s building a believable rapport with her partner, humoursly played by Wyatt Russell, or delivering career best work to save that dumb face-switching scene about empathy, she’s locked in every second of the runtime here. I hope she gets nominated.

It’s wild that it’s been over a month since Michael B. Jordan won his Oscar and found himself on the list of 2026 Academy Award winners with lots of his Sinners colleagues. So, now, the next natural question about his award is: Where does he keep it? Well, the answer isn’t what I expected; however, I do understand his reasoning.

Now, over the years, we’ve learned about plenty of wild places where actors keep their Oscars. For example, J.K. Simmons originally kept his Academy Award on a minifridge in his bathroom. However, it’s not often I hear about them putting their gold statue somewhere it can't be seen. However, that seems to be what Michael B. Jordan is doing as he told E! News:

After Jordan admitted that his Oscar is not on display in his house, the interviewer asked if he could put it on the shelf. I mean, I would have asked him that too; his achievement deserves to be seen. However, the actor was very humble about it, and he admitted that he’s really not sure where the best place to put it is, explaining:

I get it, I do. I also love that he's been auditioning homes for his Oscar. However, I do have to say that I don't think the closet should be its permanent place.

Well, I guess it’s safe to assume that those who are going over to Jordan’s house are not seeing his Oscar on display. However, you can see it by watching his lovely acceptance speech:

Now, Michael B. Jordan did agree with the interviewer when she asked if it was a “traveling Oscar,” because it has been bouncing around his home. However, for now, it’s going to stay in the closet. His mentality behind why makes a whole lot of sense, though, as he said:

That “next thing right now” is a project on Netflix’s 2026 schedule called Swapped. It’s an animated movie that follows a small woodland creature named Oli, who is voiced by Jordan. However, as the title implies, a swap happens, and Oli ends up switching bodies with a bird, who is voiced by Juno Temple. It looks utterly delightful, and it will be available to stream with a Netflix subscription on May 1.

Meanwhile, Michael B. Jordan will be staying very busy in the years to come, too. That’s because his remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, which he’s directing and starring in, is set to come out on March 7, 2027. Plus, he’s working on a Miami Vice movie with Austin Bustler and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, which is slated to come out on May 19, 2028. So, I get why his eyes aren’t really on his prize right now; he’s got a lot of work to do.

However, I do think he should put his Academy Award on display where everyone can see it. His Oscar deserves that, and so does he!

The Michael Jackson biopic recreates several iconic moments from the late pop star’s run in the ’70s and ’80s, so fans are already experiencing déjà vu as they watch it unfold on the 2026 movie calendar. That feeling wasn’t just coming from what’s on screen, but also what happened behind the scenes. Director Antoine Fuqua found himself dealing with a different kind of whiplash, the kind that had nothing to do with choreography or recreating "Thriller". As he explains, directing Michael came at a very unfortunate time, as it was practically a repeat of what he faced after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock ahead of his last film, Emancipation.

In a recent interview with Deadline, Fuqua opened up about one of the toughest moments during production on Michael and how it mirrors what he went through while finishing his previous film, Emancipation, starring Smith. As he tells it, when he found out there would be legal ramifications if they got into the 1993 allegations against Jackson, it was the "exact same situation" he'd been in before.

The fallout from the 2022 Academy Awards slap incident dominated headlines for weeks, inevitably overshadowing Emancipation, available to stream with an Apple TV subscription. The historical drama arrived under a cloud it didn’t create, and the conversation around it shifted almost overnight. So to find himself in a nearly identical moment while finishing Michael? Yeah, you can see why he calls it a gut punch.

This time around, the issue wasn’t a viral moment on live television, but a major behind-the-scenes complication. The film had to undergo significant reshoots after it was discovered that certain real-life allegations tied to Michael Jackson couldn’t legally be depicted, forcing the production to rethink where it wrapped in the timeline and shell out for extensive reshoots. The movie ultimately ended with a "story continues" card, leaving the door open for more to be told, maybe, one day.

That kind of last-minute pivot would throw any production off balance, and for a while, it did. Fuqua continued:

Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, Fuqua and his team refocused the film around the core of the story: Michael Jackson himself. The performer and the person. It’s a shift that, in hindsight, sounds obvious, but in the middle of a production scramble, it’s not always that easy. Especially when you’re dealing with a figure as complex and polarizing as Jackson.

The film ultimately moved forward with that approach, leaning into the earlier parts of his life and career while setting up the more controversial chapters for potential future installments. Despite the turbulence, it paid off. Michael went on to post a massive opening weekend, proving there’s still a huge audience for the King of Pop’s story.

Twice now, Fuqua has found himself at the exact same stage of the filmmaking process, handing in a director’s cut, only to have something completely outside of what he made threaten to reshape how the project is received. Most directors deal with production headaches, but not all of them have to deal with déjà vu like that.

Michael is currently in theaters as part of the April 2026 release schedule.

In the years since Iron Man died in Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr. has reached a new height of success. That’s because, a few years after he left the MCU as Iron Man, he took a role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which earned him an Oscar. Now, as RDJ prepares to play Doctor Doom, Kevin Feige has opened up about why they decided to bring him back for the upcoming Marvel movie, Avengers: Doomsday. And yes, it does relate to the Academy Award-winning movie the actor made after he said goodbye to Tony Stark.

Ever since it was revealed that Downey was going to play Victor Von Doom in the MCU, I’ve been wondering why they cast him. While I love the choice, RDJ is synonymous with Tony Stark, so why have him play a new character? Well, now that we’re getting closer to Doomsday’s release on the 2026 movie schedule, Marvel boss Kevin Feige is providing some more details to this answer. Telling EW about when they started forming this idea, he recalled how Downey's performance in the 2023 film Oppenheimer inspired them:

Listen, anything is possible in the multiverse, so why not, right? I totally see what they’re saying, too. Robert Downey Jr. is one of the all-time greats, and that’s in part thanks to his work in both the MCU as Iron Man and Oppenheimer. So, yeah, it tracks that if you want to get an all-time great to play your villain, you should maybe give this guy a call.

I also think it’s worth noting that for a very long time, we got to watch Downey play a hero on the big screen. People loved his take on Tony Stark, and Iron Man was a fundamental part of the Avengers and the MCU in general. Then, we got to see a whole other side of his range in Oppenheimer.

In Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, Downey played Lewis Strauss. He was the primary antagonist of the film, and RDJ turned in a nuanced performance that was not carried by the charisma and wit that helped make him so beloved as Tony Stark. It was far more dramatic than we’re used to when it comes to him, and ultimately, he served as a brilliant foil to Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer. Both men took home Oscars for their performances, and the film won many other awards at the 2024 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

In short, Nolan’s movie gave audiences a chance to see Robert Downey Jr. do something totally new and different as an actor.

It also proved that he is one of the best, and I hope that’s what Avengers: Doomsday will do too. Downey is clearly excited about it, with his Doctor Doom-inspired outfits and his coining of the term “Dunesday” to celebrate the fact that his Marvel movie comes out on the same day as Dune: Part Three. Kevin Feige is clearly thrilled about it, too, especially since they got the Oppenheimer actor to come back to the MCU for it.

So, now, to see Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, you can catch Avengers: Doomsday in theaters on December 18. In the meantime, you can go back and watch the performances that made him one of the best of the best by streaming the Marvel movies in order with a Disney+ subscription and buying or renting Oppenheimer.

Following the shocking and tragic death of Rob and Michele Reiner, the tributes poured in in a big way. Then, during one of the touching highlights of the 2026 Oscars, the filmmaker's friend and collaborator, Billy Crystal, brought out a stage full of stars to honor the Reiners. If you’re curious what inspired the veteran actor to pitch that memorable Oscars tribute for his longtime friend, Crystal credited one of his last chats he had with Reiner.

Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner had been friends ever since the City Slickers actor guest-starred on a 1976 episode of Reiner's sitcom, All in the Family. Crystal then began to work with the director in This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally… So, it’s clearly fitting that he’d be the one to honor his old pal at The Academy Awards.

On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Monsters Inc. actor got real about what inspired his tribute to Reiner, and it has to do with Conan O’ Brien’s Christmas party, which happened the night before he died:

That’s truly so beautiful. After the heartbreaking news came out of Rob and Michele Reiner's deaths, celebrity tributes poured in from those who were lucky to know them. A-listers like Meg Ryan opened up about Rob Reiner in his “faith in the best of people,” and Jerry O’Connell credited his Stand By Me director for shaping his Hollywood career. Seeing many stars take to the Oscars stage to honor the great director is the perfect way to praise Reiner’s important message of a great ensemble of people having a profound effect on your life.

Billy Crystal made sure to mention on The Late Show the many great movies his friend made had stellar casts like The Princess Bride, Misery, Stand By Me, and more. The comedian made sure to explain why that was all the more reason he wanted the star-studded casts of these memorable movies to be part of the moving Oscars tribute:

What a lovely way to bring everyone together! With each person who got to be there to celebrate Rob Reiner’s impact on their lives, I’m sure the late Oscar nominee would have been incredibly touched by the tribute made by his friend.

You’re never prepared for the last conversation you have with your best friend before their passing. But in a bittersweet way, Billy Crystal used his final talk with Rob Reiner as a way to pass down the important message the filmmaker/actor had about the amazing people who shape your life. Based on Crystal’s heartwarming Oscars tribute, the world got to see the many friends Reiner made who, in turn, felt the same way about him.

Those who watched the winners get handed out at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022 will not soon forget the sight of Will Smith storming the stage and slapping presenter Chris Rock. It was a shocking and upsetting turn of events that resulted in widespread industry chatter and consequences: Smith was forced to resign his membership to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, and he was banned from attending the Oscars or any other Academy event for a decade. In the aftermath, Wanda Sykes (one of the three co-hosts that night) was one of the most outspoken critics of the moment, and in recent reflection on what happened, she explained that it wasn't just the slap that upset her but also the immediate reaction to it at the ceremony.

Sykes recently appeared as a guest on an episode of The Breakfast Club, and the subject of Chris Rock came up in conversation with co-host Charlamagne Tha God because of the significant role that he had in her career: one of her first big breaks in the industry was writing for The Chris Rock Show in the late 1990s.

The two comedians remain close. So, when asked about her reaction to the notorious Oscar slap, she explained that she was "sickened" to see to first see the assault and then watch everyone pretend that things were normal. Said Sykes,

As noted by Sykes, Will Smith ultimately went back to his seat after slapping Chris Rock, and the incident was very shortly followed by Smith winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. There was no real interruption to the proceedings, and it wasn't until after the show that consequences were handed down.

In the aftermath, Wanda Sykes did get a call from Will Smith, but she was sick at the time and he left a message. She responded with a text thanking him for reaching out.

Sykes has since said that she would never host the Academy Awards again, but she is doing just fine otherwise: in addition to regular acting work in film and television (both live-action and animation), she is a hugely popular standup, some of her recent work including the 2023 Netflix special Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer.

There’s been a lot of conversation about the “weird” Oscars moment after Timothèe Chalamet lost for Marty Supreme, and all the ballet and opera hullabaloo preceding that moment. In fact, most of the conversation about Chalamet and his girlfriend Kylie Jenner has been Oscars coded over the past few days, and now it seems she’s ready to turn the conversation around.

I have no proof that Jenner is trying to shift the conversation away from ballet and back toward Dune 3, which is out later this year. However, she did post a series of photos in a nude bikini chilling on the sand that was giving Dune vibes pretty hard this weekend. She shared several pics laying on the sand, as well as gave us this close up of her beach look in this Stories Post:

I’m not the only one who thought so, either. Her full post is on Instagram and is even more Dune-adjacent. It features her wearing a Dune color palette and laying on a lot of sand. It also earned similar comments from her fans:

• Is this a promo for Dune: Part Three? 😅😂
• Dune 3
• ^^ Was waiting for this comment

I also know that Kylie Jenner is really thoughtful about what she posts when. One time she literally broke the Internet with a bikini post when she was trying to draw awareness to voting. It worked, too. Vote.org saw an 80% increase in traffic directly after, and her post raised enough awareness that 48,000 additional people registered to vote. That’s the power of social media.

I’m sure both the actor and the Hulu reality star would like to get away from the Chalaballet conversation. Lots of relevant ballet people have already spoken out. Conan O’Brien snuck a dig in about the ballet at the Oscars, which Jenner allegedly looked uncomfortable about (per a body language expert). In short, there’s been a lot to watch and read about.

But now it’s in the past. You know what’s not in the past? Dune: Part Three. The movie finally dropped its first trailer, and we're finally starting to get some nude and neutral tones and sand-swept cinematography from Denis Villeneuve and the good folks at Warner Bros. The event movie is coming out at the same time as Avengers: Doomsday and it’s earned the nickname Dunesday (though some have other feelings), akin to when Barbenheimer came out.

It’s going to be a big deal, and I’m just hedging that Jenner might be using her massive platform not just to show off her utterly awesome vacation, but to help out her longtime partner. Not that Dune: Part Three needs that much help…

It’s kind of shocking that Adam Sandler has never been nominated for an Oscar, especially given how many times he’s absolutely delivered in dramatic roles. If you ask me, he should have been in that conversation years ago. But with a new project on the horizon, there’s a real sense that might finally change, because it sounds just like exactly the kind of role The Academy usually pays attention to.

Per Deadline, Sandler is teaming up with director Scott Cooper for a new psychological drama, Time Out, and it sounds very much in his wheelhouse, in the best way. The film follows a man who loses his job and, instead of telling his family, builds an increasingly complicated web of lies to hide the truth. It’s a premise that leans heavily into shame and desperation, all things he's proven he can play incredibly well.

Adam Sandler fans know that having a Netflix subscription is the easiest way to find his best movies. But if you need a reminder, let’s take a quick walk through some of his strongest dramatic roles, the ones that should have earned him a nomination, if not full-on Oscar gold, and prove he’s always been more than a comedic actor.

Adam Sandler Roles That Deserved An Oscar Nomination

For years, Adam Sandler has been stuck in this strange spot where everyone agrees he’s capable of great work, but the awards recognition just hasn’t followed. So let’s run through a few performances that easily could have been contenders for Oscar gold:

1. Punch-Drunk Love: This is still probably my favorite of his dramatic roles. Sure, Paul Thomas Anderson just picked up a Best Picture win for One Battle After Another, but Punch-Drunk Love is a modern masterpiece in its own right, and a big part of that is the Sand Man. He’s awkward, a little unhinged, then suddenly sincere and romantic. It’s such a specific, strange performance, and it totally works. I love that movie.
2. Reign Over Me: Sandler plays a man dealing with the loss of his family after 9/11. It’s heavy, emotional, and a clear reminder of just how much range he has when he leans into this kind of material.
3. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected): Here, he plays a divorced man moving back in with his father. It’s quieter, more grounded, and full of those small, lived-in moments that don’t always get flashy recognition but absolutely should.
4. Uncut Gems: This one feels like the biggest miss, as, for my money, it's not just one of Sandler's best movies but also A24's best flicks. That performance is pure anxiety in human form, chaotic in a way that’s almost impossible to pull off, and yet, no nomination.
5. Hustle: Even his more recent work continues to prove the same point. In Hustle, he plays an NBA scout on his last shot, bringing a worn-down, believable edge to a role that could’ve easily felt formulaic in someone else’s hands.
6. Jay Kelly: In Jay Kelly, Sandler stars alongside George Clooney in a Noah Baumbach drama about fame and legacy. Clooney plays an aging movie star, while Sandler plays his longtime manager. It’s another example of him settling into that more restrained, character-driven space he’s been quietly excelling in.

At this point, it’s not really a question of whether Sandler can deliver a great performance. He’s done it, over and over again. It’s more a question of why those performances haven’t translated into Oscar nominations yet.

Why 'Time Out' Gives Me Hope

Time Out is a remake of the French psychological drama L’Emploi du temps, and it feels like a slightly different lane for Adam Sandler. He’s been bouncing between broad comedies and more grounded roles for years now, and what’s always stood out is how easily he shifts between the two. One minute it’s something as big and silly as Happy Gilmore 2, the next it’s Jay Kelly, and it never feels like you’re watching two different actors. But this one sounds heavier.

Director Scott Cooper has been circling the project for nearly 25 years and has described Sandler’s character as someone “on the brink.” He didn’t have to pick something this intense, but he did.

There’s also something about the story itself that just clicks. Cooper has talked about how it explores identity, work, and self-worth, the kind of themes that tend to stick with you longer than your average drama. And then there’s the cast. Willem Dafoe, Gaby Hoffmann, F. Murray Abraham, Steve Zahn, Adam Horovitz. That’s not a casual lineup. That’s the kind of group you bring together when you’re aiming a little higher.

Look, predicting Oscar stuff is always a gamble. Great performances slip through every year. But this one? It feels like the right kind of project. The kind that gives Sandler space to do what he does best when he locks in, which is make something messy, human, and a little uncomfortable in the best way. I, for one, cannot wait to see what he does with this part.

Time Out doesn’t have a release date yet, so it’s still unclear whether it’ll land on the 2026 movie calendar. But as soon as that gets locked in, we’ll keep you posted.

Thanks to Michael B. Jordan’s “nuanced” dual performance in Sinners, the actor became a 2026 Oscar winner. Ever since his film breakthrough in Fruitvale Station, it seemed clear that Jordan’s performances would eventually lead him to that iconic golden trophy. Now, since the Creed actor’s recent big win, a viral dance video has been released of kids celebrating his big win, and it’s giving me all of the energy I need.

While Gold Derby initially had Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet as the frontrunner for Best Actor, the script got flipped in Jordan's favor after he won Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role at the Actor Awards. Then, on The Academy's big night, the Sinners star wound up being the big winner. The kiddie Ugandan troupe, Hypers Kids Africa, was so happy for the win that they celebrated with a viral dance video that’s got me all in my energetic feels:

I can’t stop watching this video! The smiles on all of the kids’ faces as they danced with a photo of Michael B. Jordan holding his Oscar in the background made my day. I’m seeing a little shimmy-shimmy going on there with some Michael Jackson moves. The coordination of all of these kids and how in sync they are with the choreography is very impressive. Anyone watching the young AGT quarterfinalists bust a move to “Celebration” will want to dance along too to commemorate the Black Panther actor’s massive win.

You can’t help but jump for joy at Michael B. Jordan’s win. Even Pedro Pascal had no problems celebrating the nominee’s win at the ceremony (even if it meant getting in the way of Delroy Lindo's wife from doing the same).

Overall, The Wire actor’s work in Sinners is worth awarding not only because he played two people, but also because he gave a grounded performance despite all of the wild supernatural elements happening around his characters, Stack and Smoke.

You can thank Jordan's frequent director, Ryan Coogler, for how he “challenged” him playing twins, and you can thank the actor for standing up and committing to the challenge put before him. I mean, Jordan made sure to differentiate Stack and Smoke by showing dimples in one and not the other, the way their eyebrows arched, and even wearing different shoe sizes! Talk about a detailed performance.

Instead of making the twin brothers almost like clones of each other, Jordan chose to portray them as two different people, which makes it easier for the audience to tell them apart. With all of that in mind, the Best Actor Oscar is clearly in the rightful place, and we’ve got to get up and dance for the winner as Hypers Kids Africa did.

Talk about an energy boost, seeing a Ugandan dance troupe celebrating Michael B. Jordan’s Oscar win. It’s seriously the best way to show how happy you are when your favorite actor gets his long-deserved win. You can watch Jordan’s Oscar-worthy performance in Sinners with an HBO Max subscription.

As the 2026 Oscar winners were announced, the show paused for a moment to pay tribute to the people we lost in the last year. This segment included a major section devoted to Rob and Michele Reiner, who died in December 2025. During that moment, a bunch of actors who worked with the late director came out on stage to honor them. However, Corey Feldman was not one of them. Now, the Stand By Me actor has opened up about not being included in the in memorium.

For the tribute to Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal – who was in When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap – gave a speech about the director, his work and his legacy. Then, after that, 17 actors who had all worked with Reiner came out on stage together to honor him and Michele. Corey Feldman was not there; however, his Stand By Me co-stars, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton and Kiefer Sutherland were. Speaking about all that, the Goonies actor told EW:

During this segment, Conan O’Brien, who was hosting the Oscars and was a close friend of Reiner, introduced the in memorium and Billy Crystal. The When Harry Met Sally star then came out and gave a speech that touched on key moments and films throughout the director’s career. He was the only person to speak on stage about Rob and Michele.

After Crystal’s speech, 17 actors came out together. This group was made up of performers who starred in This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, Misery, The American President and The Sure Thing, and you can see the full list of them below:

• Michael McKean
• Christopher Guest
• Jerry O'Connell
• Wil Wheaton
• Fred Savage
• Cary Elwes
• Mandy Patinkin
• Carol Kane
• Billy Crystal
• Meg Ryan
• Kiefer Sutherland
• Demi Moore
• Kevin Pollak
• Kathy Bates
• Annette Bening
• John Cusack
• Daphne Zuniga

Overall, the group starred in some of the best movies from the ‘80s, great films from the ‘90s, and a few of the best rom-coms ever made. So, it was lovely and overwhelming to see them all on the stage at the same time.

However, there were plenty of notable stars missing from this lineup. While we don’t know why some people weren’t there, Feldman did share his take on the whole situation. He made it clear that he was very happy it happened. But he also did feel like he wasn’t invited to “a family reunion,” as he explained:

Again, while the Stand By Me actor felt a bit left out, that’s not what he’s choosing to focus on.

Rob and Michele Reiner were tragically killed in December, and since then, tons of people who have worked with and admired them have paid tribute. Then, at the Oscars, the in memorium kicked off with this moment involving Crystal and lots of actors they had collaborated with, before it moved on to honor other greats we lost through a classic in memorium as well as two more breakout sections dedicated to the late Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, which was done by Rachel McAdams, and the late Robert Redford, which Barbra Streisand came out for.

Sadly, this tribute didn’t include everyone. However, as Feldman said, it was still a lovely and moving way to pay homage to the great stars we lost in 2025.

The 2026 Oscars have come and gone, and after months of buzz and a high-profile campaign, Timothée Chalamet arrived as a serious contender thanks to A24's Marty Supreme. But when the night didn’t go his way, the atmosphere inside the room reportedly shifted in a way that was hard to ignore. According to one insider, it became “a weird room to be in” following his loss.

Per a report from the Daily Mail, that shift was especially noticeable given how much attention Chalamet had been receiving earlier in the evening. Before his category was announced, he was one of the most in-demand people in the room, moving between conversations and drawing constant attention. As the source described it:

That kind of buzz makes sense for someone at the center of an awards race. Between his performance and the visibility of Marty Supreme following its high-profile marketing, he felt like a key part of the night’s momentum. But once the show resumed, things began to shift.

Host Conan O'Brien made a joke at Chalamet’s expense, referencing earlier headlines, and while the moment played lightly on stage, it landed differently in context. According to a body language expert, the actor took the jab better than Jenner. When the winner was announced, and his name wasn’t called, the mood in the room turned a bit uncomfortable. The insider added:

It’s a uniquely strange situation that only really exists in a setting like the Oscars. One minute, someone is surrounded by attention and anticipation. The next, they’re processing a very public loss while still seated in a room full of colleagues, cameras, and expectations to keep things light.

And according to the same report, that awkwardness extended beyond the ceremony itself. Chalamet and Kylie Jenner still attended the Vanity Fair Oscars Party afterward, despite reportedly feeling the pressure of constant cameras throughout the night. There, the mood seemed to shift into something more supportive, with Kris Jenner seen speaking with the actor as he processed the outcome.

The larger takeaway here isn’t just about one loss, but how quickly the energy inside an awards show can turn. For viewers at home, it’s a polished broadcast. Inside the room, it’s a much more complicated mix of celebration and disappointment. Because while only one person walks away with the award, everyone else is left to figure out what to say next.

Whatever the night looked like from the outside, it doesn’t appear to have shaken things between Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner in any lasting way. If anything, moments like this tend to put things into perspective. There’s already been speculation about where their relationship could go next, from engagement rumors to speculation about Jenner wanting more kids, but for now, they seem firmly in each other’s corner. And while award wins come and go, the bigger picture for both of them still feels very much in motion.

Chalamet has a busy 2026 movie schedule, with the highly anticipated Dune: Part III on the way. The upcoming sci-fi flick, which closes out the trilogy, is set to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.

Many are still buzzing about the 98th Academy Awards and its biggest developments. Much has been said about the 2026 Oscar winners, and that’s especially been true of Michael B. Jordan, who won Best Actor for his work in Sinners. That major win came after weeks of analysts showing that Jordan was frontrunner alongside Timothée Chalamet, whose odds apparently decreased amid his ballet/opera brouhaha. Like so many, I’m so happy for Jordan but, at the same time, this Chalamet backlash gives me pause.

Weeks ago, during a town hall with Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet was asked for his thoughts on the viability of movie theaters. Chalamet admitted to having mixed feelings, as he said he both “admired” those championing cinemas but also understood that audiences were finding new ways to consume media. From there, he said, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore’ — all respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”

Those comments ruffled quite a few feathers, as backlash came from the ballet and opera communities as well as several actors and even The View. At the same time, some pundits speculated that the comments could hurt Chalamet’s chances of winning Best Actor for his work in Marty Supreme. It can’t be said with complete certainty whether that was indeed the case but, regardless, various people now seem to have varied takes on what steps the A-lister should take next. On X, critic Scott Menzel shared a suggestion:

While I understand the public’s interest in Chalamet’s situation, it’s hard for me not to wonder if this has become overblown. There may have been those who didn’t like his comments, they weren’t so inflammatory or derogatory that they could impact the overall trajectory of his career. Also, there are also those who agree with Chalamet’s sentiment that movie theaters attendance could become more niche like going to the opera or ballet. Still, the debate continues, and comments from both sides of the argument can be seen below:

• Chalamet's problem isn't that he was wrong. [It’s] that he said it like an a--hole. - @maiamindel
• Poetic that Chalamet lost what would’ve been a historic Oscar he was dead certain of because he can’t see beyond himself for playing a dude who lost what would’ve been a historic title he was dead certain of because he can’t see beyond himself. - @UlaVaz
• Timothee Chalamet, you’ll get your Oscar when you stop being so arrogant and obsessed about winning it. - @filmstofilms_
• Nobody is ready for the Cruise/Damon/Chalamet/DiCaprio best actor race next year. It's gonna be generational. - @hdwmovies
• The real story here is that someone ran a smear campaign against Chalamet and it probably worked. - @politicalmath
• There’s been more hatred and vitriol for timothee chalamet than actual abusers in the industry. Are we even surprised? - @paniniboy7

As for whether Chalamet actually should (or will) take a step back, that’s clearly up for debate – and that debate is becoming somewhat exhausting. Still, it doesn’t look like Menzel’s scenario is going to come to pass, as marketing for the actor’s next movie is already in motion. Warner Bros. debuted the first trailer for Dune: Part Three this week, and it’s since been well received. (It’s also worth noting, however, that Chalamet did not attend the press event at which the trailer initially debuted.)

Meanwhile, when it comes to Michael B. Jordan, I’d argue that his win should not be overshadowed by the Timothée Chalamet conversations either. As someone who loved his award-winning turn in Sinners, I’d argue that he fully deserved that honor. His win in the category also marks a major boon for the horror genre.

Simultaneously, I also enjoyed Chalamet’s turn in Marty Supreme. So, while others continue to have their debates, I just remain grateful that both Jordan and Chalamet put out great performances in the past year and look forward to seeing what both of them do next.

Sinners is currently available to stream with an HBO Max subscription, and Marty Supreme will be as well, starting on April 24.

The Oscars took place last Sunday March 15 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, and the nominee with the most buzz was, of course, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The critically acclaimed vampire flick received a record setting 16 nominations at the 98th Academy Awards. Both Coogler and frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan received their first Oscar wins during the live event. Some viewers noticed the Black Panther director using American Sign Language during his acceptance speech, and there’s an awesome story as to why Coogler casually used the signing language throughout the night.

After some unexpected Golden Globe snubs, audiences were rooting for a Sinners sweep at the 2026 Academy Awards. While it fell short to One Battle After Another for Best Picture, Sinners took home Oscars in four other major categories: Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Every time one of his collaborators took the stage, the camera would pan to Coogler, who would casually flash ASL signs for “I love you” and “Thank you.”

This was not lost on many viewers at home. Filmmaker @chrissymarshall_ on TikTok, compiled the Fruitvale Station director’s use of ASL at the Oscars, commenting how much him normalizing ASL on stage meant to her as a member of the Deaf community:

What may seem like a random decision actually has a lot of meaning behind it, revealed via Huff Post, as his wife and co-producer Zinzi Coogler is a certified ASL interpreter. The Hollywood power couple met as teenagers, but started dating in college, where Zinzi got her degree in communicative sciences and deaf studies, according to Marie Claire. Before co-founding Proximity Media with her husband and their creative partner Sev Ohanian, she worked as an ASL interpreter for the nonprofit Deaf Counseling, Advocacy & Referral Agency.

While the Cooglers have never confirmed having Deaf family members, they clearly are closely involved with and fierce advocates of the Deaf community. The Sinners director’s public use of ASL at the Oscars might have surprised some, but longtime fans of Coogler’s know this is not a one off.

The producing duo have been longtime proponents of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing representation in film. The Creed franchise, created by Coogler, includes a HOH storyline for Tessa Thompson’s character, Bianca, that progresses across all three movies. In Creed III, Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, Adonis and Bianca’s daughter is deaf, played by Deaf actress Mila Davis-Kent. The story told does not revolve around these characters’ deafness, but their struggles and successes in a predominantly hearing world are a huge part of the narrative and Adonis Creed’s journey.

Storylines like this, and the casual use of ASL at the Oscars by people who are involved with the Deaf community like the Cooglers, are important to increasing awareness of ASL and Deaf people, says Deaf creator @notlenavernice on Tiktok.

I think one of Ryan Coogler’s greatest accomplishments as a filmmaker is his ability to seamlessly include marginalized individuals, without it ever feeling forced or performative. Zinzi Coogler told Marie Claire that she and her husband’s careers are always intertwined with each other’s, leading them to “lean into stories about communities that are underrepresented, but in a way that shows that complexity and vibrancy and joy in life.”

Ryan Coogler’s ASL use at the Academy Awards is a great reminder for Hollywood creatives and audiences that inclusivity of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals in Hollywood doesn’t stop post-CODA Best Picture win. While Sinners did not have any Deaf or HOH characters, the Academy Award-nominated film is the first movie to stream with a Black American Sign Language version, available to watch with an HBO Max subscription.

I seriously love the Cooglers’ dedication to normalizing ASL, in both their professional and personal lives. Coogler has quickly become one of my favorite filmmakers of this decade due to his incredible talent and his steadfast down-to-earth values, a rare combination in Hollywood. His Oscar win was well deserved, and I’m excited to see what he does next with upcoming projects, including Black Panther 3 and an X-Files reboot.

The 98th Academy Awards, which we covered extensively on our live-blog, have come and gone, and among the 2026 Oscar winners was beloved director Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another. With PTA’s win, an Oscar’s connection pops up that actually makes you stop and think. One very specific thing links the first Oscar wins of three wildly different directors: Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, and Paul Thomas Anderson. And no, it’s not a shared genre, a studio, or even a similar style.

All three filmmakers earned their first (and, so far, only) Academy Awards for movies starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Once you see it laid out, it’s hard to ignore. Their connection comes from these movies starring the former teen heartthrob:

• The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
• Titanic (James Cameron)
• One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Three directors. Three very different careers. One surprisingly consistent through-line. DiCaprio.

The Leo Pattern Is Hard To Ignore

To be clear, these directors are not in the same position regarding their Award wins, though each of them, in my opinion, could be categorized as shocking Oscar wins.

Martin Scorsese famously had to wait decades before winning Best Director for 2007's The Departed, despite building one of the most respected filmographies in cinema history.

James Cameron, on the other hand, didn’t just win for Titanic; he dominated the Oscars with it, which led to his now infamous 'I'm the King of the World' speech. While his other films, like Avatar, have won Academy Awards across his career, his first major breakthrough and the only time he personally took home trophies came with a DiCaprio-led film.

The same goes for Paul Thomas Anderson. After years of critical acclaim and multiple nominations, One Battle After Another finally got him over the finish line, as he won Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. (Though I would hardly categorize it as one of PTA's best movies.) Like Cameron, his movies have won Oscars (Daniel Day-Lewis won for his performance in There Will Be Blood, for example). However, PTA's personal trophies didn't come to him until he worked with DiCaprio on OBAA.

So while their careers look very different on paper, there’s a strange overlap in how their Oscar stories actually played out.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Factor

What makes this even more ironic is Leo’s own Oscar history. Despite being at the center of these major wins, he only has one Academy Award himself, and it's for The Revenant. And notably, that win has nothing to do with any of the films that helped these directors secure their Oscars.

In other words, the Inception actor has been a key part of multiple Oscar-winning moments for directors, without personally winning for those same projects. That’s kind of wild.

It also says something about the roles he chooses. The Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood lead has built a career around working with filmmakers at pivotal moments, whether that’s helping bring massive projects like Titanic to life or collaborating on prestige films like The Departed and One Battle After Another.

He’s consistently in the mix when something big is happening, even if the awards don’t always land directly in his hands.

It’s easy to write this off as a quirky stat, but it also highlights how certain collaborations shape awards history in ways that aren’t always obvious. DiCaprio has spent years aligning himself with ambitious directors, and those partnerships have clearly paid off, even beyond his own accolades.

Three directors with multiple Oscars between them, and in each case, a Leonardo DiCaprio-led film played a key role in getting them there, especially when it came to that first big win. At the very least, it’s one of those connections that would make an awesome little piece of trivia at your next Oscar night party.

This year's best picture winner and the movie that got Paul Thomas Anderson his first Oscar, One Battle After Another, is streaming with an HBO Max subscription.

Gwyneth Paltrow turned a lot of heads when she attended the 98th Oscars, which was on the 2026 TV schedule over the weekend. While it looked like a non-fussy gown compared to other red carpet looks that night, I was totally wrong. I’m sorry, but her dress sounds like a whole ordeal I wouldn’t sign up for – even if I was literally her.

The actress gave fans an inside look into what it’s like to get ready for this year’s Oscars in a new video posted by Goop, and it takes a team of hair, makeup and clothing stylists. While on a call with her daughter while she was getting all done up, Paltrow had this to say about her journey ahead that gave me pause:

Paltrow’s dress was gorgeous, but at what cost? The inability to pee for the duration of her time in it, that's what. If you caught the telecast to find out who the 2026 Oscar winners were, you know the ceremony was three and a half hours, and that’s not counting the red carpet interviews beforehand.

I would be so stressed over drinking too much liquids and not having the ability to go to the bathroom if I was her – with the added layer of it all being recorded for television to cause me more panic. But I guess it was fashion over function for Paltrow. Check out the dress for yourself below:

Paltrow turned up to the 98th Oscars in a white Giorgio Armani Privé gown that has both the sheer dress trend and cutout trend in one as it shows off some skin on the sides with sparkly sheer cutouts. Given the specificities of the dress, I totally get why she was sewn into the garment, but I absolutely cannot get over sacrificing one’s ability to have one of my normal bodily functions for a dress.

It was a special year for Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars, considering the actress’ movie Marty Supreme was nominated for nine Academy Awards and she was asked to be one of the actors to present the first-ever Best Casting award. Sadly, Marty Supreme was completely shut out of winning a single award, but Paltrow looked good anyways. During the get ready video, the 53-year-old reflected on how her pre-ceremony routine has changed over the years, saying this:

Gwyneth Paltrow first went to the Oscars back in 1994, and has been 10 times since. In 1999, she won Best Actress for her role in Shakespeare In Love, which remains her first and only acting nomination/win from the Academy. It was great to see her serving as always, but learning more about her dress gave me a whole new respect for her.

The 2026 Oscars have come and gone, with a new batch of artists taking home the coveted Academy Award. There were a number of memorable moments this year, including the In Memoriam segment, which honored folks like late filmmaker Rob Reiner, Catherine O'Hara, Diane Keaton, and Robert Redford. While the Oscars still left out some names, I absolutely loved the format change to this emotional segment.

The Oscars In Memoriam always leaves some folks out, and this year fans noticed both James Van Der Beek and Eric Dane were missing. While one can debate who should and shouldn't have been included in the telecast, I think that the way certain individuals were memorialized should stick around for future Academy Awards. Hear me out.

The Oscars Special Tributes Were Moving And Beautiful

The In Memoriam segment started off with a emotional gut punch, as a number of the stars of Rob Reiner's movies united on stage, holding hands. His death was a shock, especially with his son Nick being held as the prime suspect of the apparent homicide. Billy Crystal offered a heartfelt message, and seeing all of the late director's collaborators stand in solidarity was very moving.

From there the In Memoriam video began playing, but Reiner wasn't the only one who was given a special honor during this segment. Rachel McAdams took the stage to honor Catherine O'Hara and share a touching story about late actress Diane Keaton during their time working together on The Family Stone and Morning Glory. After that, the video resumed... until none other than Barbra Streisand hit the stage.

Streisand joined the In Memoriam segment to pay tribute to the late actor/filmmaker Robert Redford. The living legend shared stories about their longstanding friendship, and even sang a bit of "The Way We Were" to end the tribute. I mean, who doesn't want to hear the great Streisand sing one of her most iconic songs?

While there were some folks out there disappointed at the absence of certain actors, I really appreciated the way the In Memoriam was handled this year. Having big names be honored in this way felt appropriate, and it was far more personal with their surviving loved ones sharing stories. Personally, I think this is a format change that should stick around for the foreseeable future. Obviously, this might depend on what film icons pass away over the next year, but you can't deny that this adjustment made the segment especially emotional for those in attendance, as well as folks like me watching from home.

We'll just have to see if this format change becomes permanent when the Oscars return next year, available exclusively with a Hulu subscription. Only time will tell what adjustments will be made.

The winners of the 2026 Oscars were given those iconic trophies over the weekend, and as usual, it made for a buffet of moments of rare celebrity interactions. One big one that the internet has been talking about is what happened when Michael B. Jordan won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual performance in Sinners. Let’s get into why that was and how it involves Pedro Pascal.

How Pedro Pascal Reacted To Michael B. Jordan’s Oscar Win

So, when Jordan was named the 2026 Best Actor on Sunday, Pedro Pascal was in the row right behind him and next to Delroy Lindo and his wife, Nashormeh. The first thing fans are talking about is how Pedro Pascal freaked out when Michael B. Jordan’s name was called, and excitedly put his arm on his shoulder and shook him in the moment. Take a look:

We love a hype man, and Pedro Pascal was definitely one for Jordan when he had his big moment. I mean, it definitely feels like the only correct reaction to witnessing history! The telecast did catch Pascal shaking his shoulder, but it wasn’t clear who it was, so this video shows it from a better angle. Pascal seemingly had no skin in the game, since he wasn’t nominated for any of this year’s awards, though he did present the award for Best Editing with his The Mandalorian and Grogu co-star Sigourney Weaver.

The Other Reason Why Pedro Pascal Is Going Viral For The Same Moment

It’s a sweet moment, but then one eagle-eyed fan also noticed something else about it. Check it out on X:

If you look a bit closer, you can see that while Pascal was enthusiastically congratulating Jordan, Lindo’s wife was actually vigorously tapping him to move his hand so she could stand up like some of the other people in the audience. Delroy Lindo immediately got up to congratulate his co-star, along with writer/director Ryan Coogler coming up to him to give him a huge hug. Emma Stone and her husband, who were seated next to Jordan’s mom, also got up, but Nashormeh Lindo was sort of stuck in her seat.

It’s a funny little detail, but ultimately it seems like Pedro Pascal had zero intention of causing any issues with his seatmate and was just lost in the sauce over the actor’s big win. You can check out what happened in the telecast and watch Jordan’s acceptance speech below:

Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor win was one of four Oscars Sinners won on Sunday night – the horror movie also won for Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. During the show, there was an awesome performance to celebrate the music of the film, and the movie was referenced all over the broadcast, including during Conan’s opening monologue. If you missed it, you can check out our Oscars blog, which recaps the whole show.

The Oscars were, as usual, a big night for Hollywood's elite this past weekend. We saw some big winners and huge Oscar moments. Of course, for every winner there are several losers, and prior to the show, Conan O’Brien had some fun at the expense of the losers, claiming that consoling distraught nominees was actually his primary job as host.

Speaking to THR ahead of the Oscars, O’Brien pointed out that, as the night goes on, the vast majority of the people in the theater are people who have failed to win an Oscar. It’s an obvious fact, though I admit it’s one I hadn’t really considered until now. O’Brien then joked about a part of his job as host that we (apparently) never see, which involves him trying to make the Oscar losers feel better about losing. He said:

Right now, I’m imagining Conan O’Brien going down into the audience during every commercial break to find the people who didn’t win and tell them everything is going to be ok. In my imagination, everybody is sobbing uncontrollably at the fact that they lost. I also imagine the winners are laughing manically.

This isn’t how it actually looks, of course. While I’m sure nominees are disappointed they didn’t win, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of a nominee needing consolation for not winning. Usually its fans who are the most upset when somebody is snubbed. Even if they really wanted to win, or believed they would, it would be a bad look if they made it that obvious.

While I’m sure winning an Oscar is wonderful, and everybody nominated really wants to have their name called, there is something to be said for the whole “It’s an honor to be nominated” concept. Some stars have said that the nomination is the thing that really matters, far more than the win, so to that degree, I’m not even sure anybody minds not winning.

Still, Conan jokes that in the end, his job as host is really to console people. The whole being funny stage thing is just a small part of his responsibilities. He added:

Whatever made Conan O’Brien a great Oscar host, he was good enough at it last year that the Academy wasted no time in signing him to return this year. While Oscar ratings were down compared to last year, most who saw the show seemed to be complimentary of it, and of O’Brien as well, so it will be interesting to see if O’Brien goes back for a third consecutive time.

It would put Conan O’Brien in elite company alongside some of the best Oscars hosts of all time.. Only three people have ever hosted three consecutive Oscar ceremonies: Billy Crystal, Johnny Carson, and Bob Hope, and it hasn’t happened since Crystal did it in the early ‘90s. I’m sure they were all really good at consoling the losers, too.

The 2026 Oscars have come and gone, with a number of filmmakers awarded for their work over the last year. Additionally, the In Memoriam segment honored the many actors, directors, and film professionals that we lost. While the ceremony gave special love to folks like Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton, a few figures were noticeably missing. That includes late actor Eric Dane, although both his wife Rebecca Gayheart and Shonda Rhimes have responded to this snub.

The Academy Awards' In Memoriam always leave some folks out, and this year they failed to honor both Dane and James Van Der Beek after their deaths. Some fans took umbrage with this, and now we have an idea about how those who knew the late Grey's Anatomy star are responding.

How Rebecca Gayheart Reportedly Feels

Eric Dane and Rebeca Gayheart were married for over 21 years, although the Jawbreaker icon did file for divorce (and later withdrew the request after his ALS diagnosis). So how did she feel about her husband not being included in the Academy Awards' In Memoriam segment this year? A source who is allegedly close to Gayheart spoke to TMZ, claiming she was "saddened" to see him left out. Although the family also reportedly understands, as they put it:

The In Memoriam definitely proved that. Whether it was Rob Reiner's death or the recent passing of Catherine O'Hara, there were a ton of names to honor throughout the In Memoriam segment. And Eric Dane was included on the Academy website... even if he didn't make it onto the telecast. Since Dane and Van Der Beek were best known for their work on TV, smart moneys says they'll be heavily featured in the next Emmy Awards.

How Does Shonda Rhimes Feel About Dane's Oscars Snub?

Another major figure has also weighed in on Dane not being featured: Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. She worked with the late actor for years, resulting in Mark Sloan aka McSteamy being one of the most beloved characters in the show's history. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the TV mogul said:

Despite knowing Dane, it sounds like Rhimes understands why he didn't appear during the Oscars telecast's In Memoriam. While the late actor has a number of movie roles such as X-Men: The Last Stand, Burslesque, and Bad Boys: Ride or Die, he is best known for being a TV star. Now if the Emmys leave him out, that'll be another story entirely.

Luckily for Eric Dane's fans, he's got some posthumous roles coming, including Euphoria Season 3, which premiers April 12th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Given his legacy on TV and film, smart money says folks are going to be watching his appearance as Cal Jacobs even more closely.

The 98th Academy Awards are in the books, and it was a big night for new horror movies. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, though not what I expected, picked up wins for costuming, makeup, and production design, while the major acting awards went to Sinners and Weapons, with Michael B. Jordan and Amy Madigan taking home Oscars:

• Amy Madigan – Weapons (Best Supporting Actress)
• Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Best Actor)

Oscar wins for the horror genre sound like a breakthrough. And in many ways, it is. But there’s one stat I can’t shake: those two wins now make up 25% of all horror acting Oscars ever awarded. That’s exciting. It’s also a little alarming. Because if history tells us anything, it’s that moments like this don’t usually lead to consistency. They tend to be followed by long stretches where genre disappears from the conversation entirely, which doesn't bode well for all the upcoming horror movies on the way.

Every Horror Oscar Win Has Been Followed By Years Without Genre Recognition

If you map out every horror acting win in Oscar history, a pattern becomes pretty obvious, with huge gaps popping up between wins. Here are the only eight acting talents that have been honored to date:

• Fredric March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
• Ruth Gordon – Rosemary’s Baby (1969)
• Kathy Bates – Misery (1991)
• Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs (1992)
• Anthony Hopkins – The Silence of the Lambs (1992)
• Natalie Portman – Black Swan (2011)
• Amy Madigan – Weapons (2026)
• Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (2026)

Only EIGHT wins in nearly 100 years. Just as importantly, look at the in-between gaps where zero horror performances reached the apex.

• 1932 to 1969
• 1969 to 1991
• 1992 to 2011.
• 2011 to 2026.

We’re not talking about a genre that’s consistently overlooked year to year. We’re talking about one that breaks through once, maybe twice in a short burst, and then vanishes for a decade or more. That’s why this year feels familiar in a way that’s hard to ignore. Two wins in one night looks like progress, but if you look closely, it could also look like another spike in a very uneven pattern.

Many Great Horror Performances Have Gone Unrewarded In Recent Years

If anything proves how inconsistent the Academy has been with horror, it’s the list of performances that didn’t win, or didn’t even get nominated. Toni Collette in Hereditary is probably the most obvious modern example. Her performance was widely praised and emotionally brutal in a way that usually gets awards attention, and I’m still quite salty about her performance being overlooked.

Lupita Nyong’o in Us is another one that still feels like a miss. Playing dual roles with completely different physicality and voice, she delivered one of the most technically impressive performances of that year. Still no nomination.

Mia Farrow’s work in Rosemary’s Baby and Isabelle Adjani’s in Possession have both grown in reputation over time, but weren’t fully embraced by the Academy when it mattered.

And that’s really just scratching the surface. Countless performances could have, and arguably should have, been in the conversation:

• Duane Jones – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Shelley Duvall – The Shining (1980)
• Christian Bale – American Psycho (2000)
• James McAvoy – Split (2016)
• Florence Pugh – Midsommar (2019)
• Willem Dafoe – The Lighthouse (2019)
• Mia Goth – Pearl (2022)

These are just a handful that came to mind, but I’m sure if we dug deeper into the annals of horror history, we would find so many more worthy performances for Oscar recognition. For every horror performance that actually wins, there are several more that don’t even get a shot, which makes it harder to believe that one strong year signals a lasting shift.

We May Not See Another Horror Win Until 2041 Unless The Academy Changes Things

Here’s the uncomfortable part. If the pattern holds, we could be waiting a long time before this happens again. There were 15 years between Natalie Portman’s win for Black Swan and this year’s awards. If history repeats itself, the next potential horror acting win would be around 2041.

That sounds dramatic, but the numbers back it up. Of course, things could change. The Academy has been evolving, and horror is arguably more respected now than it’s ever been. Films like Sinners and Weapons being taken seriously is proof of that. But we’ve had moments like this before. Breakthroughs that felt like turning points, only for the genre to fade from awards conversations again.

So yes, this year was a win—a big one. I just can’t help wondering if it’s the start of something new, or the peak before another long wait.

Sinners and Weapons are both streaming with an HBO Max subscription.

It would seem that as the 2026 Oscar winners and nominees celebrated their films, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were too. Between photos of the pop star allegedly walking into a party and claims from inside sources, it’s been reported that the power couple was in LA during the weekend of the Academy Awards.

As the little gold men were awarded, we talked about all sorts of fashion moments from Kevin O’Leary’s chain to Wunmi Mosaku’s sparkly gown. Then, it was time for the after parties, where we got to see Megan Fox’s black lingerie-inspired party fit and so many more noteworthy ensembles. Now Taylor Swift…and her leg...have entered the Academy Awards chat.

On Oscar Sunday, it was reported by Deux Moi that Taylor Swift discreetly went to Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s after-party at the Chateau Marmont. With that claim came two photos of someone being hidden by black umbrellas. While you can’t see the person’s face, you can see the bottom of their gold dress and their red-bottomed heels. Apparently, that is the “Fate of Ophelia” singer’s leg.

Now, obviously, this could be someone else. That’s entirely possible. However, Swift and Kelce famously keep their relationship out of the public eye. Plus, we know the pop star (and many famous folks) will use umbrellas to hide themselves from paparazzi when they’re on the move. So, it seems possible that this leg is Taylor Swift’s.

It’s also been alleged that Swift and Kelce were at various Oscars afterparties on Sunday. Per Page Six, the couple kept their attendance at these parties on the down low. The outlet also claimed that people saw them spending time at Madonna and Guy Oseary’s party. Notably, the singer and football player did go to that party in 2024. Therefore, it’s not far-fetched to believe that they also attended this bash (and maybe others) this year, too.

Also, the “Opalite” singer is friendly with both Madonna and Beyoncé (I mean, Swift and Beyoncé supported each other’s concert films very publicly a few years ago). So, while we don’t know whose leg that is in the photo, technically, again, it’s not unrealistic to believe it’s Taylor Swift.

Overall, we really haven’t seen much of Swift in recent months. Last year was a big one for her, as she and Travis Kelce got engaged, she bought her music back, she dropped The Life of a Showgirl, and she released her Eras Tour documentary. So far, she hasn’t been seen much in 2026, though she did release the "Opalite" music video. However, her fiancé has mentioned her here and there in interviews and on his podcast.

Now, we seem to have a small update about what the “Fortnight” singer has been up to, thanks to a couple of photos of a leg and some insiders sharing updates. If they were indeed at these parties, I hope she and Kelce had a blast celebrating the big winners – like One Battle After Another and Sinners – with their famous friends, and maybe one day we’ll get confirmation that they were actually there.

Awards Season came to an end last weekend during the 2026 Oscars, and it was a big day for the horror genre. Sinners, which was was one of the best horror movies in recent memory, won big, and also had an incredible live performance of the song "I Lied To You". During that number the ballerina Misty Copeland appeared on pointe, and she recently broke her silence about participating in that iconic musical moment.

Sinners' Oscars performance was an epic version of "I Lied To You", featuring members of the cast in thrilling cameos. It allowed the audience to be transported to the Juke Joint of the film (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). Misty Copeland's cameo was thrilling, and during a chat with Variety she opened up about joining the celebration of Ryan Coogler's vampire flick. In her words:

Back in December Copeland underwent hip replacement surgery to address various injuries from her decorated career as a ballerina, including bone spurs and cartilage loss. Despite this, she was happy to jump into the Sinners Oscars performance, which brought her back on pointe during a time when the power of ballet has been a hot button discussion.

Midway through sinners, Sammie performs "I Lied To You", and the power of his music pierces the veil of time. Generations of music join the performance, including a ballerina who was inspired Copeland. So the fact that she got to step on the stage at the Academy Awards was a full circle moment. Later in the same interview she spoke about dancing again after her surgery, offering:

Misty Copeland's appearance at the Academy Awards come just weeks after Timothée Chalamet went viral for dunking on both the ballet and opera communities which he said "no one cares about." A ton of shade was thrown at Chalamet throughout the night, and Copeland performing on pointe just feet away from the Marty Supreme actor definitely turned heads. In the end he didn't win for Best Leading Actor, with that honor going to Sinners' Michael B. Jordan. Copeland gave the Black Panther actor his flowers, saying:

The Oscars audience made it clear they favored Sinners, which took home a number of trophies but ultimately lost Best Picture to One Battle After Another. Still, it made history, especially given how the horror genre has historically been snubbed during Awards Season.

Sinners is streaming now on HBO Max, and is no doubt getting more views after taking home four Oscars (and being nominated for a record sixteen). We'll just have to wait and see what comes next from Ryan Coogler, including the highly anticipated third Black Panther movie.

It was a few weeks before the 2026 Oscars that Marty Supreme star Timothée Chalamet threw some random shrapnel at ballet and opera as he was trying to explain his thoughts on the movie theater experience, and he hasn’t heard the last of it yet. Not only have major companies and individuals from each area (like acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland) supplied rebuttals to his comments, but the controversy has led to him being the butt of some jokes, including at the recent ceremony hosted by Conan O’Brien. Now, a body language expert has weighed in and noted that he actually took those jokes pretty well, while his partner Kylie Jenner was another story.

What’s Been Said About How Timothée Chalamet And Kylie Jenner Took Conan’s Oscars Jokes

The 2026 TV schedule has wrapped up awards season, as the winners of the 98th Academy Awards have now been chosen. Though Timothée Chalamet and his aforementioned popular sports dramedy ended up losing out in all nine of its nominated categories, that doesn’t mean that the Best Actor nominee wasn’t a focus of the chock-full awards evening, as host Conan O’Brien went full Aunt Gladys and then poked fun at the actor’s ballet controversy with an A+ joke.

Chalamet was in attendance with his long-time partner, Kylie Jenner, and body language expert Darren Stanton spoke to The U.S. Sun on behalf of Covers about what they noticed from the couple while the Dune actor was being joked about. Apparently, the Bob Dylan portrayer wasn’t too pressed about being the butt of some jokes, as Stanton said:

Overall, Chalamet has shown that he has a pretty good sense of humor in general, so it’s nice to hear that he seemingly took the opening monologue in stride. However, Jenner (who a lip reader said Chalamet had words about with his sister during the event) is said to have not taken the moment quite so well. Stanton continued:

It does make sense that Jenner would be less likely to outright guffaw at what happened, and would need to check her boyfriend’s reaction first to see how to respond. Of course, even with him taking it like a champ, that doesn’t mean that she would be as game for it as he appeared to be. I’m no body language expert, but neither of them looked to be that thrown off by O’Brien’s words (though I did notice Jenner “playing with her fingers”). You can see what you think by checking out their responses in the video below:

All in all, O’Brien’s joke (which he likely tried out at a comedy club beforehand) was taken without too much agitation by the duo, with Stanton adding:

And, really, who can be mad at her for being a bit “protective over him” right now? People tend to have relatively short memories, so all of the controversy will likely be long gone from everyone’s minds by the time Dune: Part Three comes to the 2026 movie schedule in December.

When Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Picture at the Academy Awards for One Battle After Another, he made an interesting comparison to the year 1975. Essentially, he said that even though his movie won, there was no “best” among the nominees, since every nominee for 2025 was excellent, similar to 1975.

However, when he name-dropped all five movies that were up for best picture from ‘75–those being, Nashville, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest–I thought, wait a minute. ALL five of those movies were up for Best Picture? In the same year?!

Because, oh my God, that might be the best line-up of Best Picture movies ever (with 1994 being a close second). So, why was 1975 so good? Well, you’re about to find out.

Like PTA Said, Any One Of Those Nominees Could Have Won, But Three In Particular Are Perhaps The Gold Standard

Do you know what might just be the best movie of the ‘70s? Dog Day Afternoon. Actually, let me take that back, because what could be more iconic than Jaws? I even watched it again recently on the big screen, and it STILL holds up. But, okay, I’m sorry, can I start all over? Could either of those two films really be considered better than One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?

I mean, Nest is actually one of only three movies in history to ever sweep all five major categories, those being Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (Adapted). However, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, and Cuckoo's Nest could all be considered peak ‘70s cinema.

Because it’s one thing to be beloved for THE time, and another thing to be beloved for ALL time. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of those aforementioned movies on somebody’s top ten list. However, let’s not sleep on the other two nominees…

Nashville And Barry Lyndon Shouldn't Be Overlooked Just Because The Other Three Nominees Were So Strong!

Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director, and one thing that irks me is that he never won Best Picture or even Best Director. Four out of his 13 movies were nominated for Best Picture–those being Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Barry Lyndon–and if it were up to me, all four of them would have won Best Picture.

However, of those four, I think most would agree that Barry Lyndon is the weakest link, but I couldn’t disagree more. Barry Lyndon is a masterpiece, and I am always recommending it to film fans.

Now, Nashville is an interesting one. Directed by Robert Altman, it has a massive cast of 24 main characters and several musical numbers. It’s a musical comedy drama with several storylines that’s bombastic and satirical, and it truly feels like a product of its time. So, as PTA said, there was no real “best” in 1975. They were ALL the best. That said…

If It Were Up To Me, I Would Have Given It To Jaws

PTA was being nice when he said that there was no “best” movie, but I disagree…I think Sinners was the best movie of last year. Still, I get his point. I loved One Battle After Another. And Train Dreams. And Bugonia. So, I get it. All of the nominees for 2025 were excellent.

Still, similar to how I’d pick Sinners over everything when it comes to 2025, I’d pick Jaws for 1975. It just has it all. Yes, Nashville is more impressive for its sprawling narrative, and yes, Barry Lyndon is a visual work of art. Yes, Dog Day Afternoon is taut and gripping, and yeah, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is dark and narratively rich.

But Jaws is freaking Jaws, man, and I feel like people will still love it even 100 years from now.

That said, in a year like 1975 - as well as 2025 - we all win.

The 98th Academy Awards winners were announced last night, and Best Supporting Actress was one of the most speculated-about categories ahead of the ceremony. Amy Madigan ended up taking home the gold for her performance in Weapons, beating out Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Wunmi Mosaku and Teyana Taylor. Now Taylor, who played Perfidia Beverly Hills in One Battle After Another, has shared her thoughts about losing at the Oscars.

This all started on X when someone commented on a video of Taylor hugging her One Battle After Another director Paul Thomas Anderson when he was walking onto the stage to accept the Best Director Oscar about how this was the “third video in a row” they’d seen of her “wildin” at the event. Then another user shared the video of Taylor standing up to cheer for Madigan when she won Best Supporting Actress and said they “knew from the first hour something was off.” That’s when Taylor chimed in, writing in her own X reply:

That’s quite the gracious way for Teyana Taylor to look at not just her losing Best Supporting Actress, but life in general. With so much negativity in the world, why not cheer for someone else’s success? Sure, Taylor would be been pleased to take home the Academy Award, but it’s also important for her to accept that loss with a level head and pour energy from there into supporting others rather than linger in a dark mental space.

At least she didn’t go home empty handed this awards season. Teyana Taylor won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture in January, and she’s earned numerous other accolades for her performance in One Battle After Another. Perfidia Beverly Hills was part of the revolutionary group French 75 with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Pat Calhoun, and together they had a daughter, Charlene. However, Perfidia abandoned her family to continue her revolutionary activities. Then after being arrested by Colonel Lockjaw, she was put into witness protection in exchange for information on French 75, only to then flee to Mexico.

Now that the latest awards season is behind us, we can look at what’s ahead for Teyana Taylor. Following her time starring opposite Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the Netflix subscription-exclusive The Rip, she’ll next be seen in 72 Hours, which will be on the same streaming platform and opens on a yet-to-be-announced date on the 2026 movies schedule. After that, Taylor be heard in the animated movie Slime, which doesn’t have a release date yet.

The 98th Academy Awards may be over, but many are still buzzing about the biggest developments of the night. Of course, there’s been much talk about the 2026 Oscar winners and those who were nominated as well. Timothée Chalamet was one of those many nominees, as he received a Best Actor nod for his performance in Marty Supreme. While Michael B. Jordan ended up winning the award, one of Chalamet’s co-stars, Kevin O’Leary, had a lot of faith in him. So much so that he placed a sizable bet on him to win.

O’Leary – the Canadian businessman who has long appeared on Shark Tank – made his feature film debut in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. Amid awards season, the entrepreneur showed love towards Chalamet and has talked up his performance as ping pong player Marty Mauser. Ahead of this year’s Oscars, O’Leary – who was blinged up for the big night – caught up with Variety and talked up Chalamet. In addition to defending Chalamet against the backlash over those ballet/opera remarks, O’Leary also revealed his bet:

Now, given that Kevin O’Leary currently has a reported net worth of $400 million, a $1000 bet surely isn’t a big monetary commitment to him. However, for all of us without millions of dollars, that grand is nothing to scoff at. The mere thought of risking so much money on a wager stresses me out a tad as well. Even though the businessman known as “Mr. Wonderful” could likely afford to lose that cash last night, some might be surprised that he initiated the bets given the odds at the time.

Prediction platform Kalshi also posted about O’Leary’s bet and reported that its traders pegged Chalamet as having a 30 percent chance of winning Best Actor. Even ahead of that, entertainment show analysts asserted that Jordan’s chances of winning surged following the Actor Awards. If anything, though, the fact that the SoftKey Software Products founder still put down that money on his co-star is evidence that he had a lot of confidence in him.

In all fairness, O’Leary had reason to feel optimistic, especially throughout the earlier portion of awards season. Timothée Chalamet received praise for his work in Marty Supreme, which also earned strong reviews. As celebrated as Chalamet’s portrayal of Mouser was, it seems more Academy voters preferred Michael B. Jordan’s turn as the Smokestack twins in Sinners.

With Kevin O’Leary’s bet in mind, I now can’t help but wonder what kind of bets were placed on Jordan on Oscar night. That’s not what’s most important, of course, as it’s the art that should ideally matter when it comes to the Academy Awards. All the fiscal aspects of this situation aside, the Best Actor winner was crowned accordingly. I’d also say that, at the end of the day, both Jordan and Chalamet gave performances that’ll surely be discussed for years to come.

Rent or buy Marty Supreme on digital platforms now, and stream Sinners with an HBO Max subscription.

As is the case for a lot of parents around the world, my six-year-old daughter is OBSESSED with KPop Demon Hunters. I’m talking birthday parties, Halloween costumes, toys, stickers (so many stickers), posters. You name it, and she either has it or is trying to get it. For the past couple of months, my daughter and I have been waiting to watch HUNTR/X perform “Golden” at the 98th Academy Awards. While that finally came during the ceremony, she was fast asleep before the opening verse.

I loved the performance (it was one of only two during the broadcast), but as a parent, not being able to take it in with my daughter after all the hype, all the sing-alongs, and all the memories, bummed me out. It wasn’t enough to ruin the experience entirely, but it stings. You know, this could have been avoided…

The ‘Golden’ Performance Was Way Too Late Into The Broadcast

By the time HUNTR/X got up on stage to perform “Golden,” it was already 9 p.m. here in Central Time, meaning it was three hours into the broadcast. My daughter held on for as long as she could in the early goings of the Oscars ceremony, but she was exhausted and ready for bed around the start of the second hour. Though she loves watching movies with me, she’s less than enthusiastic about hearing people talk about movies (for now, anyway). That said, there was no way I was going to force her to stay awake and be an actual demon before getting on the school bus the morning after.

I am not saying the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences needs to listen to a disgruntled father who’s bummed he missed out on what could have been a core memory, but I think they should have read the room. Kids are crazy about KPop Demon Hunters and kids go to sleep early (it would be 10 p.m. on the East Coast), so why not have the performance (and Best Song category) earlier in the night?

Sinners And KPop Demon Hunters Should Have Swapped Slots

There was one other performance during the broadcast (not counting Barbra Streisand’s resounding take on “The Way We Were” as part of a larger “In Memoriam” segment), and it was just as great. However, I think that “I Lied to You” from Sinners should have been later in the night, not within the first hour. With Ryan Coogler’s vampire being recognized in a record-setting 16 nominations (including top categories in the final stretch of the show), it would have made more sense to have the intricate, powerful, and star-studded performance later in the night.

Not only that, but it would have allowed parents around the country (at least those not living on West Coast time) to experience “Golden” with their young kids. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I got to show my kids this genre-bending and all-around awesome show, and it’s something I think we’ll be talking about for a while.

I am fully aware that I can go back and watch the replay with my Hulu subscription or a clip of the performance on YouTube, but this was something my daughter and I wanted to experience together as it happened.

The 98th Academy Awards have officially come and gone from the 2026 TV Schedule, and Conan O’Brien absolutely crushed it with some genuinely great sketches throughout the night. Like most Oscar ceremonies, this one delivered big speeches, surprise wins and plenty of awkward moments. But, after Sinners and One Battle After Another spent the evening trading major wins and dominating the conversation, a candid interaction between Michael B. Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Benicio del Toro felt more memorable than much of what happened onstage.

The clip, shared by Us Weekly on Instagram, shows Jordan, DiCaprio, and del Toro embracing and congratulating each other after the ceremony. It’s a brief moment, but it says a lot. Jordan appears to be receiving congratulations following his big win, DiCaprio pulls him in for a full hug, and del Toro seems to kiss Jordan’s hand in a gesture that fans immediately interpreted as respect, affection or both.

Part of why the clip is so emotional is that Jordan had just won his first Oscar, taking Best Actor for his dual performance in Sinners. At the same time, One Battle After Another emerged as the night’s biggest overall winner, joining the ranks of Best Picture winners and finishing with six Oscars. In other words, these films really had spent the night duking it out.

Fans Are Really Feeling It In The Comments

The reactions under the clip quickly turned into their own little wave of Oscar-night discourse, only much sweeter than the usual “who was robbed?” debates. A lot of commenters fixated on how gracious DiCaprio seemed in the moment, while others were especially moved by del Toro appearing to kiss Jordan’s hand. And, yes, a lot of people just loved the overall vibe of mutual respect. Some of the standout comments included:

• @lisaingmarinelli: “Leo is such a class act.”
• @marietta_369: “The way Benicio kiss the hand of Jordan. ❤️ He is blessing him.”
• @saatattack: “Leo is an actor's actor. What a special moment between these 3 😍”
• @sqrl480: “When Leo fully embraced him and Benny kissing his had… 🥹❤️”
• @kat_cheairs: “Benicio is so kind! Met him once years ago. He radiated gentleness and light.”
• @drkeyah: “That’s a REAL hug ❤️”
• @kathe_stahl: “Brotherhood ❤️”
• @ebonyisthatdiva: “Well deserved 👏🏽 🙌🏽 Michael B Jordan”

That reaction makes even more sense when you consider what the night represented for everyone involved. Jordan’s Oscar win for Sinners was one of the most emotional highlights of the ceremony, while One Battle After Another still ended the night with the Academy’s biggest prize. So, even though the awards race had been fiercely competitive, all three actors had something meaningful to celebrate by the time the ceremony wrapped.

That’s probably why this backstage exchange lands so well. It feels like a reminder that after months of campaigning and one very intense night, there can still be plenty of room for generosity, admiration, and genuine respect between artists. Honestly, that may have been one of the best post-Oscars moments of the entire evening.

And the nice part is that fans can revisit both films themselves, since Sinners and One Battle After Another are streaming with an HBO Max subscription. On top of that, if you happened to miss the ceremony itself, the 98th Academy Awards are also available to stream with a Hulu subscription.

Every year, Oscar winners face the wrath of a tight show timeline, and the 98th Academy Awards last night were no different. Multiple times during the uneven production, 2026 Oscar winners were “played off” the stage when the producers of the show decided their speeches had gone on long enough. One film, KPop Demon Hunters (available with a Netflix subscription), was a victim both times it took home a prize. The second time was especially savage.

Lights Flickered, Mics Lowered, And Music Was Played

The Academy Awards are two things: they are a television variety show that needs to keep the audience engaged for three or four hours, and they are an awards celebration honoring the best in film for the previous year. Juggling those two commitments is a thankless task for the producers of the show, and sometimes it means that “in the interest of time,” winners don’t have much time to give a speech. This seemed especially true last night.

It started early when the creators of Two People Exchanging Saliva, one of two short films that actually tied (only the 6th time in Oscars history that has happened), for Best Live Action Short. After the film’s co-writer and director, Natalie Musteata, spoke, her partner (in life and on the film), Alexandre Singh, took the mic, only to have the sound out and the camera move to host Conan O’Brien as Singh continued to talk. It was an awkward moment to say the least, and as O’Brien seemed almost embarrassed, the mic was turned back on, and Singh finished his speech. That was hardly the only time something like this happened.

KPop Demon Hunters Got The Treatment Twice

There were only three films to receive multiple awards at the Oscars this year. The big winner was One Battle After Another with six trophies, including Best Picture, Sinners with four, and two for KPop Demon Hunters. The first award it won on the night, Best Animated Feature, saw the producers of the film get about a minute and a half before the band started blaring, cutting off one of the speeches. Eventually, the music died down, and producer Maggie Kang finished her speech.

The second time came close to the end of the night when the song “Golden” from the movie took home the prize for Best Song. The songwriters accepting the award, one of the most anticipated of the night, given the broad appeal of the movie, were given less than a minute for their speech, and the band very loudly interrupted co-writer Yu Han Lee, as another songwriter, Mark Sonnenblick, reacted very animatedly (no pun intended) at the slight. Given the popularity of “Golden,” which we’ve all been humming since last summer, this was especially harsh.

I get that it’s hard to balance a snappy production with allowing time for the honorees to speak, but one minute for a speech, especially when there were so many creators involved in the process, is just too short for an awards celebration. We’re watching to see the winners!

The biggest night in movies has come and gone, and those following along with all of the Oscars action witnessed plenty of big moments, including One Battle After Another’s big wins, an A+ performance of Sinners’ “I Lied to You,” and tons of jokes from host Conan O’Brien along the way. Timothée Chalamet may not have won the Academy Award for Best Actor, but he still attracted plenty of attention, and now a lip reader is revealing the warning he supposedly gave his sister about Kylie Jenner.

Chalamet was accompanied by his partner of three years to the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, which aired on ABC and was available to stream with a Hulu subscription. Timothée’s sister Pauline Chalamet (who starred on The Sex Lives of College Girls) was also there, and cameras caught a possibly awkward moment between the three, showing the Marty Supreme star quietly saying something to his sister. E! News shared the viral clip:

The video shows the siblings greeting each other, with Pauline Chalamet pointing out where she’s sitting. Kylie Jenner then appears to fawn over her dress, reaching out to Timothée’s sister before standing for a quick hug. According to lip-reading expert Nicola Hickling for The Mirror, the actor then leans in and seemingly tells Pauline:

Pauline and Timothée Chalamet then pose for some photos together before he allegedly leans in and repeats:

From the angle shown above, I certainly can’t tell what Timothée Chalamet told his sister, but I also don’t claim to be a lip-reading expert.

Kylie Jenner always seems to find herself in awkward positions at awards shows, whether she’s being snubbed by Demi Moore or made to eat weird British snacks, and I guess we can add the 2026 Oscars to that list, too, because regardless of the exchange between Timothée and Pauline Chalamet, many fans clocked that it looked like the first time Pauline and Kylie were meeting. Comments on social media included:

• Uhm awkward. Have they never met before ? – filmdale2017
• Pauline hates all the things the Kardashians stand for… so I’m sure it’s the first time meeting. – xoxojmo
• My question is, are they just meeting for the first time? 🤔🤔 – hamsem_pr
• Is this their first time meeting? – blkdane84
• Kind of odd she’s never met her before… – Itsnunu_r
• Ya his sister ain’t fucking w/ this relationship lol – olaakande6

Kylie Jenner has been dating Timothée Chalamet for three years now, so it does seem weird that their first meeting would come now — and at the Oscars, of all places. I mean, we know that Timmy hangs out with the Kardashian-Jenner family, and Kris Jenner seems to be friendly with Nicole Flender, at least parasocially.

On the other hand, both siblings are busy with their acting careers — Pauline Chalamet will appear next in The Devil Wears Prada 2 when it hits the 2026 movie calendar in May — so maybe the timing was never right.

Hopefully the Call Me by Your Name actor’s alleged request for his sister to “go easy” on Kylie Jenner isn’t a sign of tension, but I’m sure we’ll all be on the lookout for more clues.

There’s a lot of glam and fun to the celebrity fashion we see at the Oscars after party. In fact, people are a lot bolder with their fashion takes on the Vanity Fair red carpet than they are at the awards show itself. Anya Taylor-Joy, Kim Kardashian and more absolutely brought it, but the couple that stood out to me most was Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse. It wasn’t even her unusual choice of an architectural feather top with a gauzy cape attached. It was more the color scheme that did it for me.

I don’t typically expect Robert Pattinson to be a man looking to method dress on the red carpet, but he threw on a very wedding appropriate tux and walked his real-life bride Suki Waterhouse down the carpet. She was wearing a dress that was very much giving bridal, the cape acting like a veil and the rest of the dress giving a perfect satin wedding vibe.

The whole thing is screaming Law Roach method dressing to me, and if it’s not, it’s a perfectly-timed coincidence.

If you watched the Oscars, you should know that Zendaya and Robert Pattinson both presented one of the 2026 Oscar winners (Best Director) together as part of the promotion for their upcoming 2026 movie release The Drama. Zendaya worked with her glam team, including Roach, but also Ursula Stephen for her hair and Ernesto Casillas for her makeup. Granted, she ultimately went with a very non-Bridal brown dress when she presented with Pattinson onstage.

The wedding theme has been central to the promo for the upcoming A24 movie after the trailer for The Drama dropped. There was the fake engagement announcement. Then, Zendaya popped up at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. Suki Waterhouse donning bridal white next to her real-life husband in a tux is the obvious next step in this evolution, and is giving the same vibes as when Blake Lively supported Ryan Reynolds on the Deadpool & Wolverine red carpet in his very specific shade of red.

This doesn't normally seem like the type of thing Robert Pattinson would be party too, so whatever happened to get him into a Dior tux and Waterhouse into that exquisite Tamara Ralph dress really makes me happy.

The 2026 Oscars have come and gone, and aside from the Academy Award winers there were plenty of other memorable moments from the event. Chief among them was when the Bridesmaids cast reunited to celebrate its anniversary, while also presenting the Sound categories. But one of the movie's comedic legends was noticeably missing: Wendi McLendon-Covey. And now we know the surprising reason why she was excluded from the celebration.

Bridesmaids has plenty of quotable one-liners, and it's remained a vital part of pop culture since its release back in 2011. Fans who regularly re-watch Bridesmaids were hyped to see the women onstage together, but Wendi's absence was definitely felt. The Reno 911! actress took to social media to explain why she wasn't at the Oscars, posting:

Well, that certainly explain it. According to McLendon-Covey, she was missing from the Bridesmaids because she was recovering from plastic surgery. Specifically a neck lift, which she makes a joke about the post to her 309k followers on Instagram. So while fans of Paul Feig's beloved comedy would have loved seeing the gang all back together, at least it's clear that Wendi wasn't just left out arbitrarily. As she put it, there's "no drama" involved in her absence.

When the Bridesmaids cast appeared at the Oscars, they had some delightful bits prepared while also doing some presenting. The ensemble took jabs at folks in the audience, as well as themselves in self-deprecating fashion.

In my opinion, Bridesmaids is one of the best comedies of all time. The movie is endlessly quotable, while also having an emotional story about friendship at its core. I personally remember seeing the R-rated comedy in theaters for the first time, and nearly crying with laughter alongside a raucous group of moviegoers. Bridesmaids crushed at the box office, and is referenced and quoted so often you'd forget it was released over a decade ago. But that's the power of film, with Paul Feig's acclaimed movie being just as relevant as it was upon arriving in theaters.

Wendi McLendon-Covey's post on Instagram has been getting tons of likes and comments, with folks hoping she rests and sending her healing energy. There was tons of discourse online about her being left out of the Bridesmaids reunion, with fans wondering if she was booked on another gig or simply not invited. But it turns out that her neck lift took her out of the running, and there's seemingly no hard feelings.

For those looking to rewatch Bridesmaids, it's currently available for those with Starz, or the add-on with a Hulu subscription. The countless fans of the comedy will be glad to know that Wendi McLendon-Covey was likely invited to the Oscars reunion, but the timing simply didn't work out for the comedy legend.

The 2026 Academy Awards are a celebration of a big year in Hollywood, but amidst all of that, there was considerable tragedy as well. It's fitting that Billy Crystal kicked off the "In Memoriam" segment and paid tribute to the late Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle in a touching tribute that included many stars.

Reiner and his wife died in late December, and while their son Nick spends time in prison awaiting trial for their murder, Crystal took the stage along with many actors who starred in his films to talk about the director's impact. Check out a photo from the moment below, with all the stars onstage together:

The stars of This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, Misery, and many other classics directed by Rob Reiner were represented onscreen as a large image of the famed director and his wife adorned the screen behind them. For those who weren't able to catch all the talent onstage, here's a quick rundown:

• Christopher Guest
• Michael McKean
• Kathy Bates
• Meg Ryan
• Kiefer Sutherland
• Demi Moore
• Jerry O'Connell
• Wil Wheaton
• Annette Benning
• Mandy Patinkin
• Fred Savage
• Cary Elwes
• Carol Kane
• John Cusack
• Daphne Zuniga
• Kevin Pollak

It was a great way of honoring the director, after months of headlines detailing the events leading up to his tragic death. This included mentions that he was at a party hosted by Oscar's host, Conan O'Brien, who delivered plenty of laughs throughout the night to offset this especially heavy but necessary moment.

To bring out the stars of his most beloved movies was not just a fitting tribute, it was a great show of just how much Rob Reiner impacted Hollywood throughout his long career. I'd like to believe that even with the tragic circumstances surrounding his story excluded from the equation, his eventual Hollywood tribute would've gone down in a similar fashion.

Rob Reiner's tribute kicked off a lengthy in memoriam segment, which highlighted other notable figures in Hollywood who passed away. Rachel McAdams came out onstage to pay tribute to Diane Keaton, while Barbara Streisand came out to honor her former co-star Robert Redford. These were just a few of the amazing talents that left us in the past year, leaving a hole in Hollywood.

And while other notable actors like Catherine O'Hara didn't get as large a tribute, they still heard thunderous applause in celebration for their work in Hollywood. Thus far, there hasn't been any glaring outcry from the internet about people left off the list, so it feels this year got the job done better than previous ones.

The 2026 Academy Awards are almost over, though CinemaBlend will have plenty to say following the end of the event, and stuff to say about the winners and losers of the night. Stick with us for more on that and other television and movie news.

Sean Penn hasn’t spent much time at awards shows this awards season. Still, he has now joined an exclusive club as one of only four men to win three Oscars in competitive acting awards. Penn won Best Supporting Actor at the 98th Academy Awards for his role as the villain Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, coming out ahead of Delroy Lindo (who was CinemaBlend's pick to win), Stellan Skarsgard, Jacob Elordi, and his castmate, Benicio del Toro.

Now, 4 Men Have Won 3 Competitive Acting Awards

Penn previously won for Best Actor in 2004 for Mystic River and in 2009 for Milk. With his win for Best Supporting Actor, he has joined Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Walter Brennan in the three-timers club. Day-Lewis is the only actor to win Best Actor three times, winning for My Left Foot in 1990, There Will Be Blood in 2008 (also a movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), and Lincoln in 2013. Brennan won all three of his in the supporting category for movies in the 1930s. Like Penn, Nicholson has won Best Actor twice (for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1976 and As Good As It Gets in 1998), and once for Best Supporting Oscar (for 1983’s Terms of Endearment).

The record for competitive Oscars is held by the legendary Katharine Hepburn, who won four Best Actress Oscars over her incredible career. Her first came in 1933 for Morning Glory, and her last came almost 50 years later for 1981’s On Golden Pond. In between, she won back-to-back Oscars for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967 and The Lion in Winter the following year. Ingrid Bergman, Meryl Streep, and Francis McDormand each have three as well. If you’re wondering who has won the most competitive Oscars overall, the answer is Walt Disney, who won 22 over his career. None in an acting category, of course.

Penn Was A No-Show

As he has been most of this awards season, Penn was a no-show at the Oscars, which is airing on ABC, and with a Hulu subscription, this year. This is his third big win in a row for the role, winning a BAFTA and an Actor Award for supporting actor in One Battle After Another, but he wasn’t at either of those awards shows, either. Weirdly, the only televised awards show that Penn did attend was the Golden Globes, where he lost to Jacob Elordi for his role as The Monster in Frankenstein.

It’s not all that surprising that Penn would skip the Oscars. He doesn’t seem to be in for the awards, or even enjoy acting sometimes, but this is the Oscars, after all. Kieran Culkin, last year’s winner in the same category, who presented it tonight, even commented on it, saying:

One would think that if there was going to be one ceremony to show up to, it would be this one. Alas, he wasn’t there. It’s actually kind of fitting for winning for a role like the villain Lockjaw.

The 2026 Oscars are here, and while there have been ways to stream the Academy Awards for some time, the future will be a bit different. Beginning in 2029, the show will exclusively move to YouTube. And of course, host Conan O'Brien and the writers had to put in a joke about it.

Jane Lynch had a special cameo appearance in a skit that mimicked the ad placement in YouTube videos. She first appeared advertising a tactical flashlight, allegedly the same one that "killed Bin Laden." After Conan briefly returned, Lynch interrupted again, appearing as an attorney spreading the word about a class action suit against the people selling the tactical flashlight. Quite a fun moment for Lynch, who was not on the list of 2026 Oscars nominees.

The internet was just as big a fan as I was of Jane Lynch's skit, and made it known:

• Tonight’s #oscars are a reminder that Jane Lynch is a treasure - @IvoEmpire
• #oscars2026 ok first Josh Groban, now Jane Lynch??? THERE WAS A GLEEK IN THE WRITERS ROOM !!! - @gorganmrissett
• the jane lynch commercial bit got me it’s giving 30 rock #oscars - @bluth_lindsay
• Next year I’m putting “Jane Lynch Cameo” on my Oscars bingo card because she’s always everywhere - @ugh_pks
• Thank you Jane Lynch for reminding me to order my tactical flashlight! #Oscars - @lawryee

I was surprised by the number of Glee fans who were posting about the moment, but I guess since Lynch is one of the more prominent alumni of the show, it's only obvious people would come out of the woodwork when she popped up. That said, people, we already got the Glee reunion. I don't think a revival is coming, especially with the original cast.

To go back to the skit, it was on-brand for Conan O'Brien, who really went all out with the team to inject his comedy into the show. From the wild opening monologue, the sketches, and random props, it felt like watching him in his various late-night skits from back in the day.

With the help of Jane Lynch and many others, this has gone down as one of the funniest awards shows in some time. It's also helped that some unexpected moments threw the show into momentary chaos, including the seventh-ever tie for a category, Best Live Action Short Film. The microphone retracted during one person giving a speech, leading to an awkward moment that got some laughs from everyone.

Here's hoping the laughs continue throughout the night as the 2026 Academy Awards continue to celebrate a strong year of film. I'm eager to see what else is planned for the evening, and what other surprises may happen as winners are announced.

Being one of the funniest people on the planet, Conan O'Brien was always expected to crush it hosting the 98th Oscars – his second time doing so in two years – and the beloved comedian did well to not disappoint straight out of the gate. While the tradition of the pre-recorded opener has what could be called a mixed record in Academy Award history, as it can be challenging to reference all of the big nominated titles, O'Brien and his crew got big laughs immediately with a great montage featuring the emcee in full Aunt Gladys makeup.

Unknowingly mere minutes before Amy Madigan won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her incredible work in writer/director Zach Cregger's Weapons, the Academy Awards opened with a scene featuring O'Brien getting last looks in the makeup chair before the start of the ceremony. Unfortunately, the artist made him look like the #1 new horror icon from 2025, and in an effort to get him to rush to the stage, she cast a spell that caused him to flee from a group of murderous children (a parody of Weapons' big finale, for those unaware).

The chase opened the opportunity for the host to sprint through a number of films up for Best Picture, and it turned into a great bit: I loved seeing him successfully take a point off Marty Supreme's Timothée Chalamet in a game of ping pong, and try out a jig to impress the cast of Sinners to get into the juke joint – but the best part was definitely him being chewed out by Sentimental Value's Stellan Skarsgård while sitting on the couch and being quietly observed by the pursuing children.

The opening sketch ended with the pre-recorded material blending into reality, as Conan O'Brien got chased on to the stage still in his makeup and wig... and then he quickly managed to crush his opening monologue. He didn't waste any time roasting the A-listers sitting in the crowd in front of him – specifically crafting an A+ joke aimed at the recent controversy stirred up by Timothée Chalamet and his comments about the fine arts:

The only downside of Conan O'Brien doing so well opening the ceremony is recognizing that he will have no bigger spotlight moment during the show – though I imagine there will be plenty of funny bits throughout the show.

The CinemaBlend team will be on all night covering the events, so as you watch, be sure to keep checking back here on the site as we highlight all of the biggest moments.

It didn’t take long for the audience at the 98th Academy Awards to make known what movie is their favorite: Sinners. Every mention of Sinners in the early moments of the show was met with a lot of applause and cheering. Conan O’Brien’s hilarious opening montage and monologue feature references to all the Best Picture nominees, and the support for Ryan Coogler’s movie was the most palpable.

Sinner Gets A Lot Of Love

During Conan O’Brien’s opening skit, as he ran through all the Best Picture nominees (and more) as Aunt Gladys from Weapons, he found himself outside Smoke and Stack’s juke joint; the audience’s applause hit a crescendo. There was applause for all the movies, of course, but it was Sinners that clearly got the biggest reception.

That’s not all. When O’Brien started his monologue, he merely had to mention Sinners to light the audience up. While movies like One Battle After Another and Weapons got warm applause, but nothing like Sinners did. When O’Brien made a joke about Michael B. Jordan, he barely had to start the joke before people were applauding for the Best Actor nominee.

By the time Miles Caton hit the stage to perform the song "I Lied To You," which is nominated for Best Song, the crowd was up and dancing, just like the memorable scene in the movie. It's hard to say that there is an audience favorite, but it's harder to say it's not Sinners at this point. It's also hard to predict the Oscar winners and who will take home the most awards, but Sinners has a real chance to be that movie tonight.

Sinners got a similar reception at the Actor Awards last week, and that translated to a lot of awards as well. As the horror movie did what seemed like it would be impossible for a so-called “genre film,” by receiving a record 16 Oscar nominations, it’s obvious why. The crowd, like the film's audience (and CinemaBlend, as we named it the best movie of 2025), loves the movie. In recent weeks, the momentum for the movie has only increased, especially after Jordan won Best Actor at the Actor Awards (formerly the SAG Awards) and the cast took home Best Ensemble.

SAG is the single largest voting group in the Academy, and judging by the audience at the Dolby Theatre, which is made up almost entirely of Academy members, could mean big things for the vampire movie. The Oscars are airing on ABC and are available with a Hulu subscription.

For years, Kevin O'Leary has been a figure on ABC's Shark Tank, but the 2026 awards season has seen him rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's most acclaimed. The 2026 Oscars could be a big night for Marty Supreme, so obviously O'Leary was on the red carpet, wearing a trading card that is worth more than some of the most fashionable dresses on the red carpet.

Trading cards are having a moment with hobbyists and becoming big business as people drop big bucks to own rare cards across several different genres, like sports, and even Pokémon. Kevin O'Leary is a big fan of NBA cards, personally, and those watching the Oscars on ABC or streaming the awards show will see a unique chain around his neck. Here's a bit about the necklace, and what's inside:

For those confused by the lingo, Kevin O'Leary is saying the card contains the NBA logo patches (called Logomans) of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. All three patches were verified as game-worn patches, and the card itself is a 1/1 with no duplicates and has the highest grading possible. It's never been at auction, which is why he's estimated the value rather than giving a hard number. All that being said, having three collectibles from three of the best NBA stars of all time would fetch a pretty penny on the market, so I don't think the number is too far off.

O'Leary was one of the shining stars of a very strong cast in Marty Supreme, but he's still a businessman through and through. His video posted to Instagram almost feels like an advertisement to the future buyer of the card, should he ever decide to sell it:

Watching this video, I could honestly see him playing a Bond villain. He has the fashion sense, at least, and the fact that he was genius enough to think of one thing no one else would have at the award show? I think he'd have 007 on the ropes, but that's just my opinion.

Speaking of opinions, Kevin O'Leary also made news on the red carpet after stating he placed a $1000 wager on Marty Supreme co-star Timothée Chalamet to win Best Actor. CinemaBlend's staff predicted Chalamet would get the win, but a recent controversy tied to ballet has Michael B. Jordan ahead of him in sportsbooks. We'll see if O'Leary makes some money tonight, either by winning on his bet or finding someone who will buy that card!

The 2026 Oscars are on ABC, so stick with CinemaBlend as we chronicle the night and talk about all the aftermath. Win or lose, I bet Kevin O'Leary is going to be smiling with that chain around his neck.

Everybody is taking a break from making the box office-topping Hoppers one of the biggest 2026 movie releases to celebrate the biggest movies of the past year at the 98th annual Oscars! And it just wouldn’t be a true event without yours truly talking about it all with reckless abandon and bottle of something brown and bourbon-y within reach. From the red carpet fashion to the winners’ speeches to the hosting talents of Conan O’Brien, there will be a lot to discuss.

Check out CinemaBlend's picks for tonight's winners, and read on for our live-blog of the 2026 Oscars. [Note that entries will appear in reverse-chronological order while the article is live, and will shift to chronological order when the article is no longer live.]

Demi Moore, Jessie Buckley And Odessa A'zion Look Fab Times 10

As it always goes, the Oscars red carpet is one of entertainment's most eye-catching spots of the year at any given point. There are plenty of gorgeous traditional looks to appreciate, to be sure, from Elle Fanning's self-described "angelic" look, with a 1903 Cartier necklace around her neck, to the ocean of black tuxes on display.

But I always appreciate outside-the-norm choices, and holy wowzers, Demi Moore's feather-forward look from Gucci is as gorgeous and unique as it gets.

I'm also digging Marty Supreme star Odessa A'zion's rhinestone-emblazoned look from Valentino. It's floral, it's fancy, and I'm fawning. Even if she didnt' score any noms for the movie, she's crushed the fashion game all awards season.

But hey, I don't need everything to be super-different. When it comes to pulling off simple-but-glorified looks, Best Actress nominee Jessie Buckley is a vision in pink and red from Chanel, which also supplied her choice jewelry.

Standing Os for all. Snap snap snap.

Hudson Williams And Chloe Zhao Are Stunning With All-Black Looks

Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams is bringing all the heat and none of the rival tension on the red carpet. His top-to-bottom all-black approach is the kind of abyss that I'm sure plenty of fans would love to dive into. Even his watch is worthy of a zoom-in, snaked across his wrist like a pocketwatch.

Meanwhile, Best Director nominee Chloé Zhao showed up in a veiled dress that absolutely feels on theme for Hamnet's tragedy, if not necessarily the event celebrating the film's success. But still an exquisite look.

Nicole Kidman Is The White Swan To Demi Moore's Green/Black Swan

Another feathery look at the Oscars, with Nicole Kidman donning a dress from Chanel's Spring collection, with lavish jewelry to match. It looks like she might fly away if a strong wind gust hit the carpet, but probably with a soft enough landing.

Pedro Pascal, Kate Hudson And More Last-Minute Highlights

Pedro Pascal went all white up top, and with a clean-shaven face to boot.

Husband and wife Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra popped up on the red carpet looking every bit as fabulous as one would expect. I can only assume they'd just emerged from their personal Fountain of Youth before getting dressed.

Mother and daughter Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson also showed up dressed to impress.

And Wunmi Mosaku looks absolutely incredible with her shimmery baby bump.

Conan's Opening Monologue Does It All

After seeing the opening monologue give us Conan O'Brien as Gladys, the villainous haunt from Weapons, I'm not entirely convinced that it was actually Amy Madigan in the movie after all. Did anyone ever see O'Brien and Madigan in the same room together?

I like that they also animated him. Freaky stuff. Love that so many kids were filmed breaking through walls and windows.

Conan's is also taking light jabs at Timotheé "ballet-smearing" Chalamet, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, and "movies that sound like off-brand lunchmeat," with respects to Hamnet and Bugonia. Healthcare jokes proved to be too real.

He summed F1 up as "the story of a race car driver who wins after deciding to go faster," and then announced the sequel Caps Lock. Might as well lock it up, because that's gonna be the best joke of the night. Keyboard humor is the best.

Lots of crowd love for Sinners, which is great to see and hear. Ryan Coogler looks dapper as hell, too.

Love Conan's shout-out to Rose Byrne for their shared movie If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, for which she's nominated for Best Actress.

Documentary shorts may have just gotten the biggest pop of the night. Unless something else happened that no one else was aware of that made people cheer that loudly for that long.

The phrase "At least we arrest our pedophiles" is presented here without comment.

Michael B. Jordan as a seat-filler for the entire room is a good one.

And gotta love this new Leo DiCaprio meme for the world to enjoy for the rest of time.

I'd wondered why Josh Groban was on-hand for the Oscars with only two Best Song performances set, but having him come out to sing Conan's graces as the King of all Oscar winners was a coup de grace to the entire opening monologue. Ten stars, or something.

WINNER: Best Actress In A Supporting Role - Amy Madigan (Weapons)

Wow wow wow. The first award of the night goes to a horror movie, with Madigan taking home the prize for a creep-tastic performance in Weapons. Blessed be the voters for this one.

Also, I dunno where Madigan would fit into the Black Swan sitch between Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman, but her look makes her worthy of joining the fight, as it were.

Jane Lynch Should Be In All YouTube Ads

Conan's jokes about YouTube taking over Oscar telecasts starting in 2029 was definitely good for proving Jane Lynch's ability to make even annoying YouTube ads worthy of attention. How many lumens is that flashlight putting out?!?

WINNER: Best Animated Feature - KPop Demon Hunters

To the surprise of perhaps the few people who were sleeping for the past year, Netflix's megahit KPop Demon Hunters took home the gold as the best animated feature. This movie's winning streak has been golden in all respects, pun not even intended.

WINNER: Best Animated Short Film - The Girl Who Cried Pearls

To anyone who's ever attempted to film anything involving puppets, The Girl Who Cried Pearls' win is worth championing. And as co-director Chris Lavis implied, the people who are married to the people attempting to make puppet films are also worthy of calling out.

Sinners' Musical Performance Is What All Oscar Performances Should Aspire To

Where to even start with this one. Sinners' signature track "I Lied To You" made for one of the coolest stage performances of any Oscars telecast, with so much talent involved, including Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith. But co-star Miles Caton arguably stole the whole shebang with his vocals. It soared, with 10 minutes' worth of performance and choreography packed into less than 4. That whole crew could come back out and do the exact same thing again each hour, and I'd be just as impressed.

Boo To Vertical-Format Movies

I don't even want to laugh at the idea of entertainment being made solely for vertical viewing. I can't. I'd rather laugh at the Timontheé Chalamet bum-drum joke, and I really don't want to laugh at that either.

WINNER: Best Costume Design - Frankenstein (Kate Hawley)

Thankfully this win wasn't overshadowed by Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour's nominee-presenting gag, which was admittedly amusing.

Costume designer Kate Hawley gave a rousing speech, and as far as I can tell, she landed the night's first mishandled censoring, with a "sh-t" making it through the bleeps.

WINNER: Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Frankenstein (Cliona Furey, Jordan Samuel, Mike Hill)

Gotta love makeup artist and sculpture Mike Hill's initial panic over not being able to get his glasses out of his tux jacket. Anytime a Guillermo Del Toro movie is up for makeup awards, I always expect them to win.

Gripe Time: Matt Berry's Mic Isn't Loud Until He's Hyping Sponsors

Matt Berry has one of the best voices in all of entertainment, and I had high hopes for his effrorts, but so far, his dulcet tones have mostly been buried beneath the loud AF orchestra. And it's only pushed up in the mix when he's talking about Burger King. GIVE ME MORE BERRY, YOU MONSTERS. Ahem.

WINNER: Achievement In Casting - One Battle After Another (Cassandra Kulukundis)

It's not as if Paul Thomas Anderson ever works with disappointing casts, but Cassandra Kulukundis definitely deserves extra cred for putting together the gobsmacking lineup of award-mongering talent at the heart of One Battle After Another. If Anderson doesn't win Best Director, her speech might come back to haunt her.

Matt Berry Sighting!

All the love to this dude. GO WATCH TOAST OF LONDON!

WINNER: Best Live-Action Short Film - TIED: The Singers &

Presenter Kumail Nanjiani offered up quite a few good jokes as tweaks for full-length features to turn into shorts. Schindler's Post-It probably got my biggest laugh.

But the bigger surprise here was the Oscars' first pair of tied winners since 2013.

• Kumail Nanjiani: "Ironic that the Short Film Oscar is gonna take twice as long."

Congrats to all the winners here for this shocker of a turnout.

Not entirely sure what happened there in the middle when the camera cut to a giggling Conan O'Brien. It seems like they pulled the mic down and cut the lights mid-speech. Hopefully it wasn't intentional. Thankfully Conan commented on it after the fact, even if it didn't fully clear it up.

WINNER: Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)

No ground-shaking speeches from Sean Penn this evening, as he was not on hand for the ceremony, with presenter and past winner Kieran Culkin sharing the following:

• Kieran Culkin: "Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening, or didn't want to, so I'll be accepting the award on his behalf."

Conan O'Brien And Sterling K. Brown's Casablanca Is Sadly Too Real

This sketch about repeating exposition in movies for the sake of audience members glued to their phones isn't even a joke as much as it is entirely real. But still funny as hell. Sterling K. Brown continuing to "play" the piano with his hand movements after the music stopped playing may now go down as the low-key funniest moment of the night.

WINNER: Best Adapted Screenplay - Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

Paul Thomas Anderson took home his fourth Oscar for adapting Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. Cassandra Kulukundis is cool to go about her night calmly now.

WINNER: Best Original Screenplay - Ryan Coogler (Sinners)

Big crowd pop for Ryan Coogler for landing his first Oscar win, and for a fun and humbled speech that, despite being for writing, still inspired him to call for his cast to stand up in the crowd.

Truly continuing up the night's rivalry with One Battle After Another. May the vampires win out!

Billy Crystal's Rob Reiner Tribute Brings Out The Stars

Billy Crystal's tribute to the legendary Rob Reiner was understandably as reverent and respectful as it should have been for such a stage. But when the full stage of actors from Reiners' biggest films took the stage, I could have sobbed puddles into my keyboard.

From left to right, it was Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jerry O'Connell, Wil Wheaton, Fred Savage, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Keifer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kathy Bates, Annette Bening, John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga.

Tributes To Diane Keaton, Robert Redford And More Are Reminders Of How Crappy The Past Year Has Been

Rachel McAdams took the stage to pay heartfelt tribute to Catherine O'Hara and Diane Keaton between the tragically long list of other Hollywood legends that passed away in the last year.

Then to have Barbra Streisand come out for a lengthy tribute to Bob, er, Robert Redford that ends with her singing "The Way We Were." I mean, wow and what.

Sigourney Weaver Calling Kate Hudson A "B---h" Over Grogu Is The Most 2026 Thing To Happen Yet

Sigourney Weaver rocked it, even if the audience's reaction made it very awkward. Also, very manifest-y for Disney to have Grogu showing up at the Oscars.

WINNER: Best Production Design - Frankenstein

As it goes with all of Guillermo Del Toro's productions, the designwork is always award-worthy, and Frankenstein's gothic universe did not go unrewarded.

WINNER: Best Visual Effects - Avatar: Fire And Ash

Naturally, James Cameron's Avatar franchise brought in another visual effects Oscar. Gotta love that Sigourney Weaver was able to announce it. And the fact that Conan O'Brien brought up the fact that Grogu can't clap for this or any other award winners tonight. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

This Oscars Is NOT Winning Best Sound Design

I'm gonna need everyone who takes the stage to avoid screaming into the microphone, as the soundboard is not set up for that kind of gain.

Also, the music playing so loudly over Barbra Streisand's entire story about Redford was annoying. Just like how Matt Berry's vocals are buried.

We get it, the orchestra is good. But maybe not better than people's actual words? Just someone who likes words and information over here.

WINNER: Best Documentary Short Film - Children No More: "Were And Are Gone"

No doubt that this powerful documentary deserved the win, and that it was a category that Jimmy Kimmel felt on-brand to present the win to. Lots of tough watches in this category, as Conan alluded to earlier in the night.

WINNER: Best Documentary Feature Film - Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Another spot-on category for Kimmel to present, and David Borenstein's speech was as stirring as anything else said on the stage, and certainly tapped into the current state of censorship vs. talk shows.

• Co-Director David Borenstein: Mr Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country. And what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose your country through small little acts of complicity. When we act complicity when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities. When we don't say anything when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume it. We all face a moral choice, but luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.

Mr. Nobody is all of us.

Always Host The Oscars, Conan

Who else is selling this joke as good as Conan O'Brien can?

• "Brad Pitt and I are the exact same age. It's true. I was told this by my wife told with tears streaming down her face."

Nobody.

Bridesmaids Reunion Was Fun, I Guess?

Now that the Emmys has come closer to perfecting TV cast reunions as natural parts of ceremonies, the Oscars should find ways to do this with movie casts where it doesn't awkwardly give way to naming nominees.

WINNER: Best Original Score - Sinners (Ludwig Goransson)

The most musically pleasing movie of 2025 in my mind, as a Southern boy. Well-deserved as the second Oscar collab for Ludwig Goransson and Ryan Coogler, as the composer previously won for Black Panther. (And for Oppenheimer, but that was that Nolan fellow.)

WINNER: Best Sound - F1 (Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta)

Love that Gwendolyn Yates Whittle rattled off a swear of some kind while pulling out her speech, and that her speech was all about going to watch movies. PREACH IT.

WINNER: Best Film Editing - One Battle After Another (Andy Jurgensen)

This marks the first Oscar for editor Andy Jurgensen, who dedicated the award to his late Academy archivist aunt that inspired his love of film.

Best Editing winners tend to have an edge when it comes to Best Picture. Not always, but it's usually a good indicator. Just saying.

WINNER: Best Cinematography - Sinners (Autumn Durald Arkapaw)

Another first-time winner taking the stage, this time for Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who looked like a champ already with that embroidered jacket. And how adorable was Ryan Coogler running down the aisle carrying her son.

Importantly, this marks the first time a female has won the category for Best Cinematography, so it was a poignant and amazing request from her to have all of the women in the room to stand up. What a cool moment.

Huntrix Brings The Gold With A Flashy Performance For KPop Demon Hunters

As it went for Sinners' Best Song performance, this was another expansive, lavish, fully costumed number with a whole lot of bright and colorful elements packed into a short time slot. I think all of the lights blinking in the crowd represented the amount of times I've heard this song in the past year, too.

Hopefully this movie continues to inspire more fictional bands to exist in real life.

This Post About RDJ And Chris Evans

Just gonna put this out there, since I forgot to even talk about this mess.

WINNER: Best International Feature Film - Sentimental Value

Considering all the jokes made involving Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning tonight, it would have been soul-crushing if Sentimental Value didn't get the win here.

Joachim Trier gets props for the sentiment shared at the end of his speech, but I'd rather continue dodging most of the politics.

WINNER: Best Original Song - KPop Demon Hunters "Golden" (Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park)

Hard to deny this one, as much as I would have wanted another Sinners win here. "Golden" was one of the most ubiquitous songs in all of pop culture since it dropped. Similar to everything else involving this movie, amirite?

Congrats to all involved for landing the first Oscar for any K-pop song or artist.

WINNER: Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

With this win, One Battle After Another seemingly won the majority of the major awards over SInners.

The director delivered a fantastic moment after addressing the rest of the Best Director nominees and then saying:

• It's an honor to be nominated amongst you guys. There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it, but there is no question at the pleasure of having it for myself."

WINNER: Best Actor - Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)

Hell yeah! Love both this win and everyone's reactions to it. This part of his speech speaks to how good of a dude he is.

• "I stand here because of the people that came before me, Sidney Poitier, Denzel, Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker Will Smith and ta be up amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys: 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 it. So thank you for keeping betting on me, and I'm gonna keep stepping up, and I'm gonna keep being the best version of myself I can be. So I just want to say thank you for everybody in this room that had something to do with my success."

Keep on keepin' on, MBJ!

WINNER: Best Actress - Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

To the surprise of very few people, I have to think, Jessie Buckley continued her award-winning streak for her moving Hamnet performance as Anne Hathaway. This shout-out to her hubby Freddie Sorensen was a step up from Kieran Culkin's past awards-stage request to his wife for more children.

• "You're my best friend, and I want to have 20,000 more babies with you."

A fantastic speech over all, and one that left the audience laughing and tearing up.

WINNER: Best Picture - One Battle After Another

Badda-bing, badda-bang, badda boom! No end-of-night wins for Sinners, as Paul Thomas Anderson's crowd-pleasing feature took home the biggest prize of the night.

Maybe the director's biggest struggle was making it to the stage with Teyana Taylor seemingly set on pulling him down before he made it to the stage.

Anderson also made amends for not thanking anyone in the cast when he won for Best Director. Whoopsy-daisy!

Jim Downey + Conan O'Brien = Best Post-Oscars Moment Yet

These guys really know how to push my buttons and tug on my heartstrings. SNL great Jim Downey showed up out of nowhere with a bit that seemingly referenced both his work in One Battle After Another and HBO's The Chair Company to offer Conan the job of hosting the Oscars forever. Which is exactly what I want!

And instead? They killed him, and apparently aim to replace him with Mr. Beast. There is no escaping the YouTube-ification of everything.

Thank You To Everyone!

That will do it for this evening's Oscars. All in all, it was a pretty fun night, without any over-long speeches or bizarre moments outside of Conan O'Brien's usual sense of humor. (The fact that Adrien Brody even made fun of his highly criticized speech from last year was another plus.) Let's give it up for what is probably the first Oscars to make 6-7 and aura jokes.

Thank you to everyone who has read along with me, and to those who read along after the fact! You're the real winners, though you'll have to pay for your own trophies in this case, too.

P.S. Live Those Dreams

What better way to end this night than with this heartwarming shot of Michael B. Jordan and his mom Donna Jordan right after his name was called.

After a year of celebrating the biggest and best movies from Hollywood and beyond, the time has come to officially decide which films deserve the gold during the 98th annual Academy Awards. This year's Oscars ceremony has arrived at last, and movie fanatics all around the world will be able to tune in or stream it. (While also reading along with our 2026 Oscars live-blog.)

Talk show vet and podcaster extraordinaire Conan O'Brien is back for his second year in a row hosting the big event, and the telecast will boast the always magnificent Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) as announcer throughout the evening. (Here's hoping he shouts "Bats!" after at least one of Sinners' wins.)

Outside of all the major awards being given out, this year's Oscars ceremony will also boast a live musical performance of "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters' Huntrix, as well as a star-studded performance of "I Lied to You" from Ryan Coogler's Sinners. The latter film also leads the night in total nominations, with other prestigious fare like One Battle After Another and Hamnet also in the running after taking home trophies at the Golden Globes and other recent award shows.

How To Watch The 2026 Oscars In The U.S.

Anyone aiming to watch the Oscars in the U.S. can get ready for red carpet coverage to start at least an hour before the official 7:00 p.m. ET start time. The actual telecast will air on ABC for those watching linearly or streaming with DirecTV, SlingTV, YouTube TV or other platforms.

For those without any of the aforementioned services, Hulu (+30-day free trial) is the best bet for potential Oscar viewers to utilize. This year, the site will be streaming the entire ceremony as a standalone option even for costumers who haven't yet locked in live-TV deals. After the month-long free trial, Hulu's plans start at $11.99 a month, though the Disney+ bundle deal is also a great option.

How To Watch The 2026 Oscars In The UK

On the other side of the pond, this year's Oscars coverage will be kicking off at 10:15 p.m. GMT on Sunday, March 15, with the telecast officially starting up at 11:00 p.m.

The program can be viewed via ITV in the UK, and those wishing to stream can find it on the network's ITVX service.

Both ITV and ITVX are free to use, but anyone from the UK who's currently outside the country may need to utilize a VPN service to watch from anywhere.

How To Watch The 2026 Oscars In Canada

In Canada, this year's Oscars will be broadcast live via CTV. For those more interested in streaming the telecast, Crave is where you'll need to head.

For any local Canadians who aren't in the country on Oscar night, using a VPN will allow you to watch the awards from anywhere.

How To Watch The 2026 Oscars In Australia

Australians who are diehard Oscar viewers will be tuning in during the morning hours, as the early coverage will kick off at 9:15 a.m. AEDT on Monday, March 16, with the main show starting at 10:00 a.m.

The ceremony will be airing on Channel 7 locally, and will be streaming on the network's free streaming service 7Plus. For those Australians who aren't settled up at home in time for the show, signing on for a VPN service will allow you to stream the event from anywhere.

How To Watch The 2026 Oscars For Free From Anywhere

No matter where you're from, or where you currently are in the world, you'll be able to watch this year's Oscars using a VPN. While streaming services generally block users from accessing programs while outside their home countries, VPNs hide users' locations, allowing for easier access to streaming entertainment when traveling.

Step-by-step to using a VPN:

1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to choice for unblocking is NordVPN.

2. Connect to a server – for streaming U.S. telecasts like the Oscars, you'll want to connect to a server based in the U.S.

3. Sign into your streaming platform account start watching - for the 2026 Oscars, head to Hulu.

The 2026 Oscars' Major Categories And Nominations

• Best Picture
  • Bugonia 
  • F1 
  • Frankenstein
  • Hamnet 
  • Marty Supreme 
  • One Battle After Another 
  • The Secret Agent 
  • Sentimental Value 
  • Sinners
  • Train Dreams 
• Best Director
  • Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
  • Ryan Coogler – Sinners
  • Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
  • Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
  • Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
• Best Actress in a Leading Role
  • Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
  • Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
  • Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
  • Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
  • Emma Stone – Bugonia
• Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
  • Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
  • Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
  • Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
  • Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role
  • Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
  • Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
  • Amy Madigan – Weapons
  • Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
  • Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
  • Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
  • Delroy Lindo – Sinners
  • Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
  • Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

The 98th Academy Awards are upon us, and there's plenty of talent amid the 2026 Oscar nominees. Amy Madigan is neck and neck with Teyona Taylor, Best Supporting Actor is still a foot race between Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, and Best Picture is far from a done deal. But the race that has me fixated is Best Actor. Reports have Michael B. Jordan and Timothée Chalamet as frontrunners, in a race that has changed drastically over the course of awards season. While both did tremendous work, there are a few reasons why I love Jordan's performance more.

Michael B. Jordan Expertly Plays Twins In Sinners

In the critically acclaimed film, Sinners, Michael B. Jordan takes on an almost impossible task, playing two characters and making them feel distinct with unique personalities. Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack, portraying both characters completely differently. Smoke is more serious and focused on establishing a juke joint after the twins return to their hometown. On the other hand, Stack is much more of a wildcard, who gets them into dangerous, unpredictable situations. Even though Jordan plays both, they are easily distinguishable and skillfully portrayed.

The characters' different love interests also lend credence to the different ways Jordan plays the roles. Supporting performances by Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku show different kinds of love that both Smoke and Stack are experiencing, helping to further establish the twins as unique characters. It also allows Jordan to shine as an actor and presents him with the opportunity to play with opposing dynamics. In short, he's a natural in both roles and further showcases his range as an actor.

Even In A Genre Film, Michael B. Jordan's Performance Stays Grounded

Often in genre films, actors are allowed to give loud, boisterous performances to fit the tone of the often wild film they're in. Amanda Seyfried’s outrageously entertaining performance in The Housemaid comes to mind as well as Amy Madigan's stellar work in Weapons.

Genre gives license to play, which is a lot of fun for actors. Michael B. Jordan does play in Sinners (which is among the Best Picture nominees), especially with some of the external quirks of the Stack character. However, in a lot of ways Jordan is playing the characters completely straight. He is grounded, focusing on his emotional relationships with his two on-screen partners, and the newfound almost paternal relationship to the character of Sammie, the twins' cousin.

This grounded performance allows the chaos and the horror movie elements to happen around Jordan. Although this is essentially a vampire horror movie, Jordan doesn’t allow his performance to become a farce. He's playing things completely straight, fighting the urge to be as absurdist as the plot can be at some point. With this, he shines as an actor, and his approach allows for some of the deeper aspects of the movie, like its connection to Black history in America, to be even more prominent. Jordan is, in many ways, the connective tissue of the film.

Timothée Chalamet Still Deserves Props For Marty Supreme

For the reasons above, I think Michael B. Jordan is more than deserving of the Oscar. The tide seems to be going this way as well, with his Actor Award win showing that he might be an Academy Award winner after tonight. However, I think we would be fools to write off Timothée Chalamet. For most of this Oscar campaign, he has been the true frontrunner before Jordan became a prominent voice after the Actor Awards.

Chalamet's performance in Marty Supreme is extraordinary, keeping up with the pace of the film in a neurotic way. Controversially, I liked the self-seriousness of the performance, as it displays the range of an actor who is determined to showcase how the flame of success can be destructive to a person’s soul.

There's also a strong level of physicality that comes into play not only with the table tennis scenes but in others as well. In that regard Chalamet more than rises to the occasion.

However for Chalamet, the tide has turned negative for him in recent months. His much-discussed comments about ballet and opera left a poor taste in the mouths of some industry professionals and fans. Some have also questioned his almost “method” approach to promoting Marty Supreme. This helped sell the movie, as Marty did strong numbers at the box office, but there's the chance it could hurt his chances with the voting body.

I’d personally say this further speaks to Timothée Chalamet's prowess as a performer. Still, between him and Michael B. Jordan, I'd really like to see the latter win Best Actor.

See whether Jordan or Chalamet take home the gold statuette by watching the 98th Academy Awards, which air tonight, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. The show also streams live with a Hulu subscription.

Many people felt a serious loss after it was announced in 2020 that Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman died at 43 following a four-year battle with colon cancer. His final movie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, garnered him a posthumous Oscar nomination, but he lost the Best Actor award to Anthony Hopkins. Now, Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, is speaking about what she would have said if her husband had won that Academy Award.

X (then called Twitter) wasn’t happy with Boseman’s Oscar loss. That's somewhat understandable, given it would have been a beautiful celebration of the late actor’s final performance. Not only that but, considering that Best Actor was made the final award of that year's Academy Awards, it seemed certain that the evening was being set up to culminate with a win for Boseman. Ledward Boseman spoke to THR, as part of its oral history on the COVID-tinged ceremony of 2021, about how she would have honored her late husband had he won a posthumous Oscar:

When Chadwick Boseman won a lot of posthumous awards ahead of the 93rd Academy Awards, Simone Ledward accepted them on her late husband’s behalf. She tearfully accepted the Gotham Award for him, shared her husband’s wonderful quote while accepting his SAG Award, and gave an emotional acceptance speech for his Golden Globe win.

So, if the 42 actor had won the Oscar, Ledward would've had some sweet sentiments to share. During her chat with the trade, Ledward found her remarks and recited them:

That was so beautiful! The fact that Boseman’s widow still kept that speech on her phone after all of these years is heartbreakingly beautiful. As deserving as Anthony Hopkins was of his Oscar for The Father, it would've been sweet to hear Ledward Boseman honor her husband’s praiseworthy performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

When discussing that era of COVID as a whole, Ledward recalled how the lockdown impacted her and Boseman's lives. Fully cognizant of how hard that time was for a lot of people, Ledward shared a positive take on how it affected her life:

As for Hopkins, he wasn’t present at the ceremony, but he honored Boseman in an acceptance video, which was played the night of the ceremony. The veteran actor said he “didn’t expect to get this award,” and he also took a moment to “pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early.”

Ledward told THR she found Hopkins’ speech “very beautiful” and found it “thoughtful” of him to even mention her late spouse. It's still sad to think that the talented Boseman is no longer with us, but it's clear that his legacy lives on in those who knew him or admired his work.

You can watch Chadwick Boseman’s final Oscar-nominated role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by streaming it using a Netflix subscription.

If you were to ask us at CinemaBlend, but also elsewhere all over the Internet, there are some 98th Oscars categories that feel like a lock and some others that feel wide open. Really, the most intriguing conversation – outside of who will ultimately land the Best Picture award – probably has to do with the Supporting Actor category. A lot of people are all over Sean Penn, Delroy Lindo and Stellan Skarsgård, but with all due apologies to Mr. Penn, I don’t know how Paul Mescal was left off the ballot.

Now before we begin, let’s take a look at the Best Supporting Actor category from the 2026 Academy Awards nominations:

• Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
• Delroy Lindo, Sinners
• Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
• Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

There are some excellent performances on this list. Sinners has been at the forefront of the awards conversation in recent weeks, and Delroy Lindo put in a crowd-pleasing performance in the movie; some think he’s had the Supporting Oscar locked in recent days. I personally would have said prior to watching Hamnet that Benicio del Toro deserved to take home the Oscar, especially after finding out he was the mastermind behind one of the best scenes in One Battle After Another. Stellan Skarsgard and Sean Penn feel very much in the conversation, as well, and who didn't like Elordi's take on Frankenstein

But where the heck is Paul Mescal? If I had to slot him in anywhere, I’d probably slot him into the space occupied by Sean Penn. (I promise this is really not intended to be a negative on the work the actor put into One Battle After Another, but I stand by my statement.)

Hot Take: Paul Mescal Deserved The Nomination Over Sean Penn

Given all the talk I’ve seen about Col. Lockjaw online, and given the fact Penn landed the actual Oscar nom, I know I must be in the minority, here. Penn's been a notable tour de force in Hollywood for decades, which the Academy likes, and I do think he puts in a solid performance in what was already a pretty meaty role written by PT Anderson. His work is made even more noticeable by some not-so-subtle character traits Penn added, like walking in a way that physically looked uncomfortable.

Yet, he gets to play a weird, menacing bad guy, an obviously flashy character (CinemaBlend's review called him "Unstoppable") in an already fast-paced movie. Was it better than the contributions Benicio del Toro was bringing to the table? I’d say no, and I’d also say it’s concerning the two men competing against one another could split that vote. Was it better than all of the subtle weirdness Mescal put into Hamnet? I’d say no again.

Paul Mescal Truly Deserved An Oscar Nod

Meanwhile, there was no role that was more discomfiting to me than watching Paul Mescal go through stages of ambition and grief in Hamnet. That movie absolutely rocked my world, and I’m so happy Chloe Zhao landed a Best Director nom and Jessie Buckley seems to be at the forefront of most Best Actress predictions. I cried for over an hour after it ended, and I’m not over-exaggerating how it affected me emotionally. It wrecked me. I was wrecketh.

I'm glad Jessie Buckley earned a nod for her raw and bewitching performance. Yet, a large swathe of the movie works because of Paul Mescal’s restless energy and emoting opposite his co-star, particularly during the scene where her character Agnes goes to see Hamlet for the first time and the two reconcile over their shared grief. To me it's a truly perfect supporting performance, adding to the film in a way that supplements Buckley's performance without stealing any of its shine. I'm not saying the Academy should have just handed him the trophy, but I'm still shocked he didn't make the shortlist.

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some people have stood up and paid attention to Paul Mescal this awards season. He was nominated for Hamnet at the Golden Globe Awards, The Critics Choice Awards, The BAFTAs, The Actor Awards and several other high-profile shindigs this season. But when it comes to the big gold statue, it was not to be. He was decidedly locked out of that Top 5, and I think it’s a shame.

If you haven’t watched Hamnet yet, you can catch it with a Peacock subscription. One Battle After Another can be viewed with an HBO Max subscription. Also, watch the 2026 Oscars, which air tonight, Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m.ET on ABC.

The 98th Academy Awards are finally here, as they land on the 2026 TV schedule tonight. And, as always, once the ceremony ends, the debate will begin about whether the best movie won Best Picture. In some years. the outcome feels inevitable but, other times, the winner surprises even people who closely follow the awards race. Part of the reason for that is simple: the Academy determines its biggest prize using a different voting system from that used for most other categories.

As The New York Times recently explained in an Instagram video breaking down the Oscars voting process, Best Picture is the only category decided using a preferential ballot. Instead of selecting just one favorite, Academy members rank every nominated film in order of preference. That approach can lead to outcomes that feel a little different from the rest of the awards, in which winners are typically determined by whichever nominee receives the most votes.

However, before a film can even reach the voting stage, it has to meet a fairly detailed set of eligibility rules.

The Rules A Movie Must Meet To Be Eligible For Best Picture

According to the official rules for the 98th Academy Awards, films must complete a qualifying theatrical release to be eligible for the Best Picture award. That means the movie must play for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial theater in one of several qualifying U.S. markets, including Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, the Bay Area, or Dallas-Fort Worth.

Beyond that initial run, contenders must also complete an expanded theatrical release in at least nine additional markets, bringing the total to ten markets overall. The Academy introduced that rule to ensure Best Picture nominees still receive meaningful theatrical distribution.

Films must also meet two of the Academy’s four representation and inclusion standards, which were added in recent years to encourage diversity both on screen and behind the camera. Once a film clears those hurdles, it can officially enter the awards race.

Who Makes Up The Academy Voting Body?

Per Golden Derby, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences now has more than 10,000 members, divided into 17 professional branches, including actors, directors, writers, editors, producers, and other film industry craftspeople. During the nomination phase, most categories are decided by branch voting, actors nominate actors, directors nominate directors, and so on.

Best Picture is one of the few categories where all Academy members participate in the nomination process, regardless of their branch. Once the nominees are finalized, the full Academy also votes to determine the winner. But that final vote works differently from most categories.

For acting, directing, and many technical awards, the winner is simply the nominee who receives the most votes. Best Picture, however, uses the preferential ballot system. Academy voters rank each nominated film from their first choice down through the rest of the list.

To win outright, a film must receive more than 50 percent of the first-place votes. If one movie crosses that threshold immediately, the process is over, and the winner is declared. Yet, when many nominees are competing, that majority often doesn’t happen right away.

If no film secures a majority in the first round, the movie with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. Ballots that ranked that film first are then redistributed to whichever film those voters placed second. The totals are recalculated, and the process continues.

If a majority still isn’t reached, the next-lowest-ranking film is eliminated and its votes redistributed. The cycle repeats until one film ultimately passes the 50 percent mark and becomes the Best Picture winner. In practice, that means the category often rewards the movie with the broadest overall support across the Academy, rather than just the most passionate group.

This is one reason the Best Picture race can remain unpredictable until the final envelope is opened.

The Film Most Likely To Win Best Picture In 2026

This year’s competition appears especially uncertain. As New York Times awards columnist Kyle Buchanan recently wrote while previewing the upcoming ceremony, the season has been “unusually fluid,” with several major races still feeling wide open heading into Oscar night. That unpredictability can be amplified by the preferential ballot system, which allows consensus favorites to emerge during the redistribution of votes.

In other words, the film that ultimately wins Best Picture may not always be the one leading early predictions. The system was introduced when the Academy expanded the category to include up to 10 nominees, a move some believe created too many nominees, but it was intended to recognize a wider range of films and to avoid winners that appealed only to a narrow group of voters.

So, while Oscar night will always feature its share of surprises, the voting structure itself plays a major role in shaping the outcome. Best Picture isn’t just about which movie finishes first, but which one the most Academy members can ultimately agree deserves the top honor.

Watch the 98th Academy Awards, which are hosted by Conan O’Brien and air tonight, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and will also be available to stream live with a Hulu subscription. Here at Cinemablend, we’ve already made our predictions for the major Oscar categories, though it’s fair to say we didn’t all land on the same picks. Now, we’ll just have to wait and see how the night actually unfolds.