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The short answer
The 98th Academy Awards took place on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The ceremony is no longer a live event. One Battle after Another won Best Picture and six awards overall, while Sinners followed with four wins after receiving a record 16 nominations.
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For the live broadcast, the cheapest legitimate option was a free local ABC broadcast using an antenna, provided the viewer could receive an ABC affiliate. The cheapest verified paid option was Hulu’s ad-supported plan at $11.99 per month, and Hulu said all subscribers—not only Hulu + Live TV customers—could watch the ceremony live. However, Hulu’s announced next-day replay was for March 16, 2026, and this guide does not independently confirm that the complete ceremony remains in Hulu’s catalog on August 12, 2026.
What happened at the 2026 Oscars?
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle after Another was the night’s biggest winner. It took Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Casting. Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners, Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet, and Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons.
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Sinners also won Original Screenplay, Original Score, and Cinematography. Other notable results included KPop Demon Hunters winning Animated Feature and Original Song, Norway’s Sentimental Value winning International Feature, and Mr. Nobody against Putin winning Documentary Feature.
Conan O’Brien hosted the ceremony for the second consecutive year. The awards honored films released in 2025.
Complete list of 98th Academy Awards winners
The Academy’s official ceremony page is the primary reference for the results below; ABC’s complete-list recap also reported the six-award haul for One Battle after Another and the four wins for Sinners.
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Picture | One Battle after Another |
| Directing | Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle after Another |
| Actor in a Leading Role | Michael B. Jordan, Sinners |
| Actress in a Leading Role | Jessie Buckley, Hamnet |
| Actor in a Supporting Role | Sean Penn, One Battle after Another |
| Actress in a Supporting Role | Amy Madigan, Weapons |
| Animated Feature Film | KPop Demon Hunters |
| International Feature Film | Sentimental Value — Norway |
| Documentary Feature Film | Mr. Nobody against Putin |
| Writing: Original Screenplay | Ryan Coogler, Sinners |
| Writing: Adapted Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle after Another |
| Music: Original Song | “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters |
| Music: Original Score | Ludwig Göransson, Sinners |
| Cinematography | Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners |
| Film Editing | Andy Jurgensen, One Battle after Another |
| Sound | F1 |
| Visual Effects | Avatar: Fire and Ash |
| Production Design | Frankenstein |
| Costume Design | Frankenstein |
| Makeup and Hairstyling | Frankenstein |
| Casting | Cassandra Kulukundis, One Battle after Another |
| Animated Short Film | The Girl Who Cried Pearls |
| Documentary Short Film | All the Empty Rooms |
| Live Action Short Film | A tie: The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva |
Best Picture nominees
The ten Best Picture nominees were:
- Bugonia
- F1
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle after Another — winner
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
Acting nominees
Actor in a Leading Role
- Michael B. Jordan, Sinners — winner
- Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
- Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle after Another
- Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
- Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Actress in a Leading Role
- Jessie Buckley, Hamnet — winner
- Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
- Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
- Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
- Emma Stone, Bugonia
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Sean Penn, One Battle after Another — winner
- Benicio Del Toro, One Battle after Another
- Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
- Delroy Lindo, Sinners
- Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Amy Madigan, Weapons — winner
- Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
- Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
- Teyana Taylor, One Battle after Another
Other notable nominee fields
The 98th Oscars had 24 competitive categories and introduced Best Casting as a new award category. The following fields provide a useful watchlist beyond Best Picture and acting:
- Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters (winner), Elio, Zootopia 2, Arco, and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain.
- Cinematography: Sinners (winner), Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, One Battle after Another, and Train Dreams.
- Adapted Screenplay: One Battle after Another (winner), Bugonia, Frankenstein, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
- International Feature: Sentimental Value (Norway, winner), The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just an Accident (France), Sirāt (Spain), and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia).
- Original Song: “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters (winner), “Dear Me,” “I Lied To You,” “Sweet Dreams Of Joy,” and “Train Dreams.”
Where to watch the 98th Academy Awards
There are two different questions here: where the ceremony was available live on March 15, and whether a complete replay can still be found now. The live broadcast options below are historical. They should not be read as a promise that the same services currently carry the full ceremony.
| Option | How it worked for the ceremony | Cost and important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Local ABC station | Free over-the-air broadcast for viewers with a local ABC affiliate. | $0 if the household already had suitable reception equipment. An indoor TV antenna may help, but reception depends on address, signal strength, building materials, and local affiliate coverage. |
| Hulu | Hulu said all subscribers could stream the ceremony live without adding Hulu + Live TV. | The ad-supported plan was listed at $11.99 per month on the signup page checked for this guide. The price can change, and current full-ceremony replay availability has not been independently confirmed. |
| Hulu + Live TV | A paid live-TV option carrying ABC in most eligible markets. | Listed at $89.99 per month after a three-day trial, subject to eligibility, location requirements, regional restrictions, and blackouts. It was excessive for a one-event viewer who could use standalone Hulu. |
| YouTube TV or FuboTV | The Academy’s viewing guide named these among services that could carry the broadcast. | Current price, ABC coverage, trials, and local-market availability must be checked by ZIP code. Do not assume either service carries ABC everywhere. |
| ABC website or app | ABC offered authenticated viewing through a participating TV provider. | A qualifying TV-provider login was required; this was not a universally free streaming route. |
The Academy said the ceremony aired in more than 200 territories outside the United States. The broadcaster and streaming service differed by country, so U.S. guidance about ABC and Hulu should not be applied internationally.
Is the full Oscars ceremony still streaming?
Hulu’s official Oscars guide announced that the entire ceremony would become available on demand beginning March 16, 2026. That establishes the planned next-day replay destination, not permanent availability. As of the August 12, 2026 research date, the available evidence did not independently verify that the complete ceremony was still in Hulu’s catalog.
ABC’s currently indexed Oscars pages reliably expose clips, backstage material, and promotional videos, but the research did not confirm a full-ceremony replay there. If you are checking now, look for an explicitly labeled full-length episode or replay in Hulu and ABC rather than assuming that clips or an Oscars hub contain the complete broadcast.
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Cheapest legitimate ways to watch
For someone who wanted to watch live in March
- Use local ABC over the air for $0. Confirm that your address receives an ABC affiliate. If necessary, test an antenna before relying on it; an antenna is not guaranteed to work in every building or market.
- Use standalone Hulu if ABC reception was unavailable. Hulu stated that every subscriber could watch the live ceremony, so Hulu + Live TV was not required. The verified ad-supported price was $11.99 per month at the time of the pricing check.
- Use a live-TV streaming service only if you needed broader channel access. Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, or FuboTV may make sense for an ongoing live-TV replacement, but their total cost is difficult to justify for the Oscars alone.
Monthly versus annual Hulu pricing
Hulu’s ad-supported annual offer was listed at $119.99. That is cheaper than twelve monthly payments of $11.99, but only for someone who would keep Hulu for a year. It was not the cheapest one-event purchase. The Hulu + Live TV listing was $89.99 per month after a three-day trial, making it substantially more expensive than standalone Hulu for this particular broadcast.
Where to watch the nominated films
There was no single subscription that guaranteed access to every nominated feature. Film rights were split among studios, subscription services, digital storefronts, theaters, and physical media, and availability could differ by country and change without notice.
One official Disney Oscars guide identified Elio and Zootopia 2 as Disney+ titles and also described Avatar: Fire and Ash and Zootopia 2 as theatrical titles at the time that guide was published. Those statements are date-specific; they should not be treated as a current August 2026 catalog check. The apparently overlapping treatment of Zootopia 2 also illustrates why a film’s release window must be checked rather than inferred from studio ownership.
| What you want to watch | Titles to check | Safe way to verify access |
|---|---|---|
| Best Picture watchlist | Bugonia; F1; Frankenstein; Hamnet; Marty Supreme; One Battle after Another; The Secret Agent; Sentimental Value; Sinners; Train Dreams | Search the title in the service’s current catalog or digital storefront for your country. The nomination itself does not establish a subscription or rental location. |
| Acting-nominated films outside the Best Picture list | Blue Moon; If I Had Legs I’d Kick You; Song Sung Blue; Weapons | Check a current title page and confirm whether the result is included with a subscription, a rental, a purchase, a theater booking, or physical media. |
| Animated Feature watchlist | KPop Demon Hunters; Elio; Zootopia 2; Arco; Little Amélie or the Character of Rain | Disney’s guide supplied time-limited information for Elio and Zootopia 2; recheck both titles before subscribing. |
| International Feature watchlist | Sentimental Value; The Secret Agent; It Was Just an Accident; Sirāt; The Voice of Hind Rajab | Country-specific rights are especially important. Check subtitles, audio language, and whether a local arthouse or theatrical release is required. |
For any nominee, use this order: identify your country; search the exact title in the service or storefront; confirm the result is the full film rather than a trailer or clip; check whether it is subscription streaming, rental, purchase, theatrical, or physical media; and note the date checked. A Hulu Oscars hub may help organize nominees and past winners, but it is not proof that every listed film is included with Hulu.
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What to know before subscribing
- Do not confuse live access with replay access. A plan that carried ABC during the ceremony may not retain the full broadcast months later.
- Check your local channel. Live-TV services can impose regional restrictions, blackouts, location requirements, and local-affiliate exclusions.
- Do not use an annual plan for a single ceremony unless you want the service afterward. The lower effective monthly rate does not make it the cheapest one-event option.
- Expect prices and trials to change. The figures here are date-stamped research findings, not permanent prices or guarantees of eligibility.
- Be careful with unofficial uploads. A search result or social-media clip is not evidence of an authorized full ceremony.
Sources and date note
This recap uses the Academy’s official 98th Academy Awards ceremony and viewing pages as primary references, with ABC’s complete-results recap, Hulu’s official Oscars viewing guide, Hulu’s signup pricing page, ABC’s indexed coverage pages, and Disney’s official Oscars guide for supporting information. Ceremony status, prices, local-channel availability, trials, and streaming rights can change. The current-status limitation is deliberate: the research confirmed Hulu’s announced March 16 replay window but did not confirm that the complete ceremony remained available on August 12, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still watch the full 2026 Oscars ceremony?
The 98th Academy Awards took place on March 15, 2026, so there is no live broadcast to watch now. Hulu announced that the full ceremony would be available on demand beginning March 16, but current availability of the complete replay was not independently confirmed for August 12, 2026. ABC’s indexed pages confirmed clips and backstage material, not a full replay.
What was the cheapest way to watch the 2026 Oscars?
For the live event, the cheapest option was a free local ABC broadcast with an antenna and a receivable ABC affiliate. The cheapest verified paid option was Hulu’s ad-supported plan at $11.99 per month. Hulu said all subscribers could watch live, so Hulu + Live TV was not required.
Did I need Hulu + Live TV to watch the Oscars?
No. Hulu said all Hulu subscribers could stream the ceremony live, without adding Hulu + Live TV. Hulu + Live TV was a much more expensive live-TV replacement, listed at $89.99 per month after a three-day trial and subject to regional restrictions.
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Which film won Best Picture at the 2026 Oscars?
One Battle after Another won Best Picture. It also won Best Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Casting, for six awards in total.
Where could viewers outside the United States watch the 2026 Oscars?
The Academy said the ceremony aired in more than 200 territories, but the broadcaster or streaming service differed by country. U.S. options such as ABC and Hulu should not be assumed to apply internationally.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: The 98th Oscars are a past event. One Battle after Another won Best Picture, and its six-award night led the ceremony. The cheapest live route was free local ABC with suitable reception; the cheapest verified paid route was Hulu’s $11.99 ad-supported plan, which did not require Hulu + Live TV. For watching the ceremony now, Hulu was the announced replay destination, but a current full-catalog listing still needs to be verified. Nominee-film availability must be checked title by title, by country and date.
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