The acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren failed to shake off her Oscars curse at Sunday night’s ceremony.
Warren was nominated this year for the 17th time in the Best Original Song category for the song Dear Me, which was performed by Kesha in the documentary about the songwriter’s career, Diane Warren: Relentless.
But Warren once again went home empty-handed after the award went to the songwriting team behind the KPop Demon Hunters hit Golden.
Warren holds the distinction of being the nominee with the most nominations who has never won, but the record once belonged to sound mixer Greg P. Russell.
Like Warren, Russell had been nominated 17 times, but his final nomination — for 2016’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi — was later rescinded after he allegedly called up Academy voters during the nomination period, giving him only 16 official nominations.
Ahead of the ceremony, a deflated Warren told ABCNews: ‘You know, I still haven’t won the competitive one. And I’m a competitive person. It’s amazing to have the honorary Oscar – that’s harder to get than the competitive. I don’t take that for granted. But, yeah, I still want to win.
‘My honorary Oscar gets really lonely. He wants a friend. He hangs out with Rabbit, my cat, but he prefers to have an Oscar buddy.
‘I know I’m the underdog, for sure – or undercat. Can I be an undercat? I’m a cat person. They’re fast and they’ve got claws.’
Last week, Warren shared her disappointment that her nominated song wouldn’t be performed at the 2026 Oscars.
The acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren failed to shake off her Oscars curse at Sunday night’s ceremony. She holds the record for most Oscar nominations without a win after losing her 17th Oscar
Warren lost to the KPop Demon Hunters tune Golden; winners (L–R) Yuhan, EJAE, ZHUN, Mark Sonnenblick, NHD and 24 accept their award
‘It would have been nice had [Kesha] been able to perform the song,’ Warren told USA Today at a Women in Film Oscar nominees event on Friday. ‘And that would have been an amazing moment. I’m not in control of that, but it would have been amazing.’
She was referring to the Academy’s controversial decision to have only two of the nominated songs performed at the ceremony this year.
The KPop Demon Hunters song that eventually won was one of the lucky beneficiaries, along with I Lied To You from Sinners.
Although Warren’s record-maintaining losing streak continued this year, she technically has an Oscar, as she was presented with an honorary Academy Award in 2022.
While she continued her losing streak, another perennial also-ran ended up having one of the biggest Oscar triumphs of the year.
Despite having written and directed modern classics including There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, The Master, Punch-Drunk Love, Licorice Pizza and Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson had never won despite 11 previous nominations.
But this year marked a remarkable reversal of fortune, as Anderson won for all three awards he was nominated for — Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay — for his acclaimed thriller One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another ended the 2026 awards season by winning Best Picture on a night where Michael B Jordan and Jessie Buckley earned top acting prizes.
Warren holds the distinction of being the nominee with the most nominations who has never won, but the record once belonged to sound mixer Greg P. Russell. However, his 17th nomination was later rescinded by the Academy
Warren previously shared her frustration that the Academy changed course by only allowing performances for two of the nominated songs this year
While she continued her losing streak, another perennial also-ran, Paul Thomas Anderson, had a remarkable turn around when he won Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay for One Battle After Another
Jordan, 39, shocked the world at the 98th Academy Awards as he upset Timothee Chalamet to win Best Actor for Sinners as Buckley, 36, took home Best Actress for her work in Hamnet at the event held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the top prize of the night alongside Teyana Taylor and the rest of the cast and crew as the film earned the most wins of the night with six.
The American black comedy action-thriller triumphed over a massive competitive field that included Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
The Leonardo DiCaprio–led film One Battle After Another is centered around a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own as their enemy resurfaces after 16 years.
The most talked about moment of the night will surely be that Jordan, 39, earned the top honor Best Actor for his leading role in Ryan Coogler film Sinners.
He upset the seeming awards-season favorite, 30-year-old Marty Supreme star Chalamet, while the rest of the field included: Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
Jordan was in disbelief as he walked up to the stage and was greeted by last year’s winner, Adrien Brody.
Sinners is centered around two brothers who return to their hometown to start over again, only to discover that an even greater evil — in the form of vampires — is waiting to welcome them back.
One Battle After Another ended the 2026 Oscars by winning Best Picture as director Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the honor beside Teyana Taylor as the honor was presented by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (seen left to right)
Michael B Jordan shocked the world as he upset Timothee Chalamet to win Best Actor at the Oscars
Jessie Buckley continued her winning ways as she earned Best Actress for her role in Hamnet
Jordan portrayed both brothers in the film: older and more serious twin Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore, in addition to younger and more cheerful sibling Elias ‘Stack’ Moore.
Jessie Buckley continued her winning ways as she earned Best Actress for her role in Hamnet.
The 36-year-old Irish actress beat out Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Hamnet takes place after Agnes and William Shakespeare (Buckley and Paul Mescal) lose their son Hamnet to the plague and grapple with grief in 16th-century England, based on the novel of the same name.
Agnes is a healer who must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss.
One Battle After Another was the biggest winner of the evening as Paul Thomas Anderson earned both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Meanwhile, Sean Penn was not in attendance as he earned his third Oscar.
The 65-year-old A-lister’s name was announced by Kieran Culkin for the Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in One Battle After Another but he was not in the building to accept.
Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the top prize of the night as the film earned the most wins of the night with six
The American black comedy action-thriller film triumphed over a massive, competitive, field including: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams
One Battle After Another is centered around a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own as their enemy resurfaces after 16 years
The most talked about moment of the night will surely be that Michael B Jordan, 39, earned the top honor Best Actor for his leading role in Ryan Coogler film Sinners
Timothee Chalamet saw his years-long Oscars dream go up in smoke on Sunday as he was brutally snubbed
Jordan was in disbelief as he walked up to the stage and was greeted by last year’s winner Adrien Brody
Sinners is centered around two brothers who return to their hometown to start again only to discover that an even greater evil – in the form of vampires – is waiting to welcome them back
Jordan portrayed both brothers in the film: younger and more cheerful sibling Elias ‘Stack’ Moore (left) in addition to older and more serious twin Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore (right)
Jessie Buckley continued her winning ways as she earned Best Actress for her role in Hamnet
The Chloé Zhao-directed and written film takes place after Agnes and William Shakespeare (Buckley and Paul Mescal) lose their son Hamnet to the plague and grapple with grief in 16th-century England. Agnes is a healer who must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss
He triumphed over his One Battle After Another co-star Benicio Del Toro in addition to Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein, Delroy Lindo – Sinners, and Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value in the highly-competitive category.
The sharp-tongued Culkin joked: ‘Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.’
Amy Madigan took home the first award at the Oscars 2026 on Sunday night.
The 75-year-old veteran actress earned Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Creggar’s supernatural mystery horror film Weapons.
It was one of the most contentious categories of the night as she was up against Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
Ryan Coogler finally earned his first win in the Best Original Screenplay category for his epic Sinners.
One of the most touching wins of the night came when Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography for Sinners.
The second award of the night was groundbreaking as KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Animated Feature Film.
One Battle After Another was the biggest winner of the evening as Paul Thomas Anderson earned both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay
Sean Penn was not in attendance as he earned his third Oscar
The 65-year-old A-lister’s name was announced by Kieran Culkin for the Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in One Battle After Another but he was not in the building (Penn is pictured with co-star and fellow nominee Benicio del Toro in Santa Barbara last month)
In the Paul Thomas Anderson directed film, Penn portrays Col. Steven J. Lockjaw who is a corrupt military officer who pursues revolutionary group the French 75
Amy Madigan took home the first award at the Oscars 2026 on Sunday night
The 75-year-old veteran actress earned Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Creggar supernatural mystery horror film Weapons
The synopsis of the film reads: ‘When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance’
Ryan Coogler finally earned his first in the Best Original Screenplay category for his epic Sinners
KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Animated Feature Film (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong are seen left to right) and Best Original Song for Golden
The film is centered around a world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters
The Netflix film triumphed over Arco, Elio, Little Amelie or the Character of Rain and Zootopia 2.
Later on in the night, the film made history once again as KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Original Song for the smash hit song Golden.
It beat out Dear Me (Diane Warren: Relentless), I Lied to You (Sinners), Sweet Dreams of Joy (Viva Verdi!), and Train Dreams (Train Dreams).
The Netflix film is centered around the members of a world-renowned KPop girl group who balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.
