Last Sunday, the 96th Academy Awards aired and featured different actors, directors, musicians and more. Below is a recap of the most popular awards and our thoughts on the award show as a whole.

The award show started at 7:00 p.m. on the dot, which is different from previous years. Usually, the show starts around 8:00 p.m., meaning the show ends much later. Starting the show at 7:00 made it much more enjoyable, as it did not drag on until late in the night.

The show was hosted by three-time Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel. His commentary was light-hearted and entertaining, including a bit with John Cena which made reference to the 50th anniversary of the streaker that
ran across the Oscar stage in 1974. The timing was impeccable, as Cena presented the Best Costume Design Award, stating, “Costumes are important” while standing on stage naked.

In addition, Kimmel had a bit with Guillermo Rodriquez, Kimmel’s sidekick, where Rodriquez bought everyone a small bottle of Don Julio tequila and made a toast with the audience.

The award show also implemented a new presentation of the nominees for the bigger awards like lead and supporting actors and actresses. Five previous winners of the respective awards introduced the nominees with short, personal speeches before the winner was announced.

Every year, one of the highlights of the awards is when Best Original Song nominees perform throughout the night after commercial breaks. Barbie’s “I’m Just Ken” was an audience and viewer favorite, and Ryan Gosling gave a memorable performance, including many of Barbie’s cast members. As loved as it was, no one can deny that Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” from the Barbie movie deserved the win.

The films Oppenheimer and Poor Things dominated the show. Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy won Best Actor and Robert Downey Jr. from Oppenheimer won Best Supporting Actor. The film also won Best Picture and Christopher Nolan won Best Director for the movie as well. Poor Things’ Emma Stone won Best Actress and the movie also won Best Costume Design, Best Makeup/Hairstyling and Best Production Design.

This year’s Oscars were one of the best on record. With witty jokes, well-done performances and great films, all winners deserved their awards and viewers enjoyed watching the show.