The dichotomy of Kevin O’Leary and Jafar Panahi on the red carpet, the Dolby Theatre being overtaken by K-pop lightsticks, and a huge step forward for the horror genre, the 98th Oscars spotlighted a night of empowering diverse voices. From Conan O’Brien’s Aunt Gladys transformation to the closing scene reenacting the fate of Sean Penn’s character in One Battle After Another, the 98th Oscars were a night to remember. If you missed the broadcast, here’s the roundup for the Best Picture nominees and the awards they brought in.
One Battle After Another
The Best Picture winner of the night, One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, highlighted a career-high. Having made 9 feature length films before One Battle After Another, with his debut feature in 1996, this monumental win demonstrated the culmination of nearly three decades of storytelling. With a total of 13 nominations, the film won for Best Picture, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn), Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Editing (Andy Jurgensen), and the newest category for Best Casting (Cassandra Kulukundis).
A former revolutionary and his daughter go on the run, navigating a fractured world filled with lingering political violence and personal reckoning.
Sinners
With a total of 16 nominations to its name, the most nominations in Oscars history, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners was in big talks tonight. Having won the Academy Award for Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw), and Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), this night of victory for Sinners marked a new place for the horror genre in the Oscars, as well as a new milestone for Black artists, with Arkapaw being the first Filipino/Black woman to ever receive the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Twin brothers open a music venue in the American South, only to encounter a dark supernatural force threatening their community.
Frankenstein
Directed by acclaimed auteur Guillermo del Toro, this year is his third nomination for Best Picture, with a previous win for The Shape of Water back at the 90th Oscars. Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, redefining the dynamics between Victor Frankenstein and his monster. Frankenstein walked home with three wins out of 9 nominations for Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey), Best Costume Design (Kate Hawley), Best Production Design (Tamara Deverel and Shane Vieau).
A scientist creates life through unnatural means, only to face the emotional and moral consequences of his creation.
Hamnet
Receiving 6 nominations that night, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet gave a new lens on Shakespeare’s story of Hamlet. With Zhao’s Best Picture win at the 93rd Oscars for her film Nomadland, she was the second woman ever to win Best Picture. Zhao returns five years later with a picture delivered straight from the heart. With a Best Actress (Jessie Buckley) win, Hamnet focuses not on Shakespeare himself, but the invisible forces that trail behind him through his journey of creating his tragedy, affecting the people he holds closest.
A family in England is transformed by the death of their young son, reshaping love, grief, and creative expression.
Sentimental Value
All the way from Norway, director Joachim Trier’s devastating family drama Sentimental Value, with its historic 9 nominations, marks his second time at the Oscars and the first win for the country of Norway in the category for Best International Feature. With nominations for each one of its primary actors (Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Stellan Skårsgård), the introspective piece on family serves as a stepping stone for Norwegian filmmaking for years to come.
An estranged father attempts to reconnect with his daughters by involving them in a deeply personal film project.
Weapons
The only film of two on this list to not be nominated for Best Picture, Weapons, directed by Zach Cregger, is a breakthrough for horror within the Academy, notorious for overlooking the horror genre. Weapons defied the odds and won big. Nominated for a single category, the film took home Best Supporting Actress through the performance of Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys. Madigan’s win, along with the support from the horror films Sinners and Bugonia nominated tonight has shifted previous thoughts on how the Academy views horror films for the future.
When all but one child from the same classroom mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
F1
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, F1 pushes everything that makes Formula 1 into a film. With exhilarating racing sequences mixed with tension between racing partners, F1 came home with a win for Best Sound out of 4 total nominations. Being one of the highest-grossing sports movies to date, F1 captures the adrenaline and unique perspective of Formula 1 racers with a level of immersion no other film has matched.
A retired Formula One driver returns to the sport to mentor a young racer and help revive a struggling team.
Marty Supreme
Possibly the most notable contender to go home empty-handed that night, Marty Supreme, directed by Benny Safdie, displays the unnerving yet exhilarating life of Marty Mauser in his pursuit of achieving greatness. With multiple jabs at Timothée Chalamet throughout the night regarding his controversial takes on ballet and opera, Marty Supreme was nominated a total of 9 times.
A talented ping-pong player rises through the competitive world of table tennis, driven by ambition and personal struggle.
Train Dreams
Directed by Clint Bentley, Train Dreams navigates a life torn by the inevitability of progress and delves into the aftermath of loss and what comes after it. Nominated for 4 categories, although it won none, Bentley’s presence within the Academy still holds strong with his nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for last year’s Sing Sing, often regarded as a snub, which may encourage future recognition from the Academy as he continues to grow.
A solitary laborer moves through life shaped by loss, nature, and the slow transformation of the American frontier.
The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, was one of two international films nominated for Best Picture this year. Hailing from Brazil, The Secret Agent is a love letter to Brazilian filmmaking, intertwining Brazilian history with modern reflections on memory and identity. With 4 nominations, The Secret Agent unfortunately left with none, though the nomination of The Secret Agent has catapulted Brazilian filmmaking into the spotlight as the country’s second nomination, alongside it’s first nomination with I’m Still Here at the 97th Oscars the previous year. The nominations for The Secret Agent are a stepping stone for more Brazilian cinema to come.
A man becomes entangled in a dangerous web of espionage, where loyalty and identity are constantly tested.
Bugonia
From the renowned Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, having made his splash at previous Oscar ceremonies with countless wins for his films The Favourite and Poor Things, returns to the Oscars with Bugonia, alongside his two muses, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, who he’s worked with religiously over the past few years. Bugonia is a remake of the Korean film Save the Green Planet!, directed by Jang Joon-hwan. As a sci-fi thriller with horror elements, Bugonia contributes to the massive wave of horror projects in this year’s Best Picture lineup. With 4 nominations, the film sadly lost all four.
Two conspiracy-obsessed men kidnap a powerful CEO, believing she is an alien, as their delusion spirals into increasingly bizarre confrontation.
KPop Demon Hunters
From director duo Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, Kpop Demon Hunters was not nominated for Best Picture, but won both their nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. KPop Demon Hunters became a global sensation from the film’s hit song “Golden,” bringing in a younger audience to jam along with the three main characters, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey.
A group of rising idols secretly hunts demons threatening their city. Between fierce battles and high-energy performances, they must balance friendship, fame, and survival.
