Oscars 2026 live: Conan O’Brien’s monologue, award tie, Sean Penn no-show, emotional in memoriam honours stars

While presenting the Best Live Action Short Film award, Kumail Nanjiani joked that longer films would be better as shorts.

During his joke, he said “Schindler’s List” could have just been “Schindler’s Post It”.

“Can’t say that Schindler’s List joke was uh in any good taste!” one person wrote on X.

“At the #Oscars, they just made an offensive joke by swapping Schindler’s List for #SchindlerPostIt, and the translator didn’t translate it—she caught on instantly and just went silent during that part. Did you notice it?” another wrote online.

Jimmy Kimmel came out to present the documentary categories, and there was a huge round of applause for the categories.

“We hear a lot about courage at shows like this, but telling a story that could get you killed for telling it is real courage,” Kimmel said. “As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS.

“Fortunately, for all of us, there is an international community of filmmakers dedicated to telling the truth. Oftentimes, at great risk, to make films that teach us, that call out injustice, that inspire us to take action, and there are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes.”

All the Empty Rooms won the shorts category, a film about the victims of school shootings.

The mother of Jackie Cazares said on stage, “My daughter, Jackie, was nine years old when she was killed in Uvalde.

“Since that day, her bedroom has been frozen in time. Jackie is more than just a headline. She has our light and our life. Gun violence is now the number one cause of death in kids and teens. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms, it would be a different America.”

The feature category was won by Mr Nobody Against Putin.

Filmmaker David Borenstein said, “What we saw when working with this footage, it’s that you lose it through countless, small, little acts of complicity.

“When we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities. When we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume it. We all face a moral choice. But luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.”

The subject of the film, Pavel Talankin, said through an interpreter, “In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now.”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

All the Empty Rooms - WINNER

Armed Only With a Camera

Children No More: Were and Are Gone

The Devil is Busy

Perfectly a Strangeness

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Alabama Solution

Come See Me in the Good Light

Cutting Through Rocks

Mr. Nobody Against Putin - WINNER

The Perfect Neighbour

If not in visual effects, then where?

A shout-out from the team to Jon Landau, James Cameron’s long-time producing partner who died in 2024.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar: Fire and Ash - WINNER

F1

Jurassic World Rebirth

The Lost Bus

Sinners

This time, it’s for Production Design, and it’s nice that Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein, got a shout out in the acceptance speech.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Frankenstein - WINNER

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sinners

In case you missed it, Disney has some movies coming out soon, and they really want to remind you of it.

A lot of the presenters tonight have Disney projects upcoming, and the Oscars is being broadcast in the US on ABC, which is owned by ... you guessed it, Disney!

Sigourney Weaver and Pedro Pascal are both in the The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, and Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans have Avengers: Doomsday coming up. No other real reason for any of them to be here otherwise.

And now we’re giving them a free shot here too. Guess it worked.

It was a momentous year of big losses. Huge names including Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Val Kilmer, Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman died in the past year.

And, of course, Rob Reiner.

It was a really beautiful tribute on stage with Billy Crystal leading the casts of his previous films gathered on stage. Crystal said, “The loss is immeasurable, and to the millions who have enjoyed his films all these years, I want you to know, here and around the world, how many times Rob told me that it meant everything to him, that his work meant something to you.”

Those gathered on stage included Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally), Annette Bening (The American President), Kathy Bates (Misery), Cary Elwes, Carol Kane, Fred Savage and Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride), Jerry O’Connell and Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me), Kevin Pollak and Demi Moore (A Few Good Men), John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga (The Sure Thing) and Christopher Guest and Harry Groener (This is Spinal Tap).

Rachel McAdams came out to pay special tribute to Catherine O’Hara and Keaton. Of Keaton she said, “There isn’t an actress of my generation who is not inspired by and enthralled with her absolute singularity”.

Barbra Streisand was enlisted to speak about Redford, her co-star in The Way We Were.

“Bob had real backbone, on and off the screen. He spoke up to defend freedom of the press, protect the environment, and encourage new voices at the Sundance Institute, and some of whom are up for Oscars tonight.

“I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail.”

Streisand closed off the emotional segment with a few bars of The Way We Were.

Also the first Oscar win for Ryan Coogler, who was predicted to win here.

He asked his whole cast and crew to stand up, which was a very popular move in the room, where they love Sinners.

Coogler said, “I want to thank everybody that was involved with this movie, starting with Warner Bros, Mike (de Luca) and Pam (Abdy) are, here, David (Zaslav) is here, somewhere.

“Everybody, on my cast and crew, please stand up. You guys are amazing. You guys are amazing. You all are winners in my books, going, winners, you guys are the best in the world. Zinzi (Coogler), the best wife and mum in the world.

“My parents are here. Thank you all for all the memories. Thank you all for making me believe in myself and to my babies that are at home watching. I apologise for all the time away. Dad loves you.

“Memories are all we have. I hope I’ll give you some great ones, and you are all blessed to live a long life, and dad becomes just a memory. I want you all to remember this one thing. I love you all more than anything.”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Blue Moon

It Was Just An Accident

Marty Supreme

Sentimental Value

Sinners - WINNER

The One Battle After Another filmmaker has been nominated for 11 Oscars previously but this is first win - and maybe not his last tonight.

He said, “ I’m incredibly honoured to be part of this history. This is an adaption, so I add a huge debt of admiration and love to Thomas Pynchon.

“Any writer knows that you either beg for forgiveness or your special thanks is really to your family, and the people that you share a roof with, and put up with what it means to live with a writer.

“To Maya (Rudolph). Raina, Sylvia, Goo, Opa Paul, JoJo. I wrote this movie for my kids, um, to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world, we’re handing off to them.

“But also, with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Bugonia

Frankenstein

Hamnet

One Battle After Another - WINNER

Train Dreams

Conan didn’t say it, but that whole Casablanca sketch was definitely a shot at Netflix.

“It’s been widely reported that some studios are now insisting filmmakers repeat information and re-state the plot several times in their movies in order to accommodate the modern movie viewer who’s half watching, because they’re distracted by their phones.

“Some people are upset about this. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Conan and Sterling K. Brown then re-enacted an iconic scene from Casablanca with re-written dialogue:

Rick: “In all the gin joints, in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Sam: “She being Ilsa, right?

Rick: “Yeah, that’s her name.

Sam: “Yeah, that’s gotta be tough, because she ghosted you at that train station in Paris.

Rick: “It definitely contributed to my overall cynicism, what with this being World War II and all.

Sam: “World War II. That’s the Hitler one, right?

Rick: “Sure is, Sam.”

Sam: “And Rick, to reiterate, you’re just now realising that you’re still in love with Ilsa, even though she’s married.

Rick: “That’s right, Sam. I’m in a love triangle.”

Sam: “During World War II? Crazy.”

Conan: “Thank you very much, Sterling K. Brown, everybody. And now... now to present the awards for screenwriting.

Sterling: “And to be clear, the award we’re talking about is the Oscars.”

With the mercury reaching the late 20s in Hollywood, the film industry’s biggest stars needed little invitation to sizzle on the red carpet as they strutted down the most eye-catching runway in entertainment.

A raft of Aussies turned heads, including Best Actress nominee Rose Byrne who arrived in a black floral gown. If she wins for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, will we get an update on her famous pet bearded dragon?

The angelic figure of national treasure Nicole Kidman was underscored by a flowing blonde mane, as Kidman, 58, attends without long-time husband Keith Urban following the pair’s split in September last year.

Jacob Elordi is vying to become the first male Aussie actor to win an Oscar since Heath Ledger in 2009, with the Queenslander nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Creature in Frankenstein.

The brooding figure wore a three-piece, black tuxedo in a timeless look.

​See all the pics here. ​