Oscars 2026: "The Last Horizon" Wins Best Picture in Surprise Sweep

"The Last Horizon," a sweeping epic about climate refugees in the year 2050, won six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. The film's director, Ava DuVernay, became the first Black woman to win the Best Director Oscar.

The ceremony, hosted by Dwayne Johnson, was watched by an estimated 40 million viewers worldwide, the highest Oscar ratings in a decade. DuVernay's emotional acceptance speech, in which she dedicated the award to "every person displaced by climate change," was widely praised.

Cate Blanchett won her third Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a climate scientist in "The Last Horizon," while Denzel Washington won Best Actor for his role in "The Reckoning," a legal drama about corporate accountability.

The evening was not without controversy. Several nominees boycotted the ceremony to protest the Academy's ongoing lack of diversity in technical categories. The Academy president acknowledged the criticism and pledged further reforms.

Other notable winners included the animated film "Lumina" for Best Animated Feature, the South Korean thriller "Midnight in Seoul" for Best International Film, and Hans Zimmer for Best Original Score.