Well, suddenly the Academy Awards have become cool.
Approaching Oscar night, I didn’t believe for one second that trippy multiverse action comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once was going to receive as many awards as it did nominations (11 in total). As far as I was concerned, the movie was too absurdist and cult for Academy tastes, it had released too early in 2022 to be remembered come award season, and it was going up against the latest efforts from critical darlings Steven Spielberg, Todd Field and Martin McDonagh, with Spielberg’s The Fabelmans being a love letter to cinema, to boot. And there’s nothing the Academy loves more than self-celebration of their art form.
But, like its literally fragmented and unlikely heroine Evelyn, Everything Everywhere All at Once was able to tap into its potential for greatness after all. At the 95th Academy Awards, held last night, 12 March at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the film went on to win 7 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Daniels AKA Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Original Screenplay (Daniels again), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (former child actor Ke Huy Quan) and Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis).
The other big winner of the evening was German WWI war film All Quiet on the Western Front, which picked up four awards; followed by heavy drama The Whale, which won in two of its nominated categories, including Best Actor for much-deserved comeback kid Brendan Fraser.
On the blockbuster front, Avatar: The Way of Water unsurprisingly won for Best Visual Effects, while Top Gun: Maverick picked up Best Sound, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever earned best Costume Design. Finally, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won Best Animated Feature Film.
| Film | Nominations | Wins |
| Everything Everywhere All at Once | 11 | 7 |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 9 | 4 |
| The Banshees of Inisherin | 9 | 0 |
| Elvis | 8 | 0 |
| The Fabelmans | 7 | 0 |
| Tár | 6 | 0 |
| Top Gun: Maverick | 6 | 1 |
| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | 5 | 1 |
| Avatar: The Way of Water | 4 | 1 |
| Babylon | 3 | 0 |
| The Batman | 3 | 0 |
| Triangle of Sadness | 3 | 0 |
| The Whale | 3 | 2 |
For the record, if you’re wondering where you can see these movies, many are already available to watch at home through streaming services, or Video on Demand (via the Google and Apple stores).
South Africans can find Everything Everywhere All at Once on Prime Video, while All Quiet on the Western Front is on Netflix, along with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is on Disney+ with The Banshees of Inisherin coming to the streamer later in the month. Showmax, meanwhile, is home to Top Gun: Maverick and The Batman.
Best Picture
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Elvis
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- The Fabelmans
- Tár
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Triangle of Sadness
- Women Talking
Best Director
- Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
- Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
- Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”)
- Todd Field (“Tár”)
- Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)
Best Lead Actor
- Austin Butler (“Elvis”)
- Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
- Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”)
- Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”)
- Bill Nighy (“Living”)
Best Lead Actress
- Cate Blanchett (“Tár”)
- Ana de Armas (“Blonde”)
- Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”)
- Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”)
- Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Best Supporting Actor
- Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
- Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”)
- Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”)
- Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
- Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Best Supporting Actress
- Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
- Hong Chau (“The Whale”)
- Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
- Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
- Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Best Adapted Screenplay
- “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
- “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson
- “Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
- “Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
- “Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley
Best Original Screenplay
- “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
- “The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
- “Tár,” Written by Todd Field
- “Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund
Best Cinematography
- “All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend
- “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” Darius Khondji
- “Elvis,” Mandy Walker
- “Empire of Light,” Roger Deakins
- “Tár,” Florian Hoffmeister
Best Documentary Feature Film
- All That Breathes
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
- Fire of Love
- A House Made of Splinters
- Navalny
Best Documentary Short Film
- The Elephant Whisperers
- Haulout
- How Do You Measure a Year?
- The Martha Mitchell Effect
- Stranger at the Gate
Best Film Editing
- “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
- “Elvis,” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers
- “Tár,” Monika Willi
- “Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton
Best International Feature Film
- All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
- Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
- Close (Belgium)
- EO (Poland)
- The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
Best Original Song
- “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
- “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
- “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler
- “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
- “This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne
Best Production Design
- “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper
- “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
- “Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
- “Elvis,” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn
- “The Fabelmans,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
Best Visual Effects
- “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar
- “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
- “The Batman,” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
- “Top Gun: Maverick,” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher
Best Animated Feature Film
- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- The Sea Beast
- Turning Red
Best Animated Short Film
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
- The Flying Sailor
- Ice Merchants
- My Year of Dicks
- An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It
Best Costume Design
- “Babylon,” Mary Zophres
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter
- “Elvis,” Catherine Martin
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Shirley Kurata
- “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Jenny Beavan
Best Live Action Short
- “An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White
- “Ivalu,” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan
- “Le Pupille,” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón
- “Night Ride,” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen
- “The Red Suitcase,” Cyrus Neshvad
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová
- “The Batman,” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
- “Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti
- “The Whale,” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley
Best Original Score
- “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann
- “Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz
- “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux
- “The Fabelmans,” John Williams
Best Sound
- “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte
- “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges
- “The Batman,” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson
- “Elvis,” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
- “Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor