One Battle After Another and Sinners share the spotlight in surprisingly safe Oscars

In what felt like one of the most unpredictable Academy Awards in history, the eventual winners were, surprisingly, more or less what was expected. 

The awards season darling One Battle After Another skated to tentatively expected wins in a host of categories — including best picture, the night's biggest honour. Meanwhile, the blockbuster and box-office smash Sinners rode a wave of popularity to four triumphs — including Michael B. Jordan eking out a win over the early best actor favourite, Timothée Chalamet. 

And host Conan O'Brien fired off at least a few memorable jokes at the expense of everyone from Donald Trump to Prince Andrew to … again, Timothée Chalamet.

In fact, the biggest surprise of the 98th Academy Awards seemed to be a general lack of surprises. The main head-to-head was between the two aforementioned flicks, which headlined a year of popular movies that felt almost impossibly original after years of franchise and sequel success. 

The night kicked off celebrating that fact. Marking his second straight hosting gig, O'Brien started the proceedings with an extended skit honouring a slate of movies that somehow captured both attention and dollars. Dressed as the makeup-slathered witch from horror film Weapons (a character who would later earn Amy Madigan a best supporting actress win, the first horror actress to win the category since 1969), he barrelled through the sets of Marty Supreme, Hamnet, F1, OBAA, KPop Demon Hunters, Sentimental Value and Sinners. 

And as the night wore on, he had a few more memorable jokes up his sleeve. There was one aimed at Trump adding his name to the Kennedy Center: “We're coming to you live from the 'Has a Small Penis Theatre,'” O'Brien joked. "Let's see him put his name in front of that!"

There was also a jab at Prince Andrew. ("At least we arrest our pedophiles," O'Brien facetiously quoted a British spokesperson as saying in response to the lack of nominations for English actors.)

And along with quips regarding Chalamet's controversial statements about the declining popularity of ballet and opera, O'Brien poked fun at the digitization — and possible eventual death — of the entire Hollywood system. 

"Why are they all together enjoying themselves?" he mockingly quoted Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos as saying, referencing the business leader's reported plan to do away with theatrical exclusivity windows. "They should be home, alone, where I can monetize it!"

Then, a demoralizing skit featured several Jane Lynch-led YouTube ad breaks, forecasting the awards' move to the platform in 2029. And a section referencing both the rise of streamers and sludge content featured O'Brien joking about "hostmaxxing the Oscars."

But the rest of the night seemed to be a traditional celebration of film, featuring optimistic Hollywood moments once thought to be left firmly in the past. There were a few surprises that made it feel like a true Oscars night: One category saw a tie, in only the seventh time in the show's history. Both The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva took home the live-action short film award, an astounding result given that it requires an exact match in vote totals in the final round.

In another shorts category — this one for animated — Canadians Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski saw gold for their film The Girl Who Cried Pearls.

Sinners' Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman and first Black person to win best cinematography, while edging out the projected winner, OBAA's Michael Bauman.

In her acceptance speech, Durald Arkapaw asked all the women to stand up and join in the honour.