Paul Thomas Anderson's counter-culture caper One Battle After Another emerged as the big winner at the Oscars, taking home six awards including Best Picture. The film, inspired by Thomas Pynchon's Vineland, also won Best Director, Supporting Actor for Sean Penn, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, and the inaugural Oscar for Casting. Anderson, previously nominated for films like Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood, secured his first ever Oscar wins. In his acceptance speech, he dedicated the film to his children, apologising for 'the housekeeping mess we left in this world we're handing off to them.'
The season had been a tight race between One Battle After Another and Sinners, which entered the night with a record 16 nominations. The period vampire blockbuster won four awards: Best Actor for Michael B Jordan, Original Screenplay, Original Score, and Cinematography. Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first female and first Black winner of the cinematography award. Jordan, winning his first Oscar, beat Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio, becoming the sixth Black winner in the category.
Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for her role in Chloé Zhao's Hamnet, becoming the first Irish winner in that category. Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for her villainous role in Weapons, setting a record for the longest gap between nominations before a win. Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value won Best International Feature, the first Oscar for Norway in that category. The documentary award went to Mr Nobody Against Putin, while KPop Demon Hunters won two Oscars for Animated Feature and Original Song.
