For many, the 2026 Academy Awards will be remembered for the  dominance of One Battle after Another in its much best picture anticipated showdown with Sinners.

For others there will be the disappointment of Australian hopes Rose Byrne and Jacob Elordi missing out on best actress and best supporting actor nods.

But while there were no slaps, incorrect award announcements or major celebrity faux pas, there were plenty of other memorable moments that may have slipped you by.

Conan’s repeat

Perennial talk show host Conan O’Brien fronted his second straight Oscars and did not disappoint with his pointed opening monologue, referencing Timothee Chalamet’s unfortunate insult to ballet and opera last week.

But for many it was his pre-shot, four-minute skit that stole the show, with O’Brien dressed as Aunt Gladys from the movie Weapons, for which Amy Madigan was picked up best supporting actress.

Pursued by a horde of rampaging children, reminiscent of the film, the comedian took viewers through a tour of some of 2025’s biggest films, and even made an animated appearance in a K-Pop Demon Hunters scene.

O’Brien closed the show with a heartfelt message to fellow comedian Martin Short, who lost his daughter in tragic circumstances last month.

“We love you, Martin Short!” he shouted from the Dolby Theatre stage as he signed off the telecast.

Sean Penn no show

Sean Penn is a serial absentee from Academy Awards ceremonies, and speculation was high that the two-time winner would not show up for this year’s show.

Penn didn’t disappoint by winning a third Oscar for best supporting actor and becoming the fourth male actor to win three awards, but did disappoint by not making it to accept the award in person.

He was instead meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky thanked Penn in a post on X.

“Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is. You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war.

“This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.”

Actor Sean Penn met with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: X

The veteran actor previously skipped three of his five Oscar ceremonies as a nominee, luckily managing to turn up and claim his best actor for Milk in 2008 and 2003’s Mystic River.

Presenting the best supporting actor award on Monday, Kieran Culkin quipped: “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening — or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”

In memoriam misses

The Oscars expanded its In Memoriam segment for this year’s ceremony due to the large number of notable deaths in the past year, including Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Rob Reiner.

While Barbra Streisand sang a touching portion of The Way We Were from the 1973 film of the same name that co-starred Redford, and numerous stars appeared on stage to pay tribute to the former colleagues, viewers were quick to point out some notable omissions.

Among the names not recognised during the broadcast were James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Robert Carradine, June Lockhart, Harold and Maude star Bud Cort and Brigitte Bardot.

Others who appeared only on the Academy’s website but not on the broadcast were Cheers star George Wendt, Australia’s Julian McMahon and MASH star Loretta Swit.

The tie

For just the seventh time in its 98-year Oscars history, a category ended with two winners, after The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva both claimed the award for best live-action short film.

Presenter Kumail Nanjiani acknowledged the rarity of the situation as he opened the envelope.

“It’s a tie. I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie. So everyone calm down, and we’re going to get through this,” he said.

Each of the winners was announced individually — Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt for The Singers and Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata for Two People Exchanging Saliva – and the two groups were invited individually to give speeches.

The last Oscars tie was in 2013 when Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall shared the award for sound editing.

Historic 40-year wait

The 75-year-old Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for her role as the previously-mentioned Aunt Gladys in Weapons.

Madigan had a 40-year wait between nominations. Photo: AAP

A veteran character actress with a host of credits including Uncle Buck (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), Gone Baby Gone (2007), and The Hunt (2020) this was her first Oscars nomination since a best supporting actress nod for Twice in a Lifetime .

They represented the longest gap between two nominations for an actress.

In her remarks, Madigan ⁠thanked Weapons director Zach Cregger saying: “He just wrote a dream part and he just let me grab it by the throat.”