The 98th Academy Awards took place on 15th March 2026, celebrating a new slate of films, actors, and industry professionals. Ten films were nominated for Best Picture, with the honor going to One Battle After Another. Since nominations are announced in January, contenders have months to build media attention, further amplified by awards season events such as the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
While the ‘Oscar bump’ refers to a surge in attention after a major win, this analysis by Agility PR Solutions’ Media Intelligence Team questions whether awards still drive coverage and points to a broader shift in how visibility is shaped across traditional and social media.
Last year, the Oscar win propelled Anora from a mid-tier nominee to the center of media attention, providing a clear example of the Oscar bump in action. In the months leading up to the Academy Awards, Anora had only ranked in the middle of the pack among nominees, with media coverage reflecting limited interest. By tracking mentions of the film compared to other nominated titles using Agility PR Solutions’ media analysis software, we observed a sharp spike in attention immediately after the ceremony, as media outlets caught up with the film and it became the number-one topic of discussion. This serves as a fascinating example for PR professionals of how awards can suddenly elevate a previously overlooked title, creating new opportunities for storytelling and audience engagement.
This year, we were curious to see whether the Oscar bump effect still holds in 2026. Based on 2025, we expected the winning film to see a significant spike in discussion on the days following the ceremony. Interestingly, however, this year’s data tells a different story.
Before diving into the numbers, let’s review the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress wins this year. One Battle After Another won six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners made history with sixteen nominations, earning wins for Michael B. Jordan’s lead performance and Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s groundbreaking cinematography. Jessie Buckley won Best Actress award for Hamnet.
Below are the traditional media mentions the films received starting from January:
This year’s Best Picture nominees included ten films, but five dominated most of the media discussion: Frankenstein (18.8K mentions), Hamnet (21.3K), Marty Supreme (24.4K), One Battle After Another (31.1K), and Sinners, which took a significant lead with 39.2K mentions. From March 16 to March 18, One Battle After Another nearly caught up to Sinners, but the post-Oscar bump was not enough for it to lead the conversation in traditional media.
Several factors contributed to Sinners’ media popularity. These include its unique genre, a blend of horror, Black history, and fantasy (notably, horror rarely receives Oscar nominations), its record-breaking 16 nominations and four wins, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, and the fact that it was widely predicted to win, which likely amplified media attention. Together, these elements, including standout performances, innovative genre, and strong pre-award anticipation, show how layered storytelling and cultural resonance can drive conversations, sometimes even more than the award itself.
Meanwhile, One Battle After Another received 13 nominations and six wins, including Best Picture, yet Sinners still dominated traditional media coverage in the week following the ceremony.
Hamnet edged past Marty Supreme in coverage by a narrow margin in the week after the ceremony (0.5K mentions). Although the difference is not substantial, the timing following the Best Actress win may have contributed to this shift.
Sinners overwhelmingly dominated coverage from January 1 to March 22, with One Battle After Another as the only film in relative proximity, though still notably behind, and a significant gap separating both from the rest of the nominees, particularly from the beginning of March, when media coverage around the Academy Awards intensified.
A closer look at the week following the Academy Awards shows that One Battle After Another (maroon line) appears to catch up to Sinners for the first time, though this occurs as overall coverage is sharply declining. Meanwhile, Hamnet (dark blue line), despite ranking third, remains at a considerable distance from both the Best Picture and Best Actor winners.
In addition to traditional media, Agility’s Media Intelligence Team turned to social listening in Agility PR Software in the weeks leading up to Oscar night. For this study, social media monitoring included Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Blue Sky. Here’s what we observed across the social media landscape:
On social media, Sinners confidently led the conversation from March 4 to 16, receiving nearly three times as many mentions as the second most discussed film. In contrast, One Battle After Another was among the least discussed films, despite its politically charged plot addressing issues like feminism and racism, topics that typically trend online. In the two days following the ceremony, One Battle After Another saw a modest increase in social mentions, but this remained far below the sustained attention for Sinners. Hamnet, however, recorded the second-highest volume of social mentions after the Best Actress win, climbing two positions and overtaking Frankenstein and F1.
While Sinners (see purple line) dominated social media throughout the analysis period (March 4 to March 22), Hamnet (dark blue line), boosted by its award win, consistently remained ahead of One Battle After Another (maroon line). This reinforces the idea that while the Oscar bump can still influence visibility, its impact is more limited and does not necessarily outweigh broader audience interest or cultural momentum.
This case study shows that the Oscar bump is not guaranteed and can vary year to year. Conventionally, the film receiving the most prestigious award of the night, Best Picture, is expected to generate the highest level of media attention. In 2026, however, this was not the case. Although One Battle After Another won Best Picture, it was consistently overshadowed by Sinners in media coverage, with the gap particularly pronounced on social media. Hamnet, which produced the Best Actress winner, experienced a modest post-Oscar increase in attention, but this was limited compared with the sustained discussion surrounding Sinners. With its Best Actor win, Sinners remained the most discussed film throughout the entire awards season, effectively dominating media conversations.
This shows that both traditional and social media attention isn’t driven by awards or even topic relevance alone, but by a film’s ability to hold interest over time, making timing, narrative, and audience connection key to staying part of the conversation.
The data from Agility PR Solutions makes these trends clear, highlighting how genre, predictions, and cultural resonance can shape public discussion as much as, or even more than, award wins.
Ultimately, tools like Agility provide valuable insights into how audiences engage with films, allowing us to understand not just who wins awards, but which stories capture attention and why.
This research was conducted by Agility PR Solutions’ team of media analysis experts.
About the authors:
Shatavisha Sengupta is a Senior Media Analyst at Agility PR Solutions with nearly two years in her current role. She has over six years of experience in market research, with a strong specialization in media analysis.
Kseniia Hladkikh is a Senior Media Analyst at Agility PR Solutions, specializing in media insights. With over six years of experience across market and UX research and service design, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective grounded in her Master’s degree in Sociology.
