Who Celebrated Victory at the 98th Academy Awards?

Opening the Curtain

The most anticipated event in Hollywood has returned to honor some of the most beloved films of modern times! On Sunday, March 15, the 98th Academy Awards – also known as the Oscars – occurred, in a ceremony broadcast live on ABC and Hulu. 

This event occurs annually, honoring the best achievements in film in a given year (in this case, 2025). A number of the entertainment industry’s biggest names walked down the red carpet and into the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, to celebrate the highlights of the entertainment industry in a ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

There were a number of films highlighted throughout the event, with the most coveted trophy of the night being Best Picture. A total of ten films were nominated in this category, ranging from crowd-pleasing blockbusters to thought-provoking drama stories. The nominees for this year’s most sought-after award were the following: 

Bugonia

F1

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Train Dreams

With all of these films being recognized, and all of the talent involved in making them, it raised a number of questions. Who would win the most awards? What movies did the members of the Academy enjoy the most? And above all that, who would take home Best Picture? The answers lie within the ceremony itself, as a total of 24 awards were given that night. 

So, let’s recap some of the night’s biggest highlights and discover who walked away as winners. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this recap of Hollywood’s most anticipated night!

Tonight’s Winners

The show began humorously, courtesy of a skit starring comedian Conan O’Brien, in his second time hosting the ceremony. The bit served as a parody of the hit horror film, Weapons, with O’Brien donned in makeup resembling its main antagonist as he is chased by a horde of angry children. 

Their chase took them on a crash course through numerous other films – primarily the Best Picture nominees – including Marty Supreme, F1, Hamnet, and Sinners. There was even an animated sequence centered around K-Pop Demon Hunters, one of 2025’s most successful movies. Eventually, O’Brien and the children chasing him down made it to the Dolby Theatre, where the former then presented an opening monologue. 

Once O’Brien completed his schtick, the presentation of the awards began with Best Supporting Actress. This category saw a fair share of competition leading up to the Oscars, as there were two front runners – Amy Madigan for Weapons and Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another – who had each won other key awards for their performances (Madigan won the Critic’s Choice award, while Taylor won the Golden Globe). The Oscar ultimately went to Madigan, making it her first win of two total nominations. 

This led to a surprising series of events which saw films in the horror genre – which is usually not extensively recognized by the Academy – win several more trophies throughout the night. Namely, gothic tragedy Frankenstein won three awards out of its nine total nominations: Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup & Hairstyling. Though it did lose in the majority of its categories, this actually gave the third most wins of the entire event. 

Other technical awards were given to some of the year’s biggest blockbusters, giving them some type of recognition amid all the competition. For instance, Best Sound went to F1 – a flick about Formula 1 racing – which was also nominated for Best Picture. Meanwhile, Best Visual Effects went to box office juggernaut Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third win in the category for this franchise, even with competition from films like Sinners, F1, and Jurassic World: Rebirth.

Speaking of technical aspects, the award for Best Animated Feature went to K-Pop Demon Hunters, in one of the evening’s most foreseeable outcomes. Not only was the movie a massive success and critically acclaimed, but it had also won the award at the Golden Globes and Critic’s Choice. As such, it made sense for the film to continue its streak of success at arguably the biggest awards ceremony of the lot. 

The film also won Best Original Song for “Golden,” one of the most popular music tracks of 2025 and the first K-Pop song to win the award. Currently sitting at a whopping 1.5 billion streams on Spotify alone, the tune was praised by critics and audiences, and was recognized at multiple other ceremonies – including the Golden Globes and the Grammys. 

It was even performed live at the Dolby Theatre by artists Ejae, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna, in one of only two live music performances of the night, along with another nominated song – “I Lied to You” from Sinners, in an act which recreated a viral scene from the movie.

One of the evening’s most competitive awards was Best International Feature, which recognizes cinematic efforts in foreign countries. The catch with this year’s nominees were that two of them were also nominated for Best Picture: Norway’s Sentimental Value and Brazil’s The Secret Agent. There was a lot of debate as to who would secure the trophy, as both films were critically acclaimed and won in major categories at ceremonies like the Golden Globes. When the category’s envelope was opened, the winner was revealed to be Sentimental Value, in its only win out of a staggering nine nominations. 

Towards the end of the ceremony, the award for Best Actress was announced, in a category which was full of big names like Rose Byrne, Emma Stone, Kate Hudson, and Renate Reinsve. However, the trophy was awarded to Irish performer Jessie Buckley for her role in the period drama film, Hamnet, in her first Oscar win out of two total nominations.

Historical Landmarks

Even with all of these winners, two movies in particular dominated the night: period vampire flick Sinners and action thriller One Battle After Another. In fact, one of these films made history before the ceremony even aired, as Sinners was nominated for a whopping 16 awards total, the most nominations ever for a single film – besting a record held by Titanic, La La Land, and All About Eve, which all had 14 nominations.

The two traded blows throughout the night, earning many of the ceremony’s most significant awards. For instance, One Battle After Another won the award for Best Casting – the first new category in Oscars history since 2002 – starting off its run in a promising way. It was then followed by additional wins for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn, establishing itself as a powerhouse throughout the evening. 

But Sinners was not ready to go down without a fight, beginning its night with a win for Best Original Screenplay, marking the first Oscar win for its writer and director, Ryan Coogler. It then staked two technical awards: one for Best Original Score, securing the third win total for composer Ludwig Göransson, and another for Best Cinematography. The latter marked another historic moment, as Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win in the category. 

Additionally, Sinners found itself in a tight competition for Best Actor. Star Michael B. Jordan was nominated for the category along with Timothée Chalamet for his role in Marty Supreme, who had been the front runner to win the Oscar throughout the majority of awards season. However, in arguably the biggest upset and most viral moment of the evening, Jordan secured the trophy, marking his first ever Academy Award win. 

This did not mean the fight between Sinners and One Battle After Another was over, though. The two films were in a brutal fight throughout the evening, constantly one-upping each other with a number of key wins. It eventually all came down to the two biggest awards of the night: Best Director and Best Picture, in which both movies were nominated. Ultimately, both awards went to One Battle After Another, giving director Paul Thomas Anderson a total of three awards for himself – having also served as the film’s producer and writer – as he shared the Best Picture win with fellow producers Adam Somner and Sara Murphy. 

This secured One Battle After Another as the biggest winner of the ceremony, with a total of six wins. And though Sinners ultimately lost the biggest trophies, it still roamed into the night as the second-biggest winner, with a total of four awards.

Until Next Year

The 98th Academy Awards honored some of 2025’s crowning achievements in movies, across a multitude of genres and styles. Whether it be high-stakes action flicks like One Battle After Another, intense horror tales like Sinners, or technical marvels like Frankenstein and K-Pop Demon Hunters, there was no shortage of variety in what films won this year. 

This event recognizes every aspect of the filmmaking process, whether it be something as seminal as writing, directing, and editing, or as overlooked as production design, sound, and visual effects. But regardless of what award is presented, the Oscars share a goal of bringing filmmakers and storytellers closer together to celebrate the medium’s greatest achievements. 

Though it may be too early to tell who could be nominated or win at next year’s ceremony, the 98th Academy Awards opened a massive window of opportunity and hope for filmmakers, ensuring the film industry can continue to thrive. But until next year, there’s plenty to look back upon and celebrate with this year’s awards, including impactful moments which not only serve as great accomplishments, but also make film history.