Oscars 2026: The Academy Got It Wrong and We Need to Talk About It
Marty Supreme went home empty-handed after nine nominations. Sinners broke records but still lost Best Picture. And Sean Penn couldn't even be bothered to show up. The 98th Academy Awards were a mess — and I loved every second of it.
Look, I'm going to say what everyone's been thinking for the past two weeks: the 98th Academy Awards were absolutely unhinged, and the Academy should be both embarrassed and proud in equal measure.
Let's start with the elephant in the room.
Marty Supreme: Nine Nominations, Zero Wins
Timothée Chalamet delivered what critics called the performance of the year. Josh Safdie directed the tightest sports drama since Raging Bull. A24's highest-grossing film ever. Golden Globe winner. Critics' Choice winner.
And the Academy said: "Nah."
Nine nominations. Zero wins. Marty Supreme now joins the infamous club of films that received nine or more nominations without winning a single Oscar. That's not a snub — that's a statement. The Academy looked at the most popular, most critically acclaimed film of the year and actively chose to ignore it across every single category.
Here's the thing: I actually think the voters got scared. Chalamet is too young, too popular, too internet for the old guard. They'd rather give it to Michael B. Jordan — who, don't get me wrong, was phenomenal in Sinners — than admit that the Wonka guy just gave a masterclass in acting.
Sinners: 16 Nominations, 4 Wins, and a Revolution
Ryan Coogler's vampire epic set in 1932 Mississippi earned a record sixteen nominations. Let that sink in. More than any film in Oscar history. And it walked away with four wins — Best Actor for Jordan, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.
But here's where it gets interesting. Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman ever to win Best Cinematography. In 98 years of the Academy Awards. The fact that it took until 2026 for a woman to win this award is both a celebration and an indictment. Her work on Sinners — the first film shot and released in two different aspect ratios — was genuinely groundbreaking. This wasn't a pity win. This was overdue recognition.
Ludwig Goransson added another Oscar to his collection with the score, and honestly, if you've seen the film, you know why. The man turned the Mississippi Delta into a sonic hellscape and it was beautiful.
One Battle After Another: PTA Finally Gets His
So One Battle After Another took home six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Paul Thomas Anderson — the man behind There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Phantom Thread — finally won his first competitive Oscar. His first.
I have complicated feelings about this. On one hand, PTA is a genius and the film is genuinely brilliant. DiCaprio, Penn, del Toro — the cast is ridiculous. Shot on VistaVision, adapted from Pynchon. It's cinema with a capital C.
On the other hand... did it win Best Picture because it was the best picture? Or because the Academy couldn't bring itself to crown Sinners — a vampire movie set in the Jim Crow South — as the year's best? I'm just asking questions.
Sean Penn: The No-Show
Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor and didn't show up to accept it. That's it. That's the take. The man now has three Oscars and apparently treats them like jury duty — something to avoid if possible. Iconic behavior, honestly.
The Tie Nobody Saw Coming
For the first time in years, the Academy produced a genuine tie. The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva split the Live Action Short Film award. In a ceremony full of decisive winners, this felt like the Academy throwing its hands up and saying, "We literally cannot decide." Fair enough.
KPop Demon Hunters: The Animated Upset
KPop Demon Hunters took Best Animated Feature, and its track "Golden" became the first K-pop song to win Best Original Song. In a category that Pixar and Disney have dominated for decades, this felt like a genuine shift. The animation landscape is changing, and the Academy is finally paying attention.
Jessie Buckley: The Quiet Winner
While everyone was debating Chalamet vs. Jordan, Jessie Buckley quietly picked up Best Actress for Hamnet — her first nomination and first win. First Irishwoman to win the award. No controversy, no drama, just a devastating performance that everyone agreed on. Sometimes the Academy gets it exactly right.
The Real Story
Here's the thing about the 98th Oscars: they actually mattered. For the first time in years, there were genuine upsets, genuine history being made, and genuine reasons to argue about the results. Marty Supreme's shutout will fuel debates for years. Sinners' record nominations will be a trivia question forever. And PTA finally getting his due feels like the closing of a decades-long chapter.
Was it perfect? No. Were there snubs? Obviously — where was Clooney? Where was Ariana Grande? But at least it wasn't boring.
And honestly? That's all I've ever asked from the Oscars.
I said what I said.