Warners winning
It was always going to be a banner Oscars year for Warner Bros, leading the race with the two major films of the season – Sinners and One Battle After Another – the perfect end to a perfect year of critical and commercial hits for the studio. But with 11 wins tonight, by far the biggest tally for any company, the evening really did serve as a reminder of how much Warners has achieved in its year of greenlighting dangerously, at least at this risk-averse time. It couldn’t come at a more depressing intersection for the studio as it prepares to fall under the ownership of Paramount-Skydance and the Ellisons, its future looking unsure. Paramount might have been a major contender back in the day with best picture winners including The Godfather, Ordinary People and Forrest Gump, but its been mostly absent of late, bar Top Gun: Maverick. Hard to imagine the studio which now relies almost exclusively on reanimating rusty IP will care much about auteurs and awards. Benjamin Lee
