The 2026 Academy Award winners have finally been announced after a year of cinematic excellence. Among the winning films was Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which received awards across three craft categories. Costume designer Kate Hawley; makeup and hair designers Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey; and production designer Tamara Deverell and set decorator Shane Vieau were all recognized for their contributions to the gothic adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel. Best Supporting Actor nominee Jacob Elordi (the Creature) cheered from the front row as they accepted their awards. Deverell took a moment in her speech to speak directly to del Toro: “Thank you for your humanity and your artistry. You are truly a master storyteller. It was an honor for us to help steer your fantastic operatic ship.”
Kate Hawley accepting the Costume Design award for "Frankenstein"
Jordan Samuel, Mike Hill, and Cliona Furey accept the Makeup and Hairstyling award for "Frankenstein"
Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau backstage after accepting the Production Design Award for “Frankenstein”
For KPop Demon Hunters, which will be getting a sequel, the night capped off an awards season that can only be described as golden. The film won for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, making “Golden” the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. The singing voices of the girl group at the center of the film — EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami as HUNTR/X — performed the chart-topping hit as the sea of nominees and guests in the live audience waved light sticks to the beat of the song. “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics,” said singer and songwriter EJAE. “I’m so proud. I realized that the song and this award [are] not about success, [they’re] about resilience.”
Maggie Kang, who co-directed KPop Demon Hunters with Chris Appelhans, also spoke about progress in Korean representation in film and animation. “For those of you who look like me, I am so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” she said as she accepted her Oscar. “But it is here, and that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea, and for Koreans everywhere.” Appelhans echoed Kang’s sentiment, saying: “Music and stories have this power to connect us as humans across cultures and borders. So I just want to take a moment to say to all the young filmmakers, artists, musicians in all corners of the globe: Tell your story, sing in your voice. I promise you, the world is waiting.”
Rei Ami, EJAE, and Audrey Nuna perform “Golden” onstage during the 98th Oscars, which took home the award for Best Original Song
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong, winners of the Best Animated Feature Film Award for “KPop Demon Hunters”
In the Best Documentary Short Film category, All the Empty Rooms was honored for its poignant lens on school shootings, bringing viewers into the rooms left behind by children whose lives were taken by gun violence. Director Joshua Seftel and producer Conall Jones accepted the Oscar and brought with them to the stage veteran journalist Steve Hartman and Gloria Cazales, whose daughter Jackie was killed at age 9 in the 2022 mass shooting at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. “Jackie is more than just a headline,” said Cazales. “She is our light and our life. Gun violence is now the No. 1 cause of death in kids and teens [in the United States]. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms, we’d be a different America.”
Gloria Cazares, Joshua Seftel, Steve Hartman, and Conall Jones accept the Documentary Short Film award for "All the Empty Rooms"
David Breschel, Mike Yung, Sam Davis, and Jack Piatt accept the award for Best Live-Action Short for “The Singers”
Sam Davis’s The Singers tied for the win for Best Live Action Short Film with Two People Exchanging Saliva. “The Singers is a simple story about the power of music and art to bring us together in a moment when we live in an increasingly isolated world,” said Davis as he thanked those in his journey to his win, including Mike Yung, a New York City subway busker who joined him onstage. “May we keep looking for beauty in unexpected places, and may we all be brave enough to keep on singing.”
