By Ian Werther in News — 16 Mar 2026

South Korean Film One Battle After Another Wins Best Picture and Best Director

At the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the 98th Academy Awards crowned a winner from abroad, as One Battle After Another took six prizes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Casting.

Defeating Cynos: Sinners, which had a record 16 nominations, One Battle After Another won four other major categories, while Cynos: Sinners secured four awards: Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score. The ceremony highlighted the Academy’s international reach and the continued strength of prestige productions from outside the United States.

Paul Thomas Anderson, who wrote and directed One Battle After Another, accepted the Best Director prize. The film-maker’s career has been fettered by Oscar snubs despite earlier festival triumphs; the piece notes his festival honors at Cannes for Punch-Drunk Love, Berlin for There Will Be Blood, and Venice for Master, underscoring the long road to Oscar recognition.

The Best Farm/L’Hermitage Slave Village site, Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, Maryland, USA, in early morning shadows. The house is an unusual example of a mixture of the local Federal style and Caribbean French Colonial styles of building and plantation culture, transplanted from Haiti/Saint-Domingue to central Maryland. It was built as the home of the Vincendrière family, who fled Saint-Domingue during the Haitian Revolution, and came to Maryland to establish a version of the plantation culture with which they were familiar. L'Hermitage was one of the largest slave-holding plantations in Maryland, and was notable for its brutal treatment of those enslaved there. The adjacent lands are documented as L'Hermitage Slave Village Archeological Site. The lands were fought over during the Battle of Monocacy in 1864 during the American Civil War. The hip-roofed barn, unusual for Maryland, is seen to the rear.Enoch Louis Lowe, 29th Governor of Maryland, was born at L'Hermitage in 1820, son of Bradley Samuel Adams Lowe and Adelaide Bellumeau de la Vincendrière — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Anderson’s win was tempered by his modest remarks, drawing a parallel to the 1975 Oscars era when many acclaimed films competed and suggesting that cinema remains vital rather than dying. His comments reflected a broader debate in the industry about the sustainability of filmmaking in the streaming era and the global audience for ambitious cinema.

Autumn Durald Arkapo made history as the first woman and person of color to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In her acceptance speech, she said that girls who resemble her will sleep more easily tonight, and urged the women in the audience to stand, signaling a milestone for diversity in technical roles within Hollywood.

Jessie Buckley, winning Best Actress for Hamnet, dedicated her prize to mothers everywhere, a message that resonated with many viewers who see cinema as a reflection of family and resilience. Buckley’s win adds to the film’s standing in a year when performances centered on intimate, human storytelling drew significant recognition.

Benicio Del Toro interview on the Red Carpet for World Premiere of ‘One Battle After Another’ — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Joachim Trier, accepting Best Foreign Language Film for Sentimental Value, invoked James Baldwin to remind audiences of responsibility. He used the moment to critique political leaders who neglect accountability in war and echoed a veiled rebuke of Donald Trump over the Iranian conflict, a rare use of the Oscar stage to address contemporary geopolitics.

The Oscar night underscored how global cinema continues to shape U.S. markets and cultural conversations. For American studios, talent, and audiences, the results influence distribution decisions, awards-season momentum, and potential streaming deals, while highlighting the enduring appeal of cross-border collaborations that feed Hollywood’s production pipeline.

Beyond Korea, the ceremony illustrates how foreign productions compete for the same American audience and prestige as domestic projects. The recognition of a diverse set of talents—whether in directing, acting, cinematography, or music—reaffirms the international character of today’s film industry and its impact on U.S. studios, investors, and viewers seeking global storytelling.

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