An Oscar tie, a no show and first time winners: The snubs and surprises at 98th Academy Awards

For years, the Academy has been blamed for its predictability. Oscar awards culminate the three-month-long award season in Hollywood, and it mostly honours those who have won in the past weeks at other awards ceremonies. This year, the race for the top prizes was between Sinners and One Battle After Another. Despite knowing the two front contenders, the Oscars sprang a few surprises in multiple categories. There were also a few prominent snubs.

Everyone thought that the battle was between Timothee Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio this year. But Oscar surprised everyone as it award Michael B Jordan for his performance in Sinners. Jordan looked surprised as his name was announced and quickly composed himself as he went on stage to take the top acting honour of the night. In Sinners he played twin brothers Smoke and Stack which broke the record as the most-nominated film in Oscar’s history. His win was long overdue.

"I stand here because of the people that came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forrest Whitaker, Will Smith. To be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys," Jordan said in his acceptance speech. "Thank you, everybody in this room, and everybody at home for supporting me over my career. I feel it. I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for betting on me, and I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I can be."

When the awards season began, most were hopeful that Timothee Chalamet would take home his first Oscar for Marty Supreme. The entire "opera and ballet" jab couldn't have held him back from a win for his role in Marty Supreme—the votes were already in—but it wasn't Chalamet's year anyway. Leonardo DiCaprio, yet again, was snubbed for his performance in One Battle After Another. DiCaprio's dry run at the Oscars continued on Sunday night. Having earned a nomination, like every other year, Caprio once again missed out on earning the coveted trophy. Should he wrestle an animal again to get the golden statue once again?

He won Best Supporting Actor in almost all major awards this year for his performance in One Battle After Another, but Sean Penn did not show up at any to pick up the award. He didn’t even attend the Oscars. Presenter Keiran Culkin guessed that he probably didn’t want to attend the awards.

Penn has a complicated history with awards shows. In 2023, the actor even told Variety that he was considering melting down his two previous Oscars in political protest. “I thought, well, f**k, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine,” Penn had said. “They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians.”

He may not have turned up for the Oscars, but he became a part of an elite club on Sunday night as he won his third Oscar.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to ever win Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards. She is also the first woman of colour to win the category. Her work in Sinners was honoured after only three nominations in Oscars history: Rachel Morrison for Mudbound (2018), Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog (2021), and Mandy Walker for Elvis (2022).

"Thank you for believing in me and thank you for trusting me," Arkapaw said as she accepted the award and thanked director Ryan Coogler. “I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign and gotten to meet so many people, and I just feel like moments like this happen because of you guys, and I want to thank you for that.”

Presenter Kumail Nanjiani looked as surprised as everyone else as he looked up from the envelope for Best Live-Action Short Film. “It’s a tie,” he said. “I’m not joking. It’s actually a tie. So everyone, calm down. We’re gonna get through this. Focus up.” The award, shared by Two People Exchanging Saliva and The Singers, is only the seventh tie in Oscars history.

Both Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson won their first Oscar on Sunday night for Sinners and One Battle After Another, respectively. Jessie Buckley and Michael B Jordan also earned their first Oscars.