Screen rounds up some of the memorable moments from the 2026 Academy Awards, which took place at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on March 15.
Best jokes
Conan O’Brien, hosting for the second time, kicked things off with an elaborate cold open that saw him made up as Aunt Gladys from Weapons (“I look like Betty Davis with Lupus”) then chased by children through various other nominated films such as Hamnet, One Battle After Another and Sinners, eventually arriving on stage.
His opening monologue was a mix of gentle mockery and edgier gags. He started by declaring: “I am honoured to be the last human host of the Academy Awards” and ribbed Timothee Chalamet by saying that there are “concerns about attacks from the opera and ballet communities”.
With Ted Sarandos in the audience, O’Brien joked that it was the Netflix boss’s “first time in a theatre!”
On the darker side, he referenced the Epstein files and Andrew Mountbatten-Windor, saying “It’s the first time since 2012 that there are no British actors nominated for best actor or best actress. A British spokesperson said ‘Yes, but at least we arrest our pedophiles’.”
There was also a musical skit featuring Josh Groban, and a sketch mocking the trend for editing films into portrait mode, with a cameo from Martin Scorsese.
The pick of the presenting teams was a 15th anniversary Bridesmaids reunion with Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ellie Kemper. They read ‘notes from the audience’, with one telling them “the things you’ve done to your faces are very tasteful.”
Emotional ‘in memorium’ section
There was a more lengthy than usual ’in memorium’ section befitting the many Hollywood legends to have died in the past year. First up Billy Crystal paid tribute to his friend Rob Reiner and Reiner’s wife Michele Singer, saying: “It was a thrill to see [Reiner] evolve from a great comic actor to a master filmmaker.”
Rachel McAdams then took to the stage to honour Diane Keaton, before Barbra Streisand paid homage to her friend and The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford with a rendition of the film’s title song.
The segment also paid tribute to Claudia Cardinale, Bela Tarr, Udo Kier, Giorgio Armani, Catherine O’Hara, Michael Madsen, Val Kilmer and Robert Duvall among others.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw makes Oscars history
Sinners’ Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win best cinematography at the Oscars. In her speech, she asked all the women in the room to stand up.
“I don’t get here without you guys. I’ve felt so much love from all of the women in this campaign,” said Arkapaw.
There was more Oscars history made through a rare tie in the live-action short film category, with The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva sharing the award. A tie has happened only six times previously, according to the Academy.
The sixth award of the night, best casting, was presented for the first time ever at the Oscars. Actors Paul Mescal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chase Infiniti, Delroy Lindo and Wagner Moura took to the stage to pay tribute to the five nominated casting directors, with Cassandra Kulukundis winning the award for One Battle After Another.
“This is freaking insane,” said Kulukundis. “And I have one before you [Paul], which is also crazy.” Anderson went on to win three awards himself for the film, which took six in total.
Musical numbers
The most high-energy moment of the night was the performance of ‘Golden’ from Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters, by singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. Having sat obediently for over two hours by that point, audience members seemed glad to be provided with light-up bulbs which they shook to the music.
There was also a lavish recreation of Sinners’ ’I Lied To You’ sequence performed by Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq with help from some acclaimed Blues musicians including Eric Gales and Buddy Guy.
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