Paul Thomas Anderson's counter-culture epic One Battle After Another dominated 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.
In his acceptance speech, Anderson dedicated the film to his children, saying: 'I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we left in this world we're handing off to them.' He expressed hope that a younger generation would help restore 'common sense and decency' to society. The win marks Anderson's first Oscars after previous nominations for Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and Phantom Thread.
Michael B Jordan won Best Actor for his role in Sinners, which entered the night with a record 16 nominations and ended with four wins, including Original Screenplay, Original Score, and Cinematography. Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first woman and first Black winner of the Cinematography award. Jordan, the sixth Black winner in his category, thanked 'the people who came before me' and listed past Black Oscar winners.
Jessie Buckley became the first Irish winner of the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Hamnet. She dedicated the award to 'the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart'. Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons, setting a record for the longest gap between nominations before a win, having been first nominated in 1986.
Norway won its first Best International Feature Film Oscar for Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value. The documentary award went to Mr Nobody Against Putin, with co-director David Borenstein stating it is 'about how you lose your country'. KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, with co-director Maggie Kang dedicating the win to Korea.
