Warner Bros Wins the Oscars
Catherine Shoard
One studio to rule them all last night...
Warner Bros, the studio currently in the final stages of talks over a buyout by rivals Paramount, has taken a record 11 prizes from the 98th Academy Awards.
It ties the record for most wins by a studio at the Academy Awards with MGM, who took that number in 1959 with Ben-Hur, Paramount for 1997’s Titanic and New Line Cinema with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003. That outfit was later absorbed into Warner Bros.
Implied, but not explicit here: Warner Bros' tally was arguably more impressive because it wasn't just riding the coattails of one movie that dominated as those other studios did in their historic nights. Yes, One Battle After Another was the big winner – and rightfully so, IMO – with six wins, but Sinners came in with four big wins. And, of course, Weapons had its own big win in acting.
It points to just how dominant of a run Warner Bros had in 2025 – including at the box office, where they were incredibly beating even the mighty Disney until a last-minute surge at the end of the year. And the fact that they pulled it off while in the midst of a contentious battle to be bought is even more impressive!
Speaking of, this Oscar tally immediately turns Paramount from the biggest loser of the night with zero Oscars – though technically you can't lose if you weren't even nominated for any Oscars, I guess! – to a huge winner. Sure, at the end of the day the Oscars are still just sort of a silly awards show. But without question, it's the one with the most clout and with that, comes cultural relevancy and cachet. Paramount is the studio that had less of that than any other studio in 2025 and is buying the studio that had the most of it.
Of course, none of that equates to the actual and literal bottom line. Here's Kyle Buchanan writing about the night for The New York Times:
Unlike last year’s big winner “Anora,” one of the lowest-grossing films to ever take best picture, “One Battle After Another” grossed a hefty $209 million worldwide. That’s significantly more than Anderson’s past efforts like “There Will Be Blood” and “Phantom Thread,” but because of its reported $130 million budget and huge marketing costs, the film did not make its money back at the box office.
While Paramount is getting good prestige value here, it doesn't exactly equate into actual value thanks to Hollywood's often upside-down finances. See also: Apple's Oscar win of the night: F1. Great movie, and important for Apple in many ways. But not when it comes to that bottom line. On the other hand, both Sinners and Weapons were wildly profitable at the box office, so there's that.
Netflix, meanwhile, walked away with seven wins, the only other studio to take home multiple Oscars; tied for their best showing ever at the awards. In a different world, they just racked up an unprecedented 18 Oscars thanks to their agreed-to-be-acquired new studio. Instead, Paramount Skydance vaulted them as the only entity with more wins. For the low, low price of $111B.
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler