The 93rd Academy Awards have officially arrived. Celebrating the best cinema produced in 2020, the ceremony was held in person with a small group of attendees, including nominees for the major awards.
This year, streaming services dominate, with multiple nominations for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and HBO Max, including both movies produced in-house, as well as those sold to the streaming services by traditional studios.
With a diverse selection of movies up for Best Picture and a list of tremendous veteran and up-and-coming actors on the ballot for the major acting awards, it really was anyone’s game. Did the favorites take home the golden statue or were there upsets? Here’s a list the winners in the biggest categories.
Looking to streaming Hollywood’s biggest night? If so, check out our guide on how to watch 2021 Oscars online.
Best Actor
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
Gary Oldman (Mank)
Steven Yeun (Minari)
Winner: The biggest upset of the night came with Anthony Hopkins‘ win for Best Actor since many expected that Chadwick Boseman would earn the award posthumously. But there’s no denying that Hopkins delivered a riveting performance in The Father as a man dealing with dementia and struggling with understanding what’s real in his life and what’s imagined. He was not, however, there to accept his award in person.
Best Actress
Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday)
Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)
Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)
Winner: Frances McDormand won her third Academy Award in this category for Nomadland, which took home two other major awards, including Best Picture. Her portrayal of a woman trying to start a new life as a nomad, living off the land from a van, was eye-opening. MsDormand also picked up a Best Picture Oscar as a producer on the film.
Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Lesie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami…)
Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)
LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Winner: Daniel Kaluuya was the favorite to win given that he took home the award at all of the other major ceremonies to date, including the Golden Globes. He is a rising star who mesmerized viewers with his performance in this 1960s-set biographical drama, which sees him portraying Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Black Panther Party in Chicago.
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy)
Olivia Colman (The Father)
Amanda Seyfried (Mank)
Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari)
Winner: Delivering the most adorable acceptance speech of the night after being starstruck by presenter Brad Pitt, Youn became the first-ever Korean actor to win an acting Oscar. She won the hearts of viewers, and the Academy, as Soon-ja, the South Korean grandmother who shares a room with her young grandson after her daughter and son-in-law move to the U.S. in the 1980s to try and realize the American dream.
Best Director
Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg)
Mank (David Fincher)
Minari (Lee Isaac Chung)
Nomadland (Chloe Zhao)
Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell)
Winner: Chloe Zhao was the surprise underdog at the Golden Globes, and she took home the Academy Award as well. Zhao is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after directors in the business — she’s even set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the upcoming Eternals. This win makes Zhao only the second woman ever to take home the award in this category after The Hurt Locker‘s Kathryn Bigelow.
Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet
Winner: As predicted by Digital Trends’ resident visual effects expert Rick Marshall, Tenet took home the win. The movie used a lot of practical effects, but Marshall found that what set it apart from the others was the fact that many of the shots that appeared to be VFX were actually well-choreographed in-camera shots.
Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Winner: Considering Nomadland had already taken home several other awards this year, including the Golden Globe, and star Frances McDormand is no stranger to the Oscars, it came as no surprise that this emotional film took home the win. The movie revisits the recession of the early 2010s and one woman’s decision to leave everything behind in search of a new nomadic life after losing both her job and husband.
