One Battle After Another has swept with Oscars, winning six awards, including best picture, as Michael B Jordan and Jessie Buckley picked up best actors.
The ceremony on Sunday, which saw Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw make Oscar history as the first female director of photography to win the award, was a triumph for One Battle After Another director Paul Thomas Anderson, one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers who had never won an Oscar.
On top of best film, One Battle After Another, picked up best director and best adapted screenplay for Anderson, the Oscars’ first trophy for best casting and best supporting actor for an absent Sean Penn.
“I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world – we’re handing off to them,” said Anderson while accepting the screenplay trophy. “But also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.”
The black comedy action thriller, headed by Leonardo DiCaprio, was the favourite to be the big winner of the night, with DiCaprio himself losing out on best actor in favour of Jordan.
Ryan Coogler’s Jim Crow-set, blues-soaked vampire tale Sinners, which came in with a record 16 nominations, was the other big winner of the night.
Accepting his prize for playing a dual role as twins in Sinners paid tribute to past black Oscar winners as he collected his trophy.
Arkapaw was also the first Black person to win for best cinematography. Only the fourth female cinematographer ever nominated.
“I really want all the women in room to stand up,” said Arkapaw. “Because I don’t feel like I get here without you guys.”
Buckley won best actress for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, making her the first Irish performer to ever win in the category, with her victory one of the only triumphs that felt like a guarantee in a night of close-calls.
She added: “It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today, so I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.”
“We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds – thank you for recognising me in this role,” she added.
As expected, the Netflix sensation KPop Demon Hunters, 2025’s most-watched film, won best animated feature, as well as best song for Golden.
KPop Demon Hunters became a cultural phenomenon and the streaming platform’s biggest hit. It has more than 325 million views and counting, with a sequel recently announced.
“This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere,” said co-director Maggie Kang.
Another Netflix release, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein picked up three awards, for costume design, makeup and hairstyling and for production design.
Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for her performance in the horror thriller Weapons, a win that came 40 years after the 75-year-old actor was first nominated, in 1986, for Twice in a Lifetime. Letting out a giant laugh as she hit the stage, Madigan exclaimed, “This is great!”
There was a dramatic moment when there was a tie in the live action short category, which was won by both Two People Exchanging Saliva and The Singers.
After the winners left the stage, host Conan O’Brien congratulated them and said: “You just ruined 22 million Oscar pools.”
It is the first time since 2013 there have been tied winners, when Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty shared the sound editing award.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin, a film about a Russian primary schoolteacher who documents his students’ indoctrination to support Russia’s war with Ukraine, won best documentary, while Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value won best international film.
The ceremony was hosted for the second year in a row by comedian O’Brien, who opened the ceremony with an extended sketch dressed as Aunt Gladys, getting chased by children through scenes from the films nominated for best picture.
O’Brien also acknowledged that these are “chaotic, frightening times”, adding: “It’s at moments like these that I believe the Oscars are particularly resonant.”
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