Did the Oscars Get It Right? Every Winner at the 98th Academy Awards

The 98th Academy Awards have come and gone, and with them, the blessed end of another awards season that somehow manages to feel both eternal and inescapable. After months of campaigning, prognosticating and enough FYC ads to wallpaper the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood finally has its answers, and the rest of us can finally exhale. 

For those keeping score, One Battle After Another dominated the night with six wins, including Best Picture, followed by Sinners with four, including Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor and Ryan Coogler for Best Original Screenplay. Following them, Frankenstein took home three Oscars and KPop Demon Hunters went home with two, including Best Original Song for the megahit “Golden.” Weapons, F1, Hamnet and Sentimental Value followed them with each winning one. 

Amy Madigan started things off, taking home Best Supporting Actress for Weapons, a major win for the horror genre, which has historically been overlooked by the Academy. In the Supporting Actor category, Sean Penn took home the prize for One Battle After Another, winning his third Oscar. Only seven actors have won three, and only one has won four: Katharine Hepburn.

In the leading categories, Jessie Buckley was the expected Best Actress winner for Hamnet, and she lived up to those expectations. Her performance has been nearly universally praised by critics and will likely be remembered as one of the best in cinema history. Best Actor is where things got interesting. Michael B. Jordan was named the winner for Sinners, capping off one of the most captivating Oscar races in years. Not long ago, Timothée Chalamet was sweeping the major precursors for Marty Supreme. Things shifted fast, with Jordan pulling ahead in recent weeks. His win marks only the sixth time a Black man has taken home the category.

For Best Director, there were no surprises: Paul Thomas Anderson won for One Battle After Another. After 14 career nominations, he’s waited a long time for this night.

In the Best Picture race, many, myself included, had hoped Sinners would prevail. With 16 nominations, the most in Oscar history for any single film, it felt like the Academy was ready to make a statement. But it wasn’t to be. One Battle After Another dominated the night and ultimately took home the top prize.

Conan O’Brien wasted no time making himself at home at the start of the broadcast on ABC. The show opened with a video package of him in full Aunt Gladys drag, running from children through nearly every Best Picture nominee, which was exactly as unhinged as it sounds and exactly right for the moment. When he finally hit the stage, he came loaded: ribbing Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments about ballet and opera while the camera cut straight to Chalamet in the audience (laughing); poking fun at Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for actually sitting in a theater, making light of Netflix’s short theatrical releases; and warning the crowd about potentially political speeches, saying there was an alternative Oscars, poking fun at the conservative halftime show that sprung up as counter-programming after Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show. He also did not spare President Donald Trump either, which at this point feels like an obvious albeit easy target. It was a monologue that knew the room and, more importantly, knew the moment.

The night wasn’t without its surprises. The Live Action Short category ended in a tie between The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva, only the seventh time that’s happened in Academy Awards history. Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s win for Best Cinematography for Sinners made history as the first time a woman has taken home that award. And “Golden,” from KPop Demon Hunters, became the first K-pop song ever to win Best Original Song.

This year’s In Memoriam hit differently. Billy Crystal opened with a tribute to frequent collaborator Rob Reiner, and Rachel McAdams honored Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton. The segment closed with Barbra Streisand delivering a tribute to Robert Redford, her co-star in the classic The Way We Were. It was a lot to sit with. (How have we lost so many icons?)

All in all the night was your typical Oscars broadcast: mostly typical, with expected winners, way too long and filled with plenty of emotional (and awkward) moments. (What was that last One Battle After Another inspired sketch O’Brien did?) Oh well, it wouldn’t be the Academy Awards if it weren’t weird, right?

Full List of Winners

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: Sinners 
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: One Battle After Another 
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: KPop Demon Hunters 
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM: Sentimental Value
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM: Mr. Nobody Against Putin 
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: The Girl Who Cried Pearls
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM: All the Empty Rooms
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: The Singers & Two People Exchanging Saliva [TIE]
BEST CASTING: One Battle After Another
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sinners 
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Frankenstein 
BEST FILM EDITING: One Battle After Another
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: Frankenstein 
BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE): Sinners 
BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG): “Golden” KPop Demon Hunters 
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Frankenstein 
BEST SOUND: F1 
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Avatar: Fire and Ash