The 98th Academy Awards ceremony saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s counter-culture caper, "One Battle After Another," emerge as the night's biggest winner, taking home six awards. This included the coveted Best Picture, Best Director for Anderson, Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and the inaugural Oscar for Casting, a category long sought after within the industry. Anderson, who received his first Oscar wins after previous nominations for films like "Boogie Nights" and "There Will Be Blood," dedicated his adapted screenplay win to his children, stating he wrote it "to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we left in this world we’re handing off to them." He also expressed hope for a younger generation to restore "common sense and decency" to society.

The season had been a hotly contested two-horse race, with "One Battle After Another" competing against "Sinners." Despite entering the night with a record 16 nominations, "Sinners" secured four awards. Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for his lead performance, making him the sixth Black winner in this category. Jordan acknowledged his predecessors, stating, "I stand here because of the people who came before me." Ryan Coogler, director of "Sinners," also won Best Original Screenplay, becoming only the second Black winner in this category after Jordan Peele. Additionally, Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first ever female and first Black winner of the Best Cinematography award for "Sinners." The film also earned an Oscar for Original Score, composed by Ludwig Göransson.

Historic wins marked several other categories. Jessie Buckley became the first ever Irish winner of the Best Actress Oscar for her role as a grieving mother in Chloé Zhao’s Shakespeare drama "Hamnet." Buckley, previously nominated for "The Lost Daughter," dedicated her award to "the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart" and called it "the greatest honour." Amy Madigan received the Best Supporting Actress award for her villainous portrayal in the horror film "Weapons." Her win was notable as the first time the award went to an actor who was the sole nominee from their film since Penélope Cruz, and she set a new record for the longest gap between nominations before a win, having been previously nominated 40 years prior.

In the international arena, Joachim Trier’s family drama "Sentimental Value" secured Best International Feature Film, marking Norway's first win in this category. Trier, calling himself "just a film nerd from Norway," concluded his speech by paraphrasing James Baldwin, urging responsibility for children and caution against politicians who disregard this. The award was co-presented by Javier Bardem, who expressed "no to war and free Palestine" with prominent badges.

Other significant awards included "Mr Nobody Against Putin" winning Best Documentary Feature, highlighting a teacher's fight against oppressive rules in Russia, a film co-director David Borenstein described as being "about how you lose your country." Netflix’s "KPop Demon Hunters," the platform’s most-watched film ever, won two Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Golden," making it the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. Co-director Maggie Kang dedicated the win to Korea, stating, "For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this." Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of "Frankenstein" garnered three awards for Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling. "Avatar: Fire and Ash" took home Best Visual Effects, while "F1" won Best Sound. An unusual tie occurred in the Live Action Short category, with "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" jointly winning, marking only the seventh time in Oscars history such an event has happened.

The ceremony was hosted for the second consecutive year by Conan O’Brien, who kicked off the show with a pre-recorded bit dressed as Amy Madigan’s character from "Weapons." O’Brien largely maintained a lighthearted tone, joking about being "the last human host" and making lighthearted jabs at Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Amazon. He also acknowledged the "very chaotic frightening times" and the resonance of the international nominees, encouraging celebration "not because we think all is well but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead." During the show, presenter Jimmy Kimmel also included political jabs, targeting Amazon's Melania doc and the right-wing takeover of media. The event took place under heightened security, with a perimeter stretching for a mile due to concerns about potential disruptions or attacks linked to a 3-week-old war involving America and Iran, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The night also featured heartfelt tributes. A special segment honored the late director Rob Reiner, led by his longtime friend and collaborator Billy Crystal, joined by stars from Reiner's films including Meg Ryan. Rachel McAdams remembered fellow Canadians Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton, both of whom had passed in the last year. Barbra Streisand paid tribute to Robert Redford, an "intellectual cowboy," and sang a segment of "The Way We Were." Warner Bros. celebrated a major night, taking home 11 awards overall, including its first Best Picture win since "Argo" in 2013, amidst the studio's success and Paramount's impending merger battle. Nominated films that did not win any awards included "Bugonia," "Train Dreams," "It Was Just an Accident," and "The Secret Agent."