The 2026 Oscars premiered on March 15 on ABC, with former television host and comedian, Conan O’ Brien hosting the award ceremony, reprising his role to host from last year on March 2, 2025.

The ceremony gave many wins to many films, even marking historic wins for some of their nominees.

Actress Amy Madigan was the first win of the night, winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Aunt Gladys in the horror film, “Weapons.” It was her second Oscar nomination and her first win, joining Ruth Gordon in winning an Oscar for a horror film in that category, Gordon winning in 1969 for “Rosemary’s Baby.”

Actress Jessie Buckley won her first Oscar, winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Agnes in the drama film, “Hamnet.” Buckley had been nominated for an Oscar prior in 2022.

Madigan and Buckley weren’t the only stars who had their first wins that night, as many other nominees had their first wins and even their nominations.

Casting Director, Cassandra Kulukundis achieved her first ever nomination and win for a brand-new category, winning the first ever Oscar for Best Casting, for “One Battle After Another.”

“One Battle After Another,” took home six wins, including Best Supporting Actor, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Motion Picture of the Year, marking not only the film’s achievements, but also Director, Paul Thomas Anderson’s first Oscar wins in his career.

University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) senior, Oscar Dominguez Jr., was glad to see “One Battle After Another” taking home the awards, saying how it left a mark for El Paso since it was being filmed here.

“It was really great to see ‘One Battle [After Another]’ winning best picture,” Dominguez said. “That means a lot for us here in El Paso. So, it‘s rich. It‘s really cool to see that.”

“One Battle After Another” was not the only film that made history. “Sinners” won four Oscars that night, winning Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Best Original Screenplay and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Actor Michael B. Jordan won his first Oscar and nomination for his performance as the twin brothers ‘Smoke’ and ‘Stack’ for the film.

Cinematographer, Autumn Durald Arkapaw won her first Oscar for the film, also being the first woman of color to be nominated for the category.  

UTEP senior, Esteban Corral, found Michael B. Jordan’s win to be incredible.  

“Michael B. Jordan being one of six black actors to win Best Actor, I think that was awesome,” Corral said. “That was pretty cool.” 

Dominguez agreed that it was a good win for the Oscars that night, making it one of the most memorable moments.  

“Michael B. Jordan was definitely one of the highlights,” Dominguez said. “I think for a lot of people seeing him win it, it felt so happy.” 

There was history made that night as well with animation, “KPop Demon Hunters” that took home two Oscars, one for Best Animated Feature and for Best Original Song, with their hit song “Golden.” The wins made a mark for the genre and for Korean culture as well, “Golden” becoming the first ever K-pop song to win an Oscar. Singers for the “KPop Demon Hunters” group “HUNTR/X,” Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami performed the song live during the ceremony, as audience members held light sticks from the film.  

Although the Oscars this year has had memorable achievements, the viewership decreased, hitting 17.9 million viewers, which is a 9% decrease from last year, making it the lowest viewership since 2022.  

Dominguez believes that this year was incredible for film, and that it made many marks regardless.  

“I just think in general, this year was a great year for movies,” Dominguez said. “So, seeing all of them get recognized for how beautiful they are, it was really great to see.”  

For the full list of Oscars winners this year, you can find it here. 

Aziel Ramos is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]