Notable Winners and Losers at the 2023 Oscars

The 2023 Academy Awards have come to a conclusion, and like every year, there were some well-deserved winners and unfortunate losers.

The highly anticipated multiversal adventure film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (EEAAO) garnered 11 nominations, including Best Picture, making it a top contender for the night. However, there were also high expectations for other critically acclaimed movies, such as “All Quiet on the Western Front” from Netflix and “The Banshees of Inisherin” from Searchlight Pictures. As a result, EEAAO was not necessarily anticipated to dominate the awards.

However, as the dust settles on the world cinema’s most significant night of the year, we have evaluated and listed the major victories and defeats from the 2023 Oscars.

Winner: Everything Everywhere All t Once

Despite initial expectations, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” emerged as the surprise triumph of the night, claiming a staggering seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. This is quite an achievement for a low-budget A24 production that premiered almost a year ago. Many believed it would only win a couple of awards at most. However, the movie, which cost only around $15 million to make, proved to be an undeniable success. In case you missed it in cinemas, you can now watch it now on Prime Video for free.

Winner: Netflix

Critics had often opined that Netflix needed to transform its frequent award nominations into actual wins, with the online streaming giant struggling to convert nominations into accolades for years. However, this year marked a turning point for Netflix.

The platform managed to secure six Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best International Feature Film for “All Quiet on the Western Front,” as well as Best Animated Feature Film for Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio.”

Loser: The other nominees for Best Supporting Actress

Jamie Lee Curtis was a deserving winner of the Best Supporting Actress award, given her exceptional performance in EEOA. However, it is difficult not to empathize with the other nominees in the category. Kerry Condon from “The Banshees of Inisherin” and Angela Bassett from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” were the frontrunners and may feel slighted by their loss. Additionally, Stephanie Hsu from EEAAO and Hong Chau from “The Whale” were also outstanding in their supporting roles, and on another occasion, either of them could have won the award.

Loser: The commercial successes

This year’s Oscars also proved that commercial blockbuster movies might not necessarily replicate the same success when it comes to winning awards. Some of the top-grossing movies of 2022, particularly those that earned more than $1 billion globally, failed to achieve the same level of success at the esteemed awards ceremony.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun: Maverick” earned a combined $2.293 billion and $1.483 billion, respectively, solidifying their position as the two most lucrative films of the year. Yet, they only received one award each at the Academy Awards, with Avatar 2 winning for Best Visual Effects and Top Gun 2 winning for Best Sound. Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” turned out to be the only other movie among the 10 highest-grossing films of 2022 to receive an award, specifically for Best Costume Design. Although “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was nominated for Best Animated Feature, it was defeated by Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio.” In summary, we can conclude earning a significant box office profit does not guarantee a win at the Oscars!