The cast and crew of One Battle After Another accept the award for best picture during the Oscars on Sunday.Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press
On Monday, Globe film editor Barry Hertz and style and culture reporter Elio Iannacci answered reader questions about the 2026 Oscars winners and nominees, the biggest moments from the award ceremony and the best of the red carpet.
Readers shared their thoughts on front-runners One Battle After Another and Sinners, gaffes in the award ceremonies and the best-dressed celebs of the night. Here are some highlights from the Q&A.
Oscars 2026: One Battle After Another wins big as Canadians triumph in heated rivalry with Hollywood
Winners and Losers
Should Leonardo DiCaprio have won his second best actor Oscar last night? I feel like he’s due
Barry Hertz: I thought that DiCaprio was excellent in One Battle After Another, and in any other year, he might’ve made it to the stage. But to say that he was due feels a little off, given that he did win in 2016 for The Revenant. If he had gone into last night having never won, I’d say he would’ve been a lock. But this wasn’t his year.
Elio Iannacci: This may be my most unpopular opinion, but I found DiCaprio’s performance to be extremely unsatisfying and not really worthy of a nomination. It often feels too affected, too close to cartoony – like cosplay Jack Nicholson – blustery in a way that comes across as really inauthentic. This is in direct comparison to Teyana Taylor or Chase Infiniti. Leo’s delivery feels like “acting school” acting. Larry Moss, his old acting coach, has this imposing style that leans toward scene-eating rather than world-creating. Taylor’s delivery, by contrast, produced an earthy, neo-realist depth that I prefer.
Dancers perform during a tribute to Sinners during the Oscars.Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press
I thought Sinners was a phenomenal movie that got absolutely robbed last night. They should have easily won for best original score, supporting actor, director, and picture over One Battle After Another.
Hertz: Well, Sinners *did* win best original score (even though I personally think that Johnny Greenwood’s score for One Battle After Another was the superior work). I’m on the record as being a Sinners fan but not an acolyte – it has a great concept, great cast, great performances, great musical sequences, and basically everything is great until the vampire stuff kicks in, at which point Ryan Coogler’s themes seem to dissolve into mush, and his eye for action doesn’t meet expectations. OBAA feels more like the movie of the moment, and the one we’ll be looking back on more often. But I cannot wait to see what Coogler does next, ideally with Jordan along for the ride.
Iannacci: I want to hop on the Sinners love bandwagon and agree with all the nominations but passionately disagree that it didn’t win best picture. I appreciate films that engage both the eye and the mind – my parents brought me up on Italian giants like Fellini and Antonioni – so Sinners was the full package for me. The script unfolds like someone is whispering a secret you’re not supposed to hear. The actors really break out of their shells, delivering these intense moments of anxiety that make you feel the tension of not knowing in pockets of the film. Michael B. Jordan deserved his win – he portrays two brothers with such an ease, and his scenes with Wunmi Mosaku capture the kind of sensual Southern Gothic potency that Flannery O’Connor mastered in her writing.
There seemed to be a few not-so-subtle digs at Timothée Chalamet’s comments on ballet and opera. What are your thoughts on it and did it affect Marty Supreme’s chances of winning anything?
Hertz: I think the whole opera/ballet controversy, such as it is, has been totally blown out of proportion. Chalamet’s comments hit the news cycle on the very last day of Oscars voting, which means that the chances that it dented his potential to win are small. I suppose it’s been good to get ballet and opera more exposed in the cultural conversation generally, but otherwise it’s a faux-scandal.
From top left: Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, EJAE, Jeong Hoon Seo and Mark Sonnenblick accept the award for best original song for Golden from K-Pop Demon Hunters during the Oscars.Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press
Some of the Oscar winners, specifically the KPop Demon Hunters crew, were pretty egregiously cut off last night. No subtle play-off, a hard cut of the lights and loud music. What did you think and how can we avoid it next year?
Hertz: I’m of the view that if people win, we should let them speak. The worst-case scenario: Someone like Adrien Brody rambling on, and then we can all make fun of him. The best-case scenario: An artist who has fought and struggled to bring their vision to the world gets some much-deserved time on the world stage to speak their mind. Don’t play music to cut people off, don’t retract mics. Let the winners speak!
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein has an obvious connection to Canada. Are there any other Canadians involved in this year’s nominees and winners (or any that should have been)?
Hertz: I went over all the Canadian winners from last night in this column. It was a great year for Canada! (And I know I’m near-alone in this opinion, but I think that Kevin O’Leary should’ve gotten a nod for his stellar work as an altogether different kind of jerk in Marty Supreme).
Director Jafar Panahi, right, accepts the Palme d'Or for the film It Was Just an Accident during the Cannes International Film Festival awards ceremony in southern France on May 24.Lewis Joly/The Canadian Press
Why do you think It Was Just an Accident wasn’t nominated for best picture (just for best international picture)? Why was Jafar Panahi not nominated for best director?
Hertz: I agree, this is a tremendous oversight! Panahi created a truly dynamite film, one that speaks to our times as much as it does to any moment in history in which people had to suffer under regimes that existed to stifle and suppress.
What did you think of the costume design category this year, and Frankenstein’s win?
Iannacci: While I loved Kate Hawley’s looks for Mia Goth – they were spectacular – I was rooting for Sinners to win best costume. Ruth E. Carter’s Sinners costumes were 24K gold and used brilliantly. They amplified the eeriness and the sexiness of the scenes. According to a story in Harper’s Bazaar, Carter looked at the work of photographer Eudora Welty, who captured Southern Black families in 1920s and 1930s in a Norman Rockwell kind of way. Depending on how you look at Rockwell’s art, it can seem frightening yet Ruth charged those images with a sense of lust in the costume design. The men’s wear alone – a range of workwear and tailored party wear – seem like they are all over the map but so indicative to each character. Dress shirts stained with sweat and grease and then brimmed hats and fedoras (for shade in the Southern heat) hit the mark. Really loved the novelty three-piece suits that are a throwback to the ’20s with great quad-pleated and flapped patch pockets.
Actor Teyana Taylor arrives at the Oscars on Sunday.Jordan Strauss/The Associated Press
Red Carpet looks
What were your favourite looks from the red carpet?
Iannacci: I think Rose Byrne had such a great fashion moment in Dior with modern florals on a sleek black gown with a sharp train. Teyana Taylor surprised me in her feathery Chanel look. It kind of swept up everyone who saw it pass by on the red carpet. Li Jun Li’s look was incredible. It is couture by Gaurav Gupta and looked like this cool swirly pile of melted red licorice on the red carpet. For me, Misty Copeland has to be on the list. The legendary ballet prima donna showed up in a David Koma suit jacket–tutu hybrid that felt like she was throwing shade to Chalamet. It was a pretty chic clapback to Timothée Chalamet’s earlier dismissive comments about ballet and opera. Also: Audrey Nuna in a Thom Browne gown was exquisite – it looked like it was dipped in 24k gold.
Honourable mention goes to Marty Supreme’s Odessa A’zion – who styled herself. Read more if you want details on all the looks.
Actor Timothée Chalamet arrives at the Oscars on Sunday.John Locher/The Associated Press
Were there any stars who didn’t impress you with their outfits?
Iannacci: There were so many great looks yesterday night but some did need some improvements when it came to fit or overall look. Timothée Chalamet’s all-white tuxedo and ’80s soccer mom hair reminded me of past looks by Liza Minnelli – not sure that was what he was going for. He also wore a strange pair of white moon boots that didn’t quite make sense. Conan was great as a host but his suits (across the board) needed a few more fittings before he hit the stage. I’m surprised this wasn’t a priority as there was a beautiful velvet double breasted suit he wore mid-show that sagged too large at the shoulders and too tight at the stomach.
Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams on the Oscars red carpet.Caroline Brehman/Reuters
Are brooches back? It seemed like every male actor was wearing one last night.
Iannacci: You are so right. Brooches and jewellery for men in general have been making a comeback, and especially on the red carpet. This year, Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Wiliams’s brooch and his snake-like bracelet led the pack. Both by Bulgari. I think all the man bling started getting much more popular after Adrien Brody started sporting his last year and it was reported on quite a bit ... we also saw Chalamet wore a Cartier brooch last year at the Oscars + Michael B. Jordan rocked a Tiffany one that was written about quite a bit. Even the Rock flashed a diamond one by Beladora at The Globes. Suits can be a bit dull next to gowns so that extra pop of bling helps.
Demi Moore presents the award for best cinematography during the Oscars.Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press
After Demi Moore came out in her fantastic dress, I noticed many outfits this year prominently featured feathers. Is that a new trend?
Iannacci: Yes, I loved the feathers, too. They give the red carpet a sort of fourth dimension when done right (Bob Mackie is so good at that). Demi Moore’s Gucci dress was actually styled by Canadian Brad Goreski (if you ever watched Canada’s Drag Race, he was one of the judges). They usually spend months together at the fashion weeks in Milan and Paris. Other great feathery moments were Teyana Taylor in Chanel, Nicole Kidman in Chanel and Priyanka Chopra in Dior.
More on Oscars 2026
What did you think of the first-ever casting Oscar? Are the judges equipped to decide a winner in a complicated category like that?
Hertz: Getting the casting award into the mix has been a long, decades-long struggle, and I think everyone who was voting appreciated how the process generally works. And while I would have loved to see Marty Supreme triumph here, given how it so wonderfully mixed professional actors with amateurs to create a truly unique world, I feel that One Battle After Another’s casting was also just about perfect.
I was surprised to see a tie in the live-action short film category. Does that happen often and what are your thoughts on allowing ties?
Hertz: This is the seventh tie in Academy Awards history (and only the second in the 21st century). It’s surprising, but like any democratic system, it can happen. I think it should be allowed. What’s the alternative? Spoiling the tie and asking voters to go again? That would be embarrassing for everyone involved.
I think the ceremony is getting too long. Is it unreasonable to expect people to watch such a long show?
Hertz: It is very long, agreed. There were a bunch of bits that I would have cut, and some of the banter on-stage (looking at you, Bridesmaids crew and the Robert Downey Jr./Chris Evans combo) were deathly dull. I feel there were at least 20 minutes that could’ve been painlessly trimmed down in rehearsal. And we should also consider that the “In Memoriam” segment this year was 15-minutes-plus, because so many high-profile Hollywood figures died over the past year. But then again, it’s ultimately low-commitment viewing. You’re sitting on your couch, not trapped inside the Dolby Theatre itself. You can always walk away and catch up on the highlights later.