The 7 Best Moments from the 2026 Oscars

The 2026 Oscars delivered exactly what fans hope for every year: big wins, emotional speeches and a handful of moments that instantly took over the internet. Held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the 98th Academy Awards celebrated the best films of 2025, but as always, the ceremony itself had plenty of memorable surprises along the way.

From playful onstage banter between presenters to heartfelt acceptance speeches and standout tributes, the night was packed with moments viewers will be talking about long after the final award was handed out. Here's a look at some of the biggest, funniest and most unforgettable moments from the 2026 Oscars.

Conan O’Brien opened the 98th Academy Awards in peak Conan fashion, with a pre-taped bit that fully embraced the absurd. In the segment, the host transformed into Aunt Gladys, the creepy villain played by Academy Award winner Amy Madigan in Weapons. Wearing the character’s unmistakable red wig and over-the-top clownish makeup, O’Brien leaned all the way into the role.

Things quickly escalated into full horror-comedy mode. As the sketch unfolded, O’Brien was chased toward the Dolby Theatre by a group of bloodthirsty kids, sprinting through scenes of nominated films along the way, including Sinners, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Hamnet, K-Pop Demon Hunters, F1, and more.

Acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland briefly stepped out of retirement for a special moment at the 2026 Academy Awards. During a live performance of “I Lied To You,” Copeland took the stage alongside several artists, including Sinners star Miles Caton, Raphael Saadiq, and Shaboozey.

One of the shadiest (and funniest) moments of the 2026 Oscars came when Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour took the stage to present Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hairstyling. Hathaway jokingly asked the former Vogue editor what she thought of her dress, but Wintour coolly slipped on her signature sunglasses and skipped the compliment entirely, jumping straight to, “And the nominees are…”

The playful moment didn’t end there. When Hathaway later invited Wintour to read the next category, Wintour replied, “Thank you, Emily,” referencing the name Meryl Streep’s character repeatedly used for Hathaway’s character in The Devil Wears Prada.

Kieran Culkin may not have had a long moment onstage at the 2026 Oscars, but he still managed to deliver one of the night’s more memorable lines. The actor returned to the ceremony to present the Best Supporting Actor award, the same category he won the previous year.

When the award was announced for One Battle After Another star Sean Penn, Culkin revealed that the winner wasn’t in attendance. Instead of sticking to the standard script, he added a little of his signature blunt humor: “Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening,” Culkin said before quickly following up with, “or didn't want to, so I'll be accepting the award on his behalf.”

Barbra Streisand made a rare return to the Oscars stage, her first appearance there in more than a decade, to honor filmmaker and longtime friend Robert Redford.

During the ceremony’s In Memoriam tribute, she performed a brief snippet of “The Way We Were,” the iconic song from the 1973 film of the same name that won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1974.

Another playful moment from the 2026 Oscars came from the surprise appearance of Grogu, better known to fans as Baby Yoda. The beloved Star Wars character appeared in a comedic segment during the ceremony alongside Paul Mescal, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Hudson.

In the lighthearted exchange, Hudson jokingly flirted with the puppet while Weaver delivered a humorous nod to her famous Aliens line, telling her to “get away from him you b****.”

Host Conan O’Brien joined the bit as well, teasing that Grogu couldn’t clap during the ceremony. The cameo also served as a playful promotional moment for the upcoming Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is scheduled to be released later in 2026.

Netflix’s most-watched movie ever, KPop Demon Hunters, snagged the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and made history as the first Kpop song to win Best Original Song. The voices behind the show’s fictional girl group HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI, hit the stage to perform their Grammy-winning anthem, “Golden.”

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