The film One Battle After Another emerged as the biggest winner at the 98th Academy Awards, taking home the Oscar for Best Picture along with five additional awards during the ceremony in Hollywood.
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film also earned awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, marking Anderson’s first Academy Award wins in those categories. The movie also won Oscars for film editing and casting, the latter being a newly introduced category at this year’s awards.
While One Battle After Another dominated the top honours, Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, was also a major contender after receiving a record 16 nominations. The film won four Oscars, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, who received a standing ovation for his performance. It was Jordan’s first Academy Award on his first nomination.
The award for Best Actress went to Jessie Buckley for her role in Hamnet, where she portrayed the wife of playwright William Shakespeare. Buckley had already gained momentum during the awards season with several major honours including the Golden Globe and BAFTA.
In supporting categories, Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Weapons, while Sean Penn took home Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, marking the third Oscar of his career.
The ceremony also brought significant recognition for Canadian talent. Toronto director Maggie Kang won Best Animated Feature for KPop Demon Hunters. Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski earned the award for Best Animated Short Film for The Girl Who Cried Pearls.
Several Canadians were also honoured for their work on Guillermo del Toro’s film Frankenstein, which was partly produced in Toronto. Production designers Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau won the Oscar for Production Design, while Canadians Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey shared the award for Makeup and Hairstyling.
Other notable winners included Norway’s Sentimental Value for Best International Feature Film and Mr. Nobody Against Putin for Best Documentary Feature. The Best Original Score award went to composer Ludwig Göransson for Sinners, while Avatar: Fire and Ash captured the Oscar for Visual Effects.
The ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, celebrated a mix of blockbuster productions and independent films, while also highlighting strong international and Canadian contributions to the global film industry.