Bong Joon Ho’s twisty home invasion thriller “Parasite” took home the Best Picture trophy at the 2020 Oscars, making history in multiple categories as the first South Korean film to win major prizes at the award show.
Heading into the ceremony with six nominations, “Parasite” picked up awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film on Sunday night at the 92nd annual ceremony with the star-studded crowd rising to their feet to celebrate the cast and crew with each successive win.
“I feel like a very opportune moment in history is happening right now,” producer Kwak Sin-ae said on stage at the end of the ceremony, noting that “Parasite” is the first foreign language film to take home the Best Picture award in the Oscars’ 92-year history.
In the Best Picture category, the film bested competitors “1917,” “Little Women,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “The Irishman,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Marriage Story,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Joker.” The latter led the pack heading into the night, with 11 nominations.
Sam Mendes’ World War I film was perhaps better positioned to come out on top, having picked up key precursor prizes over awards season at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. The drama, however, fared better in the technical categories, scoring a total of three wins by the end of the night.
None of the cast members from either “1917” or “Parasite” were nominated in the major acting categories, which is historically a bad omen for Best Picture chances at the ceremony. Instead, a quartet of performers repeated wins in the acting races with Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), Renée Zellweger (“Judy”), Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”) delivering acceptance speeches on the award show stage for the umpteenth time.
Not that we’re complaining, as an emotional Pitt moved the crowd by dedicating the award to his six children, while Phoenix remembered his late brother River in a speech about injustice.
The ceremony proceeded without a host for the second year in a row, with Janelle Monae opening the festivities with a musical extravaganza addressing the award show’s lack of racial and gender diversity.
Then Steve Martin and Chris Rock appeared on stage at the top of the show to further deride the Academy’s failure to recognize actors of color and female filmmakers.
And while the evening certainly wasn’t hurting from star power from the nominees, presenters like Timothée Chalamet, Natalie Portman, Keanu Reeves, Diane Keaton, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig were on hand just to make sure you didn’t change the channel over the three-and-a-half-hour show.
Check out the full list of nominees and winners below.
Best Picture
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
WINNER: “Parasite”
Best Actress
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
WINNER: Renée Zellweger, “Judy”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
WINNER: Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
WINNER: Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Best Supporting Actor
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
WINNER: Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Best Director
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
WINNER: Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Best Original Screenplay
“Knives Out”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
WINNER: “Parasite”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Irishman”
WINNER: “Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“The Two Popes”
Best International Feature Film
“Pain & Glory” (Spain)
WINNER: “Parasite” (South Korea)
“Corpus Christi” (Poland)
“Les Misérables” (France)
“Honeyland” (North Macedonia)
Best Production Design
“1917”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
WINNER: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Best Film Editing
WINNER: “Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Parasite”
Best Cinematography
WINNER: “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“The Lighthouse”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Best Visual Effects
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
WINNER: “1917”
Best Costume Design
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
WINNER: “Little Women”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“1917”
WINNER: “Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
Best Sound Editing
WINNER: “Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
Best Sound Mixing
WINNER: “1917”
“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Best Original Score
WINNER: “Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” (“Toy Story 4”) — Randy Newman
WINNER: “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (“Rocketman”) — Elton John & Bernie Taupin
“I’m Standing With You” (“Breakthrough”) — Diane Warren
“Into the Unknown” (“Frozen II”) — Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Stand Up” (“Harriet”) — Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo
Best Animated Feature
“How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
WINNER: “Toy Story 4”
“Klaus”
“I Lost My Body”
“Missing Link”
Best Documentary Feature
WINNER: “American Factory”
“The Cave”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“Honeyland”
Best Live Action Short Film
“Brotherhood”
“Nefta Football Club”
WINNER: “The Neighbors’ Window”
“Saria”
“A Sister”
Best Animated Short Film
“Dcera”
WINNER: “Hair Love”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Sister”
Best Documentary Short Subject
“In the Absence”
WINNER: “Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl”
“Life Overtakes Me”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha”