A night with high expectations did not disappoint, as the 2026 Academy Awards capped off a record-setting awards season with big winners from diverse backgrounds, including Black Catholics, on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The much-anticipated head-to-head between the Black horror film “Sinners”—the most nominated film ever at the Oscars, with 16 nods—and Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic drama “One Battle After Another” concluded with OBAA netting six wins, including for Best Picture, Best Casting, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing.
“Sinners,” a blockbuster hit extending Ryan Coogler’s reign as the most profitable Black director in history, won Best Original Screenplay, his first Oscar and his only win of the night. The film also took home Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw).
A Catholic-raised Afro-Filipina with Black Creole roots in Louisiana, Durald Arkapaw made history as the first woman to win the Oscar for cinematography. She was also the first non-White woman to be nominated.
“I really want all the women in the room to stand up because I feel like I don't get here without you guys,” she said in her acceptance speech during the live ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
“I really, really, truly mean that. I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign and gotten to meet so many people and I just feel like moments like this happen because of you guys and I want to thank you for that.”
Autumn Durald Arkapaw becomes the first woman and woman of color to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography for SINNERS! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/vqlAoOwIPI
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 16, 2026
The category for Best Sound also saw a historic win, as the racing drama “F1” took home the trophy with a team including Gareth John, Al Nelson, Juan Peralta, Gary A. Rizzo, and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle. Peralta, a second-generation Dominican immigrant from New York, is the first Caribbean-American winner for Best Sound. He is also the second Dominican-American winner or nominee at the Oscars.
Overall, this year’s Oscars were a relatively disappointing affair for non-White nominees, with the three Black winners from “Sinners” comprising roughly half of the categories (7) that saw diverse nominees prevail. (By comparison, there were more non-White presenters, at eight, than category winners.)
The 13 total non-White winners this year included Coogler; Jordan; Durald Arkapaw; Peralta; several Asian filmmakers and musicians behind the movie musical “KPop Demon Hunters” (Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song); and the Indian-French filmmaker Alexandre Singh, who co-wrote and co-directed the dystopian “Two People Exchanging Saliva” (tied for Best Live Action Short Film).
Courtesy of its historic nomination haul, “Sinners” on Sunday became the film with the most losses at the Oscars, and the most-nominated film not to win Best Picture. In total, this year had 14 Black nominees, and “Sinners” tied the record (10) for the most Black nominees from a single film.
In the non-competitive Governors Awards, presented in November in Los Angeles, the legendary choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, as well as production designer Wynn Thomas, were presented with Academy Honorary Awards for their lasting impacts on the world of film.
This year’s competitive Oscars were the first to be decided under a new system, in which all voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were required to watch every nominated film in each category before the final round of voting.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
