Six reasons why it was the best Oscars in years

Popular wins all round

Frankenstein, which won three Oscars, and KPop Demon Hunters, which won two, are both Netflix films which had limited cinema releases, but, unlike so much streaming slop, millions of people saw them, loved them and wanted to see them bag some Academy Awards. Meanwhile, Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for playing the gloriously scary Aunt Gladys in a hit horror film, Weapons; Brad Pitt’s racing car blockbuster, F1, won the prize for best sound; and Avatar: Fire and Ash won best visual effects. In other words, awards kept going to intelligent, well-crafted films – but they also happened to be commercial smashes. It definitely lifts the mood of the evening when Hollywood can feel good about itself.

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Party atmosphere

From his opening Weapons parody onwards, Conan O’Brien was far better at hosting than he was last year, expertly blending silliness and self-deprecation with a smidgen of edgy political material and a generous dollop of celebration. The party atmosphere was apparent, too, in the spectacular performances of best original song nominees I Lied to You from Sinners and Golden from KPop Demon Hunters (which went on to win); in the skit in which Anna Wintour, the former editor of Vogue, snubbed Anne Hathaway, thus demonstrating that she was the inspiration for Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada; and in the reunion of the stars of Bridesmaids, who proved that they still have the comic chemistry they had 15 years ago. Isn’t it about time for a sequel?

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History was made

The Academy Awards have been going for almost a century, yet the first ever woman to win the Oscar for cinematography was Autumn Durald Arkapaw for Sinners. Coolly unfazed by her history-making moment in the spotlight, she asked every woman in the Dolby Theatre to stand up and share that moment with her. Meanwhile, in a widely-expected result, Jessie Buckley became the first Irish woman to win best actress.

There was also the inaugural casting prize – won by Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another – the first new Oscar category in 24 years. And there were healthy signs of increasing inclusivity. Michael B Jordan, who played both of the two lead roles in Sinners, became only the sixth black actor to win the best actor Oscar.  And Ryan Coogler became only the second black screenwriter to win the best original screenplay Oscar.

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