The 98th annual Academy Awards, affectionately known as the Oscars, took place on Sunday, March 15th. Hosted by Conan O’Brian, Hollywood’s most famous stars gathered in the Dolby Theater for a night of awards, entertainment and celebration for the arts. There were a total of five nominees per section, excluding Best Picture, which had 10. The night had laughs, truths, wins and a plethora of categories that made the night one to remember.
Well Deserved Wins
One Battle After Another took home the biggest award of the night, Best Picture. The film was highly praised, nominated and awarded, featuring stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyanna Taylor, Chase Infinity and many more. It ended up the most awarded film of the night also taking home Best Supporting Actor, Best Casting, Best Directing, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for his dual performance as both characters Smoke and Stack in Sinners. This is his first-ever nomination and win. Jordan is only the sixth black man to win in this category, following Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith.
“I stand here because of the people who came before me,” Jordan said during his acceptance speech.
Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay for the creation and writing of Sinners. This is Coogler’s first Oscar win after five total nominations for work in Sinners, Black Panther and Judas and the Black Messiah. Coogler is the second black filmmaker to win this award, following Jordan Peele. Sinners also took home two more awards for Best Original Score and Best Cinematography.
KPop Demon Hunters took home two awards after taking the world by storm after its release for both Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature Film. Frankenstein also took home two awards for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Production Design.
Other singular award wins include F1 for best sound, Hamnet for Best Actress and Avatar: Fire and Ash for Best Visual Effects.
Historical Marks
Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history this year as the first woman and woman of color to be awarded an Oscar for the Best Cinematography category. She served as the Director of Photography (DP) for the film Sinners.
“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters won Best Original Song, making it the first ever K-Pop song to win the category.
Best Casting was introduced as a new category this year, and the first ever to take home the award was Cassandra Kulukundis, for One Battle After Another.
There was a tie in the Best Short Film category for the seventh time in Oscar history. This was between Two People Exchanging Saliva and The Singers.
Viral Moments
The exit music is never something you want to hear while giving your speech, and we heard it not once but twice. While winners for KPOP Demon Hunters were accepting their award for Best Original Song, the Oscars cut them short. After Singer EJAE finished speaking, she stepped aside to let her fellow songwriter have his moment, only for the Oscars to turn on the music, and eventually turn off the stage spotlights.
This happened again during the Best Live Action Short Film category as filmmaker Alexandre Singh was delivering his speech for Two People Exchanging Saliva. Since there were two winners in the category, his speech came second and was cut short, with the Oscars going so far as to lower the microphone as he spoke.
After controversy following Timothee Chalamet’s comments about opera and the ballet, many people spared him no apologies when Marty Supreme did not win in any category it was nominated for. Host Conan O’ Brian shared a joke towards the middle of the evening about Chalamet’s earlier comments: “Security is extremely tight tonight, I’m told there’s concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities.”
The original song “I Lied to You” by Miles Canton from Sinners was nominated for an award, and although it did not take home the win, its live performance captivated audiences worldwide. Recreating the film’s iconic barn scene, the number blended musical genres across eras into a visually and sonically striking showcase. Canton was joined onstage by Raphael Saadiq, Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy and others, making the performance one of the night’s most memorable moments.
Many films were nominated for this year’s Oscars, but two stood out among the rest in nominations and awards: Sinners and One Battle After Another. Sinners walked in as the film to beat, but One Battle After Another came out on top. With the Oscars over, award season officially comes to an end until the Tony’s on June 7th.
See the full list of winners at the 98th Academy Awards below.
Best Picture: One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan (Weapons)
Best International Feature Film: Sentimental Value (Norway)
Best Animated Feature Film: KPop Demon Hunters
Best Documentary Feature Film: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Best Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis (One Battle After Another)
Best Film Editing: Andy Jurgensen (One Battle After Another)
Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Sinners)
Best Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau (Frankenstien)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Frankenstein
Best Original Song: KPop Demon Hunters
Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson (Sinners)
Best Sound: F1
Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire & Ash
Best Live-Action Short Film: The Singers & Two People Exchanging Saliva
Best Animated Short Film: The Girl who Cried Pearls
Best Documentary Short Film: All The Empty Rooms
