While Ryan Coogler's vampire thriller Sinners walked in with a record-shattering 16 nominations, it was Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling political satire 'One Battle After Another' that ultimately conquered the night, taking home a massive six gold statuettes!
Here is the complete breakdown of the biggest winners, the historic milestones, and the spicy Timothée Chalamet controversy that had everyone talking!
The Big Winners: A Cinematic Masterclass 🏆
Best Picture: 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 Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
Historic Milestones & Major Upsets 🌟
A Win Decades in the Making: After a legendary career spanning three decades, visionary filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson finally secured his very first Oscar for Best Director.
Shattering the Glass Ceiling: In an incredibly proud moment for the industry, Autumn Durald Arkapaw made Oscar history by becoming the first-ever woman (and woman of colour) to win the award for Best Cinematography for her stunning work on Sinners.
The Rare Tie: For only the seventh time in Academy history, there was a dead heat! The Best Live Action Short category saw a genuine tie between the surrealist thriller Two People Exchanging Saliva and the bar-room drama The Singers.
The Timothée Chalamet Drama ☕
If there is one thing we love more than the fashion, it is the subtle award-season shade!
The Best Actor race was an incredibly tight battle between Michael B. Jordan and Timothée Chalamet (who was nominated for Marty Supreme).
However, Chalamet faced a massive wave of industry backlash recently after making disparaging comments about ballet and opera. Host Conan O'Brien didn't miss a beat, hilariously joking about heightened security to protect Chalamet from angry opera and ballet fans, quipping, "They're just mad you left out jazz." Ultimately, the incredibly popular Michael B. Jordan walked away with the Best Actor trophy!
SantaBanta Verdict:
What an absolutely phenomenal year for global cinema! Seeing Paul Thomas Anderson finally get his long-overdue coronation as Best Director is immensely satisfying for hardcore cinephiles. Plus, with Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley securing top acting honours, the Academy definitely rewarded raw, powerhouse performances over standard Hollywood campaigning this year!
