The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg provides a post-mortem of Sunday's ceremony and the long season it brought to a close.
— came to an end on Sunday evening with the 98th Academy Awards. The results at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood confirmed that even though the Academy has changed significantly over the decade since it was rocked by #OscarsSoWhite — its membership today includes way more non-males, non-whites, non-Americans and non-AARP-members than ever before — the statistics that have long offered clues aboutstill won the top prize, best picture, just as it did at every other notable awards ceremony this season — from the Gothams to the Golden Globes to the guilds, not to mention all the major critics groups, plus the BAFTA Awards — save for the Actor Awards two weeks ago.
'Bridesmaids' Star Wendi McClendon-Covey Clears Up Her Absence From Oscars Reunion: "I Had a Neck Lift... No Drama"’ best cast win at the Actor Awards — the reaction in the room was exuberant — but that prize has a terrible track record of predicting the best picture Oscar . The fact that the best cast Actor Award), and that this year’s Actor Awards took place in the middle of the final round of Oscars voting, unfortunately gave‘s when both were Warner Bros. releases that skipped the festival circuit, went directly to movie theaters and proved to be darlings of critics and audiences alike, and whengrossed more money and landed more Oscar nominations ? Let’s unpack that… For one thing, being the most Oscar-nominated film of the year has limited significance. In the past decade, it didn’t helpfor not having an original song or much in the way of makeup/hairstyling or visual effects, the three categories in whichhad genre on its side. In the post-#OscarsSoWhite era, the Academy has embraced a wider assortment of films than ever before, rendering moot the notion of an “Oscar movie” by awarding best picture to. But a zombies-centric film — up against a dramedy/thriller — was perhaps a bridge too far for even a hipper Academy.’ Wunmi Mosaku came up short; shortly thereafter, it lost the inaugural Oscar for best casting — which every pundit of note had predicted it to win — to‘ Ryan Coogler won best original screenplay back-to-back before Anderson claimed best director and best picture later in the night. Plus, both films took home acting awards and a group in which actors account for less than 12% of all voters both responded not only to the same performances, but to performances that might be described as Acting with a capital A: Buckley playing a grieving mother who wails upon losing a child and seems possessed by a theatrical production; Jordan playing twins with very different personalities; Madigan chewing scenery in clown makeup; and Penn sporting an erection and a glass eye.Penn did not campaign or show up for any award shows except the Golden Globes, but gave such a memorable performance — and, despite being a difficult guy, is so highly regarded as an actor — that hewon BAFTA and Actor Awards en route to Academy members catapulting him into its rarified club of three-time male acting Oscar winners .’ Lindo. But a path to victory was always going to be tough for a performance not in English and/or a performer who wasn’t evenfor any other major award . Madigan, meanwhile, won early in the year at the Critics Choice Awards, in something of a surprise — many were still predicting’s Ariana Grande at the time — and only continued to build goodwill between then and the Actor Awards, when she won again.’s Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas winning some big critics prizes. And it was a bit disconcerting that Madigan was her category’s only nominee whose film wasn’t also up for best picture. But what proved to be more important is that she has been in the business forever , knows and is known by everyone and is one-half of a great Hollywood couple . And many individual members said they were repelled by the character Chalamet played in the film. Additionally, it seems that the best actor race was jolted, in the homestretch, by a variety of factors, from Chalamet’s unconventional approach to campaigning, which rubbed many the wrong way, to the terribly unfortunate incident that occurred while Jordan and Lindo were presenting at the BAFTA Awards, which evoked from many sympathy and admiration. Plus, seeing Jordan win the best actor Actor Award in the middle of the Oscar voting window presented to Academy members a clear and appealing alternative to Chalamet. Buckley, meanwhile, was a no-doubter from the moment her film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. Even people who dislikedliked her performance and her, and why not? In addition to being a tremendously gifted actress, she is also one of the most genuine and lovely people I encountered all season long. And my guess is that the Irishwoman, at just 36, will soon be back in the hunt for a sibling for her new statuette., the most watched original film in its history, best animated feature and original song ; best documentary short for, which the company was smart enough to acquire — probably for a pittance — late in the season, best live action short ; theperformances; and the suspenseful presentations and gracious acceptances of the big awards. Also, kudos to Kumail Nanjiani for his deft handling of the potentially treacherous terrain of a tie . My only quibbles with the show: the Marvel “reunion” was overhyped ; the playing-off of winners was handled poorly for the second year in a row; and a bunch of presenter decisions seemed off to me. Bill Pullman and Lewis Pullman are fine talents, but don’t rise to the level of accomplishment or familiarity that would merit being Oscars presenters; Robert Pattinson and Zendaya were odd choices to present best director, as opposed to, say, recent winner and current Directors Guild president Christopher Nolan; and as much as I love Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, I’m not sure that the 25th anniversary of, a film to which the Academy awarded only two Oscars , merited having them co-present best picture. correctly projected 21 of 24 categories, including all of The Big Eight and all three shorts. I was heartened to see so many past guests of’ EJAE. I thank them for their time, and encourage you to subscribe — for free — if you haven’t already done so. And lastly, I want to thank mycolleagues, readers/listeners and friends/family for their support over the course of this whole season — it was a grueling but mostly enjoyable ride that ended with my 15th trip to the Oscars, a privilege that I do not take for granted. And now… sleep!‘Bridesmaids’ Star Wendi McClendon-Covey Clears Up Her Absence From Oscars Reunion: “I Had a Neck Lift… No Drama”‘The Sandbox’ Doc Director on Her “Story About Power” and Hope to Make Us Think About How We Choose to Use, or Not Use, Technology as a ToolScott FeinbergThe Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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