March 15, 2026, was the day of the 98th Academy Awards, one of the most prestigious award shows in the entertainment industry. Like most years, the Academy Awards sparked disagreements online among film lovers and fans. The categories of Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role were especially popular topics online. Many speculated about which movie would win for Best Picture, with most believing that the award would go to Ryan Coogler’s Sinner, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, or Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
Fans were also split between these films when it came to Best Actor in a Leading Role. Most of the debate was about whether the award should go to Michael B. Jordan for his role as the Smoke/Stack Twins in Sinners or to Timothee Chalamet for his role as Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme.
A category that had a lot less people disagreeing online was Best Actress in a Leading Role, with Jessie Buckley being the clear pick for her role as Agnes in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. Buckley had a great awards season, winning the Best Actress at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Actor Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, and ultimately at the Academy Awards.
The Academy Awards ended with a win for Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor in a Leading Role and One Battle After Another being given the top award of the night, Best Picture. Online discourse continued after this, especially regarding One Battle After Another’s win. Other major awards of the night included Sean Penn winning Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Col. Steve J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, Amy Madonna winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role as Gladys in Weapons, and Autumn Durald Arkapaw winning the Cinematography award for her work on Sinners. This award made Arkapaw the first woman and the first person of color to win that particular award.
I spent the duration of awards season excited for the Academy Awards, especially as a huge fan of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. By the time March 15 came around, I had watched eight of the ten films nominated for Best Picture. Although Sinners was my favorite film of the year, I found One Battle After Another to be an enjoyable watch and didn’t mind the win. Out of all the awards given that night, the two I found myself most excited about were Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress in a Leading Role win, Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners win, and Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s Cinematography win. With Buckley becoming the first Irish person to win Best Actress in a Leading Role and Autumn Durald Arkapaw becoming both the first woman and the first person of color to win a Cinematography Oscar, this year’s Academy Awards weren’t just about winning; it was about breaking barriers.
