Hollywood's Biggest Night Of the Year | 98th Academy Awards Recap

(Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Oscars Sunday is a day film fans and all of Hollywood alike look forward to every year. 2025 was a fantastic year for film so I was eagerly looking forward to this night of celebration and hoping that Sinners took home as many awards as possible. Before we get into the winners, let's break down some of the notable nominations and story lines coming into the night.

Sinners broke the record for most nominations with 16, surpassing the record of 14 which was tied between All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. The film's studio, Warner Brothers, also had 30 nominations this year which ended up tying its own record previously set in 2005. Warner Brothers' films earned 11 total Oscars Sunday night which ties the record for most by a studio in a single year.

Next, Timothee Chalamet became the youngest actor since Marlon Brando to be nominated for 3 acting awards and he also became the youngest person to be nominated for acting and producing in the same year. Chalamet is an incredible talent and I am really looking forward to where his career continues to go.

Wagner Moura became the first Brazilian nominated for best lead actor and Stellan Skarsgard became the first person nominated for best actor in a supporting role for a non-English language film. A couple of other cool tidbits include Amy Madigan setting the record for longest gap between nominations for an actress and Ruth E. Carter became the most nominated African-American woman in any category.

Now for the winners and breakdowns:

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Others nominated: BUGONIA, F1, FRANKENSTEIN, HAMNET, MARTY SUPREME, THE SECRET AGENT, SENTIMENTAL VALUE, SINNERS, TRAIN DREAMS

One Battle After Another walks away with not only the biggest award of the night, but also the most awards with 6. This film was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Benecio Del Torro, and Teyana Taylor. This was not too much of a surprise. Almost all of the critics loved it and the vast majority of the audience did too. For me personally, it was actually the worst movie I saw last year. That is the beauty of film. Everyone sees it different. Its art. But I am not being dramatic when I say I would rather watch the Minecraft Movie fifteen times before I watch this film again... and I hated the Minecraft Movie.

If I was in charge, I would give best picture to Sinners. In my opinion, that was the best film of 2025. It was an incredible character drama set in Mississippi in the 1920's with a compelling story and characters and THEN they add vampires. You care about the characters and then when the horror shows up, you feel the horror along with the characters. Not to mention the incredible performances. If I had a second choice, I would say Marty Supreme. Marty Supreme had this chaotic energy that permeated every second of this film but it never felt tiring. The characters were interesting and their decisions propelled the story forward. One Battle After Another had none of the above. I just don't see what everyone else sees in that film but I am happy that a film that so many people loved got recognition.

Actor in a Leading Role: Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)

Others nominated: TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET (Marty Supreme), LEONARDO DICAPRIO (One Battle after Another), ETHAN HAWKE (Blue Moon), WAGNER MOURA (The Secret Agent)

This is a list of incredibly talented actors but I think Michael B. Jordan was the correct choice. He had the tough task of playing identical twins. It could have been easy to just kind of play them as the same person but he didn't do that. He adds so many small details to each character that you can tell who is who by how they speak and cary themselves. It was a truly masterful performance earning him his first win on his first nomination. If I had to say who I would have chosen to be second, I would say Chalamet in Marty Supreme.

Actress in a Leading Role: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

Others nominated: ROSE BYRNE (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You), KATE HUDSON (Song Sung Blue), RENATE REINSVE (Sentimental Value), EMMA STONE (Bugonia)

One again, a list of incredibly talented actresses. This is a rare acting category where I actually haven't seen any of the films and performances on this list. From what I have seen though, it appears Jessie Buckley gave a strong and emotional performance. I am looking forward to catching up on these films.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)

Others nominated: BENICIO DEL TORO (One Battle after Another), JACOB ELORDI (Frankenstein), DELROY LINDO (Sinners), STELLAN SKARSGÅRD (Sentimental Value)

This is one that kind of leaves me scratching my head. Once again, a lot of people loved Sean Penn's performance here but to me, it was one of the strangest, most bizarre, and worst performances I've ever seen. To me, this performance felt more at home at the Razzies instead of the Oscars. I would probably give this to Jacob Elordi. He gave a humanizing and emotional performance as Frankenstein's monster. Its the best performance I have seen from him so far. I wouldn't have complained if Delroy Lindo won this as well.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Amy Madigan (Weapons)

Others nominated: ELLE FANNING (Sentimental Value), INGA IBSDOTTER LILLEAAS (Sentimental Value), WUNMI MOSAKU (Sinners), TEYANA TAYLOR (One Battle after Another)

This is the first acting performance in a straightforward horror film to get a nomination since Rosemary's Baby in 1968 even though other performances warranted a nomination. This was absolutely the right choice. Amy gave such a commanding and haunting performance that stands above most other performances this year.

Animated Feature Film: KPOP Demon Hunters

Others nominated: ARCO, ELIO, LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN, ZOOTOPIA 2

YES. Absolutely yes. Honestly, KPOP Demon Hunters probably should have been nominated for best picture as well. This was such an incredible film. The story was unique and interesting. It has a great message for kids. The animation is absolutely beautiful and the characters are a lot of fun. And somehow, all of the songs are absolute bangers. I listen to the album every week. I never get tired of it.

Casting: One Battle After Another (Cassandra Kulukundis)

Others nominated: HAMNET, MARTY SUPREME, THE SECRET AGENT, SINNERS

This is the first ever award at the Oscars for casting. This is long overdue because casting directors have an incredibly important job. They really help shape the film and I am glad this is a new category. I can't wait for the next new category, Stunts. I will say, this film had a good cast but I have to give the edge to Sinners and also Marty Supreme.

Cinematography: Sinners (Autumn Durald Arkapaw)

Others nominated: FRANKENSTEIN, MARTY SUPREME, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, TRAIN DREAMS

Sinners is a beautiful film to just look at. The use of camera movements, color, wide shots, close ups, and everything in between had meaning. You can tell a lot of time and effort went into the planning of this cinematography. I think this is another one that the Academy got right.

Costume Design: Frankenstein (Kate Hawley)

Others nominated: AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, HAMNET, MARTY SUPREME, SINNERS

While ALL of these films could have won and I would be happy, I think Frankenstein was the right choice. There is a ton of detail to all of these costumes and I think the most impressive thing is you can tell each character by their silhouette. Frankenstein was such a stylized film that definitely deserves this Oscar.

Directing: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

Others nominated: Chloé Zhao (HAMNET), Josh Safdie (MARTY SUPREME), Joachim Trier (SENTIMENTAL VALUE), Ryan Coogler (SINNERS)

I think at this point, you should know that I do disagree with this one. I don't think this was particularly well directed. This is one I would give to Ryan Coogler with Sinners. What he was able to with Sinners was incredibly impressive. His vision and fingerprints were all over that film.

Film Editing: One Battle After Another (Andy Jurgenson)

Others nominated: F1 (Stephen Mirrione), MARTY SUPREME (Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie), SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Olivier Bugge Coutté), SINNERS (Michael P. Shawver)

I hate to sound like a broken record but I disagree with the Academy on this award for One Battle After Another. I felt like the film didn't flow well and you could have honestly cut about 20 minutes out of it. This is one I might would have given to Marty Supreme. That film was on the longer side but it didn't feel like it. That's a sign of a good edit. Marty Supreme flowed beautifully and the editing even had me on the edge of my seat at some points. The edit never let the chaos of the story and characters creep in and make a mess.

Makeup and Hair Styling: Frankenstein (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey)

Others nominated: KOKUHO (Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu), SINNERS (Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry), THE SMASHING MACHINE (Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein), THE UGLY STEPSISTER (Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg)

This is an obvious one for me. Frankenstein absolutely deserved it. All you need is to look at the makeup done for Frankenstein's monster. At times, it had full body makeup with a lot of incredible detail and it created a new and unique look for a monster that we have seen over and over again in film and television.

Original Score: Sinners (Ludwig Goransson)

Others nominated: BUGONIA (Jerskin Fendrix), FRANKENSTEIN (Alexandre Desplat), HAMNET (Max Richter), ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Jonny Greenwood)

This is Goransson's third win in the last eight Oscars. He has cemented himself as one of the best and most talented modern film composers. He won previously for Black Panther and Oppenheimer. He absolutely deserved this win. He flawlessly integrated the blues into his score that perfectly added to the film. This is a film score that I have listened to over and over again. He shared a sweet story of his love of blues music. Even though Goransson grew up in Sweden, he grew up listening to blues music. Goransson said "My dad bought his first blues album in Sweden in 1964. It was a John Lee Hooker album, and even though it was on the other side of the world from a place he’d never been and could not relate to, the music was so powerful that it changed my dad’s life, and he devoted his whole life to music. And when I was about seven-years-old, a little boy, he put a guitar in my arms. I loved the guitar, it became everything to me. And it was the guitar that opened up a lot of doors for me, and was the guitar that brought me over to the States, and it was the guitar that eventually led me to one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Ryan Coogler.” Ludwig Goransson has quickly become one of my favorite composers and he may be headed back to the Oscars next year with his upcoming work on The Odyssey.

Original Song: Golden from KPop Demon Hunters; Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park

Others nominated: DEAR ME from Diane Warren: Relentless; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren, I LIED TO YOU from Sinners; Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson, SWEET DREAMS OF JOY, from Viva Verdi!; Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike, TRAIN DREAMS from Train Dreams; Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

If you have children or you know friends or family who do, I am sure you have heard Golden. But that is for good reason. It is such a good song. Like I mentioned earlier, every song in this film is genuinely a great song. I loved the performance they had at the Oscars too. Golden 100% deserves this award.

Sound: F1 (Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta)

Others nominated: FRANKENSTEIN (Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern), ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor), SINNERS (Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker), SIRĀT (Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas)

This is another one where I completely agree with the Academy. This is a film that, if done right, is an easy choice for a best sound award and they absolutely did it right.

Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett)

Others nominated: F1 (Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson), JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould), THE LOST BUS (Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin), SINNERS (Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean)

I mean, what else did you expect? Of course an Avatar film was going to win best visual effects. If an Avatar film releases, its going to win this award. To be honest, I don't really care about the Avatar films. The story (or lack thereof) doesn't pull me in and I just don't care about any of the characters. However, I do look forward to each Avatar film just because they always do something to push the art of visual effects forward.

Production Design: Frankenstein (Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)

Others nominated: HAMNET (Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton), MARTY SUPREME (Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis), ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino), SINNERS (Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne)

Even though I loved the design for Sinners, Frankenstein definitely deserves this award. It has this big over the top gothic style that just looks like an Oscar winning film. With Guillermo del Toro at the helm, you know his vision is going to create a visually stunning film.

Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Others nominated: BUGONIA (Screenplay by Will Tracy), FRANKENSTEIN (Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro), HAMNET (Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell), TRAIN DREAMS (Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar)

I know. I know. I am sounding like a hater but in my opinion, the script for One Battle After Another was a complete mess. The characters didn't really have much growth and not only that, but every character in the whole film was activity unlikeable. The story didn't flow and the comedic beats were not funny. For me, I would give this to Frankenstein. It was a beautiful and emotionally rich adaptation of the classic story that sticks pretty close to the original source material.

Original Screenplay: Sinners (Ryan Coogler)

Others nominated: BLUE MOON (Written by Robert Kaplow), IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (Written by Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators - Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian), MARTY SUPREME (Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie), SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier)

I totally agree with this one. This film has such a cool idea to begin with but like I mentioned earlier, this is an interesting, character driven story even before any vampire are thrown in and they are introduced beautifully. The story flows so well and this award is well deserved.

Now I want to run through and give you the winners of some of the smaller but still important awards. These are categories that I am not as familiar with but these filmmakers deserve credit for their hard work as well.

Animated Short Film: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Others nominated: BUTTERFLY, FOREVERGREEN, RETIREMENT PLAN, THE THREE SISTERS

Documentary Feature Film: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Others nominated: THE ALABAMA SOLUTION, COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT, CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS, THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR

Documentary Short Film: All the Empty Rooms

Others nominated: ARMED ONLY WITH A CAMERA: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRENT RENAUD, CHILDREN NO MORE: "WERE AND ARE GONE", THE DEVIL IS BUSY, PERFECTLY A STRANGENESS

International Feature Film: Sentimental Value

Others nominated: The Secret Agent, It Was Just an Accident, Sirāt, The Voice of Hind Rajab

International Short Film: The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva

Others nominated: BUTCHER'S STAIN, A FRIEND OF DOROTHY, JANE AUSTEN'S PERIOD DRAMA

Those are the winners and the other nominees but yes, you read that last one correct. There was actually a tie. This was the seventh tie in Oscars history. Overall One Battle After Another came away on top with 6 wins, Sinners followed with 4 wins, Frankenstein with 3, KPOP Demon Hunters with 2, and ten other films receving 1 win. 2025 was a really good year for film. There were so many other great films that there were plenty that did not get representation at the Oscars. Sunday night was a great celebration of the past year of film. I only wish the ceremony was closer to the beginning of the year so the films are more to the forefront of our minds.

2026 is also shaping up to be a huge year for film once again. We are finally starting to get away from the effects of the actors and writers strike from a couple of years ago and this year's line up shows that. Not only are we looking forward to really high quality of films, we are expecting a huge year at the box office with films like Avengers: Doomsday coming out later this year. I am looking forward to a great rest of 2026!