The 98th Academy Awards were one of the most enjoyable Oscars I’ve seen in some time. The theme of the night seemed to be inclusivity and kindness, as many celebrities—including winner Paul Thomas Anderson—urged the world to choose love and right itself. 

It was also a banner year for film, with two films leading the pack in nominations: “One Battle After Another” (with 13 nominations) and “Sinners” (with 16 nominations). The former took home ‘Best Picture’ and the latter a slew of awards, including ‘Best Costume Design,’ ‘Best Lead Actor,’ and ‘Best Cinematography’ (this last was the first time a woman won the award). Michael B. Jordan taking home the ‘Lead Actor’ trophy for “Sinners” was met with glee and humility from the actor many are calling “the next Denzel.” 

The event also featured a musical homage to “Sinners,” recreating the scene that likely won Autumn Durald Arkapaw the cinematography award, with actor/musician Miles Canton from the film playing guitar and singing. There were also touching tributes to Rob Reiner and his wife from Billy Crystal (who starred in Reiner’s film, “When Harry Met Sally”) and Diane Keaton in a moving tribute from Amy McAdams. A large swath of tributes adorned the wall, from Val Kilmer to Robert Duvall to Diane Ladd. I did notice the wall neglected James Van Der Beek, but mistakes do happen. 

Below we celebrate the winners and nominees of the 98th Academy Awards. Congratulations to all the participants and winners. We look forward to seeing you next year at the 99th. (* below marks our review of the film).

Best Picture

Best Actress

  • Jessie Buckley – “Hamnet” (winner)
  • Rose Byrne – “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”*
  • Kate Hudson – “Song Sung Blue”
  • Renate Reinsve – “Sentimental Value”
  • Emma Stone – “Bugonia”

Best Actor

  • Michael B Jordan – “Sinners” (winner) 
  • Timothée Chalamet – “Marty Supreme”
  • Leonardo DiCaprio – “One Battle After Another”
  • Ethan Hawke – “Blue Moon”*
  • Wagner Moura – “The Secret Agent”

Jessie Buckley in a scene from “Hamnet” (Photo: QCinema International Film Festival, 2025).

Best Supporting Actress

  • Amy Madigan – “Weapons” (winner)*
  • Elle Fanning – “Sentimental Value”
  • Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – “Sentimental Value”
  • Wunmi Mosaku – “Sinners”
  • Teyana Taylor – “One Battle After Another”

Best Supporting Actor

  • Sean Penn – “One Battle After Another” (winner)
  • Benicio del Toro – “One Battle After Another”
  • Jacob Elordi – “Frankenstein”
  • Delroy Lindo – “Sinners”
  • Stellan Skarsgård – “Sentimental Value”

Best Director

  • Paul Thomas Anderson – “One Battle After Another” (winner) 
  • Ryan Coogler – “Sinners”
  • Josh Safdie – “Marty Supreme”
  • Joachim Trier – “Sentimental Value”
  • Chloé Zhao – “Hamnet”

Best Animated Feature

  • “KPop Demon Hunters” (winner) 
  • “Arco”
  • “Elio”
  • “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
  • “Zootopia 2”

Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in a scene from “Sentimental Value” (Photo: Neon, 2025).

Best International Feature

Best Documentary Feature

  • “Mr Nobody Against Putin” (winner) 
  • “Come See Me in the Good Light”
  • “Cutting Through the Rocks”
  • “The Alabama Solution”
  • “The Perfect Neighbor”

Best Original Screenplay

  • “Sinners” – Ryan Coogler (winner) 
  • “Blue Moon” – Robert Kaplow
  • “It Was Just an Accident” – Jafar Panahi
  • “Marty Supreme” – Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
  • “Sentimental Value” – Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • “One Battle After Another” – Paul Thomas Anderson (winner) 
  • “Bugonia” – Will Tracy
  • “Frankenstein” – Guillermo del Toro
  • “Hamnet” – Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
  • “Train Dreams” – Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar

A scene from KPop Demon Hunters.” (Photo: Sony Pictures Animation).

Best Original Song

  • “Golden” – “KPop Demon Hunters” (by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park) (winner) 
  • “Dear Me” – “Diane Warren: Relentless” (by Diane Warren)
  • “I Lied to You” – “Sinners” (by by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson)
  • “Sweet Dreams of Joy” – “Viva Verdi!” (by Nicholas Pike)
  • “Train Dreams” – Train Dreams (by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner)

Best Original Score

  • “Sinners” – Ludwig Goransson (winner)
  • “Bugonia” – Jerskin Fendrix
  • “Frankenstein” – Alexandre Desplat
  • “Hamnet” – Max Richter
  • “One Battle After Another” – Jonny Greenwood

Best Cinematography

  • “Sinners” – Autumn Durald Arkapaw (winner) 
  • “Frankenstein” – Dan Laustsen
  • “Marty Supreme” – Darius Khondji
  • “One Battle After Another” – Michael Bauman
  • “Train Dreams” – Adolpho Veloso

Best Film Editing

  • “One Battle After Another” – Andy Jurgensen (winner) 
  • “F1” – Stephen Mirrione
  • “Marty Supreme” – Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
  • “Sentimental Value” – Olivier Bugge Coutté
  • “Sinners” – Michael P Shawver

Brad Pitt in a scene from “F1” (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures/Apple Original Films, 2025).

Best Sound

  • “F1” – Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A Rizzo and Juan Peralta (winner) 
  • “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
  • “Sirât” – Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas

Best Visual Effects

  • “Avatar: Fire and Ash” – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett (winner) 
  • “F1” – Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
  • “Jurassic World Rebirth” – David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould*
  • “Sinners” – Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean
  • “The Lost Bus” – Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K McLaughlin

Best Production Design

  • “Frankenstein” – Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau (winner) 
  • “Hamnet” – Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
  • “Marty Supreme” – Jack Fisk and Adam Willis
  • “One Battle After Another” – Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino
  • “Sinners” – Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne

Best Casting

  • “One Battle After Another” – Cassandra Kulukundis (winner) 
  • “Hamnet” – Nina Gold
  • “Marty Supreme” – Jennifer Venditti
  • “Sinners” – Francine Maisler
  • “The Secret Agent” – Gabriel Domingues

FRANKENSTEIN. (L to R) Mia Goth as Elizabeth and Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein. Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.

Best Make-up and Hairstyling

  • “Frankenstein” – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey (winner) 
  • “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*

Best Costume Design

  • “Frankenstein” – Kate Hawley (winner) 
  • Avatar: Fire and Ash” – Deborah L Scott*
  • “Hamnet” – Malgosia Turzanska
  • “Marty Supreme” – Miyako Bellizz
  • “Sinners” – Ruth E Carter

Best Animated Short

  • “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”: (winner) 
  • “Butterfly”
  • “Forevergreen”
  • “Retirement Plan”
  • “The Three Sisters”

Best Live Action Short

  • “The Singers” (winner, tied) 
  • “Two People Exchanging Saliva” (winner, tied) 
  • “A Friend of Dorothy”
  • “Butcher’s Stain”
  • “Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Luàna Bajrami in “Two People Exchanging Saliva.” (Photo: Misia Films | The New Yorker, 2024).

Best Documentary Short

  • “All the Empty Rooms” (winner) 
  • “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”

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Mark is a lifetime film lover and founder and Chief Editor of The Movie Buff. His favorite genres are horror, drama, and independent. He misses movie rental stores and is always on the lookout for unsung movies to experience.

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