With the 95th Academy Awards in the books, it’s time to take a look back at the biggest takeaways we have from the evening’s festivities.
While we kind of figured that Everything Everywhere All at Once would dominate the night’s awards, it’s cool to live in a world where a film that creativity adventurous can win such an award as Best Picture.
While not everything worked during the night’s broadcast, it was a satisfying run of winners and won’t leave room for much griping. At the Oscars, you can’t really take that for granted.
Let’s run through our 10 main takeaways from Sunday night’s show, plus take a look ahead at what the Oscars might look like next year.
Fall festival debuts aren't necessarily vital for Best Picture success anymore
One of the longest-running assumptions at the Academy Awards has been, the later you release, the better off you are.
Everything Everywhere All at Once, a 2022 SXSW title, became the second-straight Best Picture winner to debut before the fall festival season since CODA debuted at Sundance in 2021. It’s the third in the past four years to win the award, as 2019’s Parasite debuted at Cannes.
A fall festival bow may not be quite as necessary anymore to get your film the awards attention it needs. This could mean awards-worthy films spread themselves out a bit more away from the typically overcrowded fall festival circuit in last few months of the year.
A24 really is an Oscars powerhouse
After a decade spent as the plucky Millennial cousin of Searchlight, A24 finally has cemented itself as one of the major players at the Academy Awards.
With Everything Everywhere All at Once taking home Best Picture, the boutique studio landed its second win in the category. A24’s Moonlight won Best Picture in 2017.
Since 2013, only Searchlight has more Best Picture wins (four: 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, The Shape of Water, Nomadland).
A24 also dominated the acting categories with all four wins going to the studio’s films. Everything Everywhere All at Once won Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, while The Whale took home Best Actor for Brendan Fraser.
Even if A24 gets acquired by a bigger company, it should still hold its looming presence over the awards show.
It's time to retire Jimmy Kimmel as an Oscars host
Jimmy Kimmel asks Malala Yousafzai a viewer question: “As the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history, I was wondering, do you think Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine?”
“I only talk about peace.” #Oscars#Oscars95https://t.co/OizA2V2cyr pic.twitter.com/krf3VvN7os
— ABC News (@ABC) March 13, 2023
While late night host Jimmy Kimmel is far from the worst host to work the Academy Awards, Sunday night’s show proved that it’s time to give the job to someone else.
Kimmel’s opening monologue earned solid notices, even as it appeared to taper out as it went on. He obviously made Will Smith slap jokes, and he got enough Hollywood zingers in there to make it count.
However, Kimmel’s less-inspired shtick landed flat, like the cringey crowd work segment that featured renowned humanitarian Malala.
While he certainly had his moments on Sunday, it’s past time to move away from Kimmel. With comedian Trevor Noah earning raves for hosting of the Grammys, ABC really needs to see if he would be interested in next year’s Oscar show.
Hollywood loves a comeback
This is a simple point, but it holds true. Hollywood loves a comeback story.
With child star Ke Huy Quan’s thunderous return to movie screens in Everything Everywhere All at Once and former blockbuster staple Brendan Fraser turning in a career-best performance in The Whale, the Academy found two stories to warm their hearts this awards season.
That matters when it comes to voting. Even if the voters didn’t care for either (or both) of these movies, there were likely some folks who voted for these fellows for the good feelings it gave them to honor actors who have regained the spotlight.
Fraser topping Elvis‘ Austin Butler feels important, since Butler’s take on The King was a much showier, more Academy-friendly performance. Fraser’s heartfelt awards run overpowered years of tradition there.
When it doubt, follow the comeback trail. Oscars usually wait at the end.
All Quiet on the Western Front's success can't be overlooked
While Everything Everywhere All at Once took home Best Picture, All Quiet on the Western Front cleaned up in the craft categories.
The World War I film from Netflix became the streamer’s most successful film at the Academy Awards with wins in Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Production Design and Best International Feature.
While no one tabbed this as an Oscar heavyweight when it came out, the film soared at the BAFTAs and saw that love come across the pond to the Academy Awards.
As the voting body has increased to include more international members, more films like this German-based war epic will likely get Oscars attention.
Five more takeaways
- Sarah Polley’s win for Best Adapted Screenplay rewards one of the most talented filmmakers of her generation. It was one of the cooler moments on Oscar night to see her win and a really nice boost for Women Talking after the film got wrongly stonewalled from any acting nominations.
- Don’t fret for legendary composer John Williams. While he lost for The Fabelmans, he could still become the oldest Oscar winner when he inevitably gets nominated for the upcoming Indiana Jones film at next year’s Oscars.
- The Paul Sorvino absence highlighted why the Oscars’ In Memoriam process is broken. They also left out acting legend Philip Baker Hall, among other shameful omissions.
- Tár will probably be the movie in 10 years we’re stunned didn’t win a single Oscar.
- Even though it wasn’t the actual Jenny the donkey, it was still awesome to have a donkey at the Oscars, period.
What about next year's Oscars?
Why not look ahead to the 96th Academy Awards?
My way-too-early guesses for next year’s 10 Best Picture nominees with the winner bolded: Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Pain Hustlers, The Color Purple, Dune: Part Two, Next Goal Wins, Blitz, Asteroid City, Maestro
My way-too-early guesses for next year’s other big categories (winners bolded)…
- Best Director: Martin Scorsese/Killers of the Flower Moon, Christopher Nolan/Oppenheimer, Blitz Bazawule/The Color Purple, Bradley Cooper/Maestro, Steve McQueen/Blitz
- Best Actor: Bradley Cooper/Maestro, Cillian Murphy/Oppenheimer, Jonathan Majors/Magazine Dreams, Jesse Plemons/Killers of the Flower Moon, David Strathairn/A Little Prayer
- Best Actress: Fantasia Barrino/The Color Purple, Greta Lee/Past Lives, Margot Robbie/Barbie, Saoirse Ronan/Blitz, Emily Blunt/Pain Hustlers
- Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr./Oppenheimer, Leonardo DiCaprio/Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro/Killers of the Flower Moon, Colman Domingo/The Color Purple, Chris Evans/Pain Hustlers
- Best Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone/Killers of the Flower Moon, Florence Pugh/Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks/The Color Purple, Taraji P. Henson/The Color Purple, Carey Mulligan/Maestro
- Best Original Screenplay: Past Lives/Celine Song, Asteroid City/Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Maestro/Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer, Blitz/Steve McQueen, A Little Prayer/Angus MacLachalan
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Oppenheimer/Christopher Nolan, Killers of the Flower Moon/Eric Roth & Martin Scorsese, Next Goal Wins/Taika Waititi & Iain Morris, Pain Hustlers/Wells Tower, The Color Purple/Marcus Gardley
