After its $45.3 million debut, The Walt Disney Co.'s “Hoppers” release dipped a modest 37% in its follow-up weekend, a promising sign for an animated movie hoping to have strong legs through March. The Pixar original, about a young woman who transforms into the body of a beaver to help defend a pond from development, is hoping to keep attracting audiences with good reviews (94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and strong audience scores (an “A” CinemaScore).

While many of Pixar's sequels have been blockbusters on arrival — like 2024’s “Inside Out 2” ($1.7 billion worldwide) — their originals have recently needed time to get going. In 2023, “Elemental” launched with a disappointing $29.6 million but went on to gross a hefty $496.4 million globally.

“Hoppers,” which has taken in $164.7 million globally thus far, has a long way to go to match that, but it’s off to a good start. It faced little direct new competition this weekend. The upcoming Amazon MGM sci-fi adventure “Project Hail Mary,” however, will soon take up IMAX screens and compete for family moviegoers.

Universal’s “Reminders of Him” debuted in second place this weekend with a better-than-expected $18.3 million. The film, starring Maika Monroe as a woman attempting to rebuild her life after prison, is the third Colleen Hoover adaptation to reach the big screen, following 2024’s “It Ends With Us” ($351 million worldwide for Sony) and 2025’s “Regretting You” ($91 million for Paramount).

“Reminders of Him,” which cost about $25 million to make, got poor reviews (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and notched a not-great “B” CinemaScore with audiences. But the film, the first from a screenplay co-written by Hoover, extends the bestselling author's popularity with moviegoers.

“ Undertone,” a micro-budget horror movie from A24, opened with $9.3 million. The film, written and directed by Ian Tuason, has been touted as A24’s best horror film since Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” (2018), one of the movies that helped put the indie studio on the map. With a budget of just $500,000, “Undertone” makes particular use of sound design in a one-setting tale about a paranormal podcaster (Nina Kiri) caring for her dying mother.

After its disappointing debut, Warner Bros. “The Bride!” plummeted in its second weekend, dropping 70% with just $2.1 million. The Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed riff on “The Bride of Frankenstein” cost about $80-90 million to produce, but so far has grossed just $11.3 million domestically.

Oscar weekend is often slow in theaters, with the industry's attention largely focused on Sunday's Academy Awards. But the trio of moderate successes in “Hoppers,” “Reminders of Him” and “Undertone” lifted moviegoing ahead of Hollywood's biggest night. Year-to-date ticket sales are up 15.2% from the same point last year, according to Comscore.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Hoppers,” $28.5 million.

2. “Reminders of Him,” $18.3 million.

3. “Undertone,” $9.3 million.

4. “Scream 7,” $8.4 million.

5. “Goat,” $4.7 million.

6. “The Bride!” $2.1 million.

7. “Kiki's Delivery Service,” $1.7 million.

8. “Wuthering Heights,” $1.7 million.

9. “TMNT II,” $1.5 million.

10. “Crime 101,” $1.1 million.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: A new “Peaky Blinders” movie called “The Immortal Man,” spring’s buzziest video game, the ambitious role-playing adventure Crimson Desert, and Bradley Cooper directs Will Arnett and Laura Dern in his third feature, “Is This Thing On?”

New movies to stream on March 20

— Get your best Birmingham accent ready, Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby is back in the new “Peaky Blinders” movie, “The Immortal Man,” which will be on Netflix as of Friday, March 20. Series creator Steven Knight wrote the script and Tom Harper directed the film in a cast that includes Rebecca Ferguson and Barry Keoghan. The six seasons of the show are also available on Netflix for re-watches and catching up.

— Bradley Cooper directs Will Arnett and Laura Dern in his third feature, “Is This Thing On?” about a man going through a divorce who turns to stand-up comedy. It’s loosely based on the story of Manchester comedian Joseph Bishop. In her review for The Associated Press, Jocelyn Noveck wrote that it is “a deeply felt film about one teetering marriage, and a work whose power sneaks up on you slowly.” It’ll be on Hulu on Friday, March 20.

— “Wicked: For Good,” the epic conclusion to Jon M. Chu’s two-film adaptation will finally be streaming on Peacock on Friday, March 20. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum and more are all on hand for the decidedly darker second half, which was less well received than the first but still surprised when it received zero Oscar nominations. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote “‘Wicked: For Good,’ rather than conjuring Oz anew, always feels like it’s jumping from one set piece to another. Maybe this is a silly gripe for a fantasyland. (‘I don’t have any idea where the offices of the Lollipop Guild are!’) But I rarely found myself lifted into a movie world, but rather sat watching it — sometimes with admiration, rarely with delight — from the mezzanine. The rub of going for maximum effect all the time is that the actors never have a chance to simply be.”

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

New music to stream from March 16-22

— Call it the most anticipated K-pop album of the year, or the biggest comeback: The mighty BTS return on Friday, March 20, with “ARIRANG,” their first full-length project since all seven members — RM, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, Jung Kook and j-hope — completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. Excitement couldn’t be higher for its loyal audience, called ARMY. And there’s a lot celebrate: In addition to the new release, fans can also stream their comeback performance live on Netflix on Saturday, titled “BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE ' ARIRANG,” broadcast from Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.

— Luke Combs has big shoes to fill – his own. The country singer has become a full-on pop phenomenon, due in no small part to his ubiquitous cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” The question is now, what comes next? It’s a simple answer: a new album, “The Way I Am,” out Friday. Singles “Be By You” and “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” have made for fast country radio hits; it’s only a matter of time before the album becomes one of the genre’s biggest releases of the year.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

New series to stream from March 16-22

— Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington and Kate Mara star in a new psychological thriller for Apple TV called “ Imperfect Women. ” The trio play longtime friends whose bond is fractured after a crime occurs. Moss and Washington are executive producers on the series which is based on a novel by Araminta Hall. The ensemble also includes Joel Kinnaman, Corey Stoll, Leslie Odom Jr., Sheryl Lee Ralph and Ana Ortiz. The first two episodes of the eight-episode series drop Wednesday.

— “ The Lady ” is a new Britbox limited-series fictionalizing the true story of Jane Andrews, a dresser for the former Duchess of York who ended up in prison for murdering her lover. The four-part series premieres Wednesday and stars Mia McKenna-Bruce as Andrews and Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson.

— After the cringey, ingenious comedy “ Jury Duty ” debuted in 2023, many wondered how they could ever pull off another season. It followed Ronald, a man serving jury duty on what he believed was a real trial. Oh, and the trial was also being covered by a documentary crew. Thing is, everyone was an actor except Ronald. The unsuspecting protagonist of season two is Anthony, a new, temporary hire at a family-owned hot sauce business. The employees attend a company retreat and Anthony has no idea that his new colleagues are actors and all situations are pre-planned. “ Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat " debuts Wednesday on Prime Video.

— The popular long-running Hallmark series “When Calls the Heart” gets a prequel called “ Hope Valley: 1874 ″ for the streaming platform Hallmark+. Bethany Joy Lenz stars as Rebecca Clarke, a Chicago mother who takes her daughter to settle in the Canadian west and build a new life. When their wagon breaks down, she must accept help from a local rancher who is single. Jill Hennessy also stars. It premieres Saturday, March 21 on Hallmark+.

— Lisa Kudrow returns to HBO as B-list actor Valerie Cherish for a third and final season of “ The Comeback. ” All three seasons of the show have been spaced a decade-ish apart and follow a woman navigating aging and staying relevant in showbiz what its ever-changing landscape. In the new episodes, Cherish lands a new TV series that is written by AI. The dark comedy streams Sunday, March 22 on HBO Max.

— Alicia Rancilio

New video games to play from March 16-22

— Spring’s buzziest game is Crimson Desert, an ambitious role-playing adventure from South Korean studio Pearl Abyss. It’s the tale of a warrior named Kliff in a quasi-medieval world called Pywel. After Kliff and his comrades get ambushed, he sets out on a mission of vengeance — but you know you can expect to fight more than other humans in a sword-and-sorcery epic like this. Trailers have featured intense-looking combat against familiar fantasy foes like witches, demons, ogres and dragons, with a flying mech thrown in for good measure. Take up arms Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

— Baseball fans got an early treat this year with the World Baseball Classic, so it’s only appropriate that Team USA captain Aaron Judge is on the cover of MLB The Show 26. This year’s edition lets you replay the WBC along with however many Major League seasons you like, whether you’re managing an entire franchise or guiding a player from the minors to Cooperstown. New features include “Bear Down Pitching” and “Big Zone Hitting” for high-stress moments — and you can now challenge balls and strikes! Opening Day arrives Monday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and Switch.

— Lou Kesten

At Sunday's 98th Oscars, The Associated Press was inside the Dolby Theatre scoping out all the things that weren't broadcast to the world.

Before the show began

The stars like to cut things close when it comes to the Oscars. Many of the biggest names of the night didn’t make it to the red carpet until it was just 30 minutes to showtime. But unlike a premiere, live television doesn’t wait for the tardy A-lister to start.

And it can be a helpful excuse when, say, you’re Paul Mescal and you don’t want to do the “glambot.” “Sorry, I don’t have time,” he said politely. But as he made his way up the stairs to the Dolby Theatre with girlfriend Gracie Abrams by his side, she laughed and snarked “you sure you don’t want to do the glambot?”

A Hudson/Hawn/Russell Oscars

Early in the show, after Conan O’Brien’s opening bit, Kate Hudson made her way to the lobby bar during a commercial break where she was soon joined by Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. She had a brief moment of panic that she might be needed in the auditorium and found a nearby staffer who eased her worries as they looked over the schedule on an iPad.

“I’m good!” she said as she made her way back to her mom and Russell and the three continued chatting.

They stayed close all evening. As they made their way out of the auditorium after the show, Hudson, who did not win the best actress prize, was still in good spirits and excitedly congratulated Michael B. Jordan on his win. Later, Kieran Culkin stopped Hawn and Russell and said “it was really cool watching you interact with your daughter.”

Drinks for the stars

Part of the fun of the lobby bar experience is getting a little glimpse into what the stars like to drink. After the absent Sean Penn took the best supporting actor prize, Jacob Elordi made his way to the bar with his mom, keeping her close with an arm around her shoulder. He chose a nice tequila, Don Julio 1942, with a bit of ice and lime.

In another part of the room, Nicole Kidman laughed and socialized while sipping champagne. Nearby, Jessie Buckley was doing the same. Mescal chose a pink colored tequila drink, while Abrams opted for champagne.

Nick Jonas held two bottled waters and a mixed tequila drink in his hand, which he sipped slowly. But it seems he or someone else wanted a vodka drink, which a kind server checked on and informed him that there was none to be offered. He thanked her and made his way back to the bar to leave a cash tip.

Some stars weren’t drinking though. Domnhall Gleeson snacked on Hershey kisses with almonds, while “Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams ate a single sliced cucumber.

Emma Stone has another dress incident

Ok, so this one wasn’t quite as dramatic, or public, as Emma Stone telling the Oscars audience and millions watching from home that her dress broke as she accepted her best actress Oscar for “Poor Things,” but Stone had another minor dress incident in the lobby. While chatting with “Bugonia” screenwriter Will Tracy and his date, she lost her diamond ring which had affixed itself to the back of her gown. The woman with Tracy performed a delicate operation to remove the ring, dress unscathed and get it back on Stone’s middle finger.

Afterparty planning

Much of the chatter outside of the show revolved around what people were doing after, and complaints about not being on the list for Vanity Fair, which culled its invites this year in an effort to make it more exclusive. Stone made a plan to jump on a big bus with her “Bugonia” peers and stop by the Universal Pictures party before heading to A24's bash. When asked about Vanity Fair, she said, “it’s so weird, even if you’re nominated it doesn’t mean you can go.”

Family support from the mezzanine

Both Jordan and Buckley made special mention of their families in the audience during their acceptance speeches. Both Jordan’s father and Buckley’s family were seated in the same section — not bad seats by any stretch but a bit out of view of the person on stage. After the wins, many around the families were eager to congratulate them as well.

The ‘Sinners’ crew sticks together

When the show ended and the “One Battle After Another” crew lingered on stage, hugging one another and watching, the “Sinners” group made their way out of the auditorium together. Jordan hugged costume designer Ruth E. Carter, while Joachim Trier found his way to Ryan Coogler to do the same. Ryan and Zinzi Coogler paused to look up at the screen which was already replaying Jordan’s acceptance speech.

Omar Benson Miller, who played Cornbread, was still processing the night. In the theater and at the bar, the “Sinners” wins were by far the most enthusiastically celebrated. Though he said he has a tendency to be a “sore loser,” he still felt the palpable love for their film. “Hey, we got a couple!” he said.

Scenes from the Governors Ball

The first stop of the night for most is the Governors Ball, just a few escalator rides up from the Dolby. The happiest area was the Warner Bros. “One Battle After Another” tables where Leonardo DiCaprio, sipping red wine, and Benicio Del Toro, with champagne and not a few small beers, held court with studio executives, including Pamela Abdy. David Zaslav stopped by to chat with DiCaprio too, patting his star on the back. When DiCaprio saw co-star Chase Infiniti approaching the area, he made a gesture that was not entirely dissimilar to his famous cheers from “The Great Gatsby.”

Elsewhere Renate Reinsve ditched her shoes and walked barefoot through the party, which was carpeted. Steven Spielberg told “Train Dreams” director Clint Bentley about his plans to stop by Vanity Fair and how much he wanted to talk to Paul Thomas Anderson. Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons stayed close to Alicia Silverstone, while Kerry Condon sampled the prime rib.

And Mandy Patinkin sat alone sampling sushi and trying to make a phone call as the music blared. Patinkin said he was honored to be there to support his late friend Rob Reiner.

“Rob made a beautiful movie,” he said.

She did exactly that throughout the ceremony, and certainly for its two tentpole performances: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the voices behind the fictional girl group HUNTR/X, who performed “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” and Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq tackling “I Lied to You” from “Sinners.”

For the former, Moore served as a creative director. “It's a huge song. ‘Golden’ is huge.” she said. “There are two pieces to the performance: The first piece is a celebration of traditional Korean culture. And there is traditional drumming and singing and folk dance. And it then transitions into obviously the more kind of modern pop world of the ‘Golden’ performance.”

Preparation was extensive. “Immediately I went to the Oscars team and said, ‘I need to work with someone who is a Korean consultant and I would also love to hire this person to be in the performance.’” They landed DaEun Jung, associate professor from the University of California at Riverside, an expert in “not only the dance styles, but the wardrobe and the music and the singing,” Moore continued. “So, she has really been integral to that whole process of creating the prologue.” She also agreed to dance in the “Golden” performance.

Because “KPop Demon Hunters” is an animated film, Moore said “there's kind of no rules” in what could happen with the performance — as long as the filmmaker's tone and desires are met. And “in no way did they feel that we needed to create a live action performance of this song, to try and do it like the animation. Because you can't.”

They also didn't want the performance to only utilize “K-pop moves,” Moore said. After all, “I am not a K-pop choreographer.” It's not a K-pop concert, but rather, a performance that emphasized “creating visuals.”

However, audience members did wave golden light sticks — a common feature of K-pop concerts — and a wonderful nod to that culture.

Moore also had the idea to incorporate gold flags into the performance. “The way the flags move through the space feels, visually, like I hear the song,” she said. “It needed to be event television, in a way … Something that is so epic in nature and scale that it really transcends just somebody singing and dancing.”

Moore was a bit less involved with the “Sinners” Oscars' performance.

That's because they engaged "directly with the choreographers and the filmmakers from ‘Sinners,’” she said, led by the movie's head choreographer Aakomon “AJ” Jones. He's the man responsible for the incredible dance sequence when “I Lied To You” is performed in the movie — which speaks to why the Oscars' performance was a near-recreation of the iconic scene.

“I'm simply here as a support to Aakomon,” she said.

In addition to Caton and Saadiq, the “I Lied To You” performance featured Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith.

It's exactly “what you would want from a ‘Sinners’ performance on the Oscars,” Moore said.

“And the throughline for both performances is that they start with storytelling, first,” she said. “Its story involved with dance. It's not simply dance steps.”

Anderson won the Academy Award for best director for “One Battle After Another,” the sweeping political drama that blends his signature character-driven storytelling with large-scale historical themes.

“They make a guy work hard for these,” Anderson said while glancing down at the trophy. Earlier in Sunday's ceremony, he won his first-ever Oscar for best adapted screenplay and took home best picture to close out the show.

"I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world we’re handing off to them,” he said.

The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, follows a group of political activists navigating shifting alliances and generational power struggles. Anderson brings the same precise visual style and layered character work that has defined his career.

While speaking backstage, Anderson acknowledged that the film echoes the political moment.

“Our film obviously has a certain amount of parallel to what’s happening in the news every day,” Anderson said. “So it obviously reflects what’s happening in the world.”

Anderson said collaboration remains the driving force behind his filmmaking.

“I’ve been doing this long enough to tell you that the reason I continue to do it is because of the people that I collaborate with,” he said backstage. “It’s probably not very fashionable to say that you don’t do it for awards or anything else, but honest to God, the thing that gets me really excited about making films is collaborating with people.”

Anderson dedicated his win to his late collaborator Adam Somner, who died in 2024 from cancer.

“He’s in a really big bar up in the sky right now,” Anderson said. “He’s having a gin and tonic, and he is so happy.”

The filmmaker addressed conversations about how race and character complexity are portrayed in the film, particularly surrounding Teyana Taylor's character named Perfidia Beverly Hills, a Black female revolutionary. He said the character was written to be someone struggling internally while trying to lead a revolution.

“We always knew that we were trying to make something complicated,” Anderson said. “We knew that we weren’t making something that was heroic. ... This woman was suffering, not only from postpartum depression, but she had issues of her own that she hadn’t really reconciled with."

Anderson praised other nominees in the best directing category included Ryan Coogler for “Sinners,” Chloé Zhao for “Hamnet,” Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value,” and Josh Safdie for “Marty Supreme.” He called them “classmates” before offering some sarcasm.

“There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it,” Anderson said of the trophy for best director. “But there is no question the pleasure of having it for myself.”

For more than two decades, Anderson has built one of the most respected bodies of work in American filmmaking. He first broke through with the 1997 film “Boogie Nights,” a sprawling ensemble drama set in the adult film industry that quickly established him as a bold new voice.

He followed with “Magnolia,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and the towering oil-industry epic “There Will Be Blood,” widely considered one of the defining films of the 21st century.

Anderson continued to earn acclaim with “The Master,” “Phantom Thread” and “Licorice Pizza,” films celebrated for their performances, craftsmanship and emotional depth.

Despite multiple nominations across directing and writing categories, Anderson had never won an Oscar for directing until now.

His victory for “One Battle After Another” cements his place among the academy’s most celebrated filmmakers.

The prize for best actress went to second-time nominee Buckley for her role as William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in the drama directed by Chloé Zhao.

Buckley burst into a fit of laughter before beginning her speech, saying, “This is really something.”

“It’s Mother’s Day in the U.K. today, so I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart,” she said. “We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds. Thank you for recognizing me in this role.”

Buckley, who is Irish, had swept the awards circuit leading up to the ceremony, winning in her category at the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Actor Awards. She is the first Irish performer to win a best actress Oscar.

A front-runner in the category, Buckley was nominated alongside first-time nominees Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and Renate Reinsve for “Sentimental Value.” Two-time winner Emma Stone was also nominated for “Bugonia,” as was two-time nominee Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue.”

“Hamnet,” which is an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s prizewinning historical fiction novel from 2020, dramatizes the mysterious private life of the famed playwright and poet Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway (who was also called Agnes). The plot centers on the death of the couple’s 11-year-old son, Hamnet, and the intense grief that followed.

Fellow Irish actor Paul Mescal plays William as the story imagines a connection between Hamnet’s tragic death and the birth of what many consider to be Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, “Hamlet.” (The two names were virtually interchangeable in England during the 16th century).

The film developed a reputation for leaving audiences in tears, due in large part to the potency of Buckley’s performance. She was previously nominated for the supporting actress Oscar for her turn in the 2021 film “The Lost Daughter.”

The drama received eight Oscar nominations, including for directing, adapted screenplay and best picture.

Jordan got one trophy for playing identical twins Smoke and Stack in the blues-seeped supernatural horror film set in 1930s Mississippi that earned a record 16 Academy Award nominations and won four.

Last year's winner, Adrien Brody, announced Jordan's name Sunday night, setting off a wild celebration inside the Dolby Theatre. Teyana Taylor, a supporting actress nominee for “One Battle After Another,” joined the standing ovation, mouthing, “Yes!”

Jordan was cheered loudly as he made his way through the backstage photo and interview rooms. The win is Jordan's first Oscar.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and there’s a lot of people who have seen me grow up in this industry,” he said backstage, “and they looked out for me when they didn’t have to.”

Jordan is eager to pass on that support.

“I'm really big on the next generation, so, try to be an example,” he said. “I’m not a big talker, I’m about action. I like to lead by example.”

Jordan is the sixth Black man to win the best actor trophy. He joins Will Smith (“King Richard,” 2020), Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland,” 2006), Jamie Foxx (“Ray,” 2004), Denzel Washington (“Training Day,” 2001) and Sidney Poitier (“Lillies of the Field”), who was the first in 1963.

“I stand here because of the people that came before me — Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith,” he said on stage, “and to be up amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys, thank you everybody in this room and everybody at home supporting me over my career.”

Jordan added, “I know you guys wanted me to do well and I want to do that because you guys bet on me, so thank you for keep betting on me. I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I can be.”

The other nominees were Timothée Chalamet in “Marty Supreme,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke of “Blue Moon” and Wagner Moura in “The Secret Agent.”

Chalamet had been the early Oscar favorite after wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. But Jordan surprised himself by winning at the Actor Awards, giving him momentum in the final days of Oscar voting.

“Sinners” reunited Jordan and writer-producer-director Ryan Coogler. They go back to their first collaboration in 2013.

“You’re an amazing person,” Jordan told Coogler from the stage. “You gave me the opportunity and space to be seen.”

Jordan’s breakthrough film role came in Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station” for which he received critical praise playing a real-life man who was killed by police. It was Coogler’s directorial debut, and they followed with “Creed,” “Black Panther” and now “Sinners.”

Jordan’s initial acting success came in television. He had a small yet pivotal role in “The Wire” in 2002, followed by the daytime drama “All My Children,” in which he replaced Chadwick Boseman, and “Friday Night Lights.”

He and Boseman later acted together in “Black Panther” and were close friends until Boseman’s death from colon cancer in 2020. Jordan dedicated his acting award from this year’s NAACP Image Awards to Boseman.

Jordan, a 39-year-old who also produces and directs, was named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2020.

Jordan shared Oscar night with his mother, Donna, who hugged her son upon hearing his name, and his father Michael A. Jordan, as well as his two siblings. He espoused the values that he was taught growing up in Newark, New Jersey.

“I’m just walking my path, just trying to be locked in,” he said backstage. “Dream big, man, and be kind and be honest. That’s how I try to live.”

The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw, whose varied credits include “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Last Showgirl” and a Rihanna music video, started exploring cinematography as a career path.

“I’m so honored to be here and I really want all the women in the room to stand up because I feel like I don’t get here without you guys,” Arkapaw told the audience.

Holding her Oscar, she said, “I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign. I feel like moments like this happen because of people like you guys.”

It wasn’t too long ago that she said she struggled to find many women in the field besides Ellen Kuras (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”). Though there are more working today than there were 20 years ago, even Oscar nominations have been few and far between. Only three women before her had been nominated: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on “Fruitvale Station” and “Black Panther”) was the first for “Mudbound” in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for “The Power of the Dog” and Mandy Walker for “Elvis.” Arkapaw was the first woman of color to be nominated.

Arkapaw greeted several of her “Sinners” colleagues as she made her way to the stage.

“Whenever I say thank you to Ryan, he replies and says, ‘No, thank you for believing in me and trusting me,’” she said. “He’s a very honorable person and he means it, he really truly means it.”

Arkapaw thanked her husband and parents. Her young son, Aidan, was carried down the aisle to get closer to the stage after she asked out loud where he was.

“This is an honor,” she said before departing.

She is also the first Black person to win the category. She told reporters backstage: “A lot of little girls that look like me will sleep really well tonight.”

“Sinners” is project that was already historic for women in cinematography. Before it, no woman had ever shot a movie on IMAX film before.

“I heard a phrase that said you need to see you to be you,” she told The Associated Press last year. “I think for us females in business, the more women are able to shoot on large format, it will inspire the younger girls who maybe don’t think that they can get there.”

A native of Northern California, she studied art history at Loyola Marymount University before attending graduate school at the American Film Institute where she used a background in photography to pursue cinematography.

Arkapaw had shot “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on IMAX digital, but film presented its own set of challenges. The cameras are big and loud and have a reputation for being limiting. Before beginning, she consulted with “Oppenheimer” cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who told her not to worry about the size or weight of the equipment and to shoot the movie as she would with any other kind of camera.

“Hearing that straight off was inspiring and encouraging and we took that advice and just told our story,” Arkapaw said. “It was very freeing.”

In the end, they decided to employ a combination of IMAX film and Ultra Panavision 70, an even rarer format that Quentin Tarantino resurrected for “The Hateful Eight.”

One of Arkapaw’s favorite scenes in “Sinners” was one they weren’t even initially going to do on IMAX film because it was dialogue heavy and the cameras are notoriously noisy. But if her work on “Wakanda” taught her anything about Coogler, it’s that he’s always looking to push boundaries.

The scene is the introduction to Jack O’Connell’s Irish vampire Remmick and the Choctaw trying to hunt him down, which they shot like a Western as the sun sets in the distance.

“We had a lot of beautiful crane work in that and some intimate stuff. Ryan loves a hallway, so there’s a Steadicam shot inside. It’s very eerie,” she said. “I can’t see that scene in any other format now.”

It is a first-time win and nomination for all seven members behind the hit. It is also the first K-pop song to win in the category.

“KPop Demon Hunters” is an animated, musical film about a fictional K-pop girl group tasked with saving the world by defeating demons. Netflix has said it is the platform’s most watched film of all time and has amassed hundreds of millions of hours viewed worldwide. It also produced the highest charting soundtrack of 2025 with eight of its songs landing on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Thank you so much to the Academy,” EJAE started her speech, holding back tears. “This award is not about success, it's about resilience.”

“Golden” beat Diane Warren for “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless,” Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson for “I Lied to You” from “Sinners,” Nicholas Pike for “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!” and Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner for “Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams.”

When nominations were announced in January, EJAE told The Associated Press that she was totally shocked by the recognition. “It just doesn’t feel real even right now. I’m just still trying to digest the situation. It’s just definitely a dream come true. And that’s why, you know, we write — to have a song that everyone can sing, and not just sing, but make them feel good, because the lyrics (are) very uplifting, and challenge them to sing those high notes,” she said. “For me, also, it’s the fact that there are Korean lyrics in it. It is just kind of really crazy to see everyone from all different countries and races singing it. So, I’m just forever grateful to be a part of this incredible film that I wish I grew up watching, too.”

‘Sinners’ wins best score

Three-time Academy Award winner Göransson won the Oscar for original score for “Sinners,” winning his third Academy Award.

Göransson beat Jerskin Fendrix (“Bugonia”), Max Richter (“Hamnet”), Jonny Greenwood (“One Battle After Another”) and Alexandre Desplat (“Frankenstein”).

Göransson previously won original score Oscars for 2018’s “Black Panther” and 2023’s “Oppenheimer.”

“My dad bought his first blues album in Sweden, 1964,” Göransson said, crediting his dad’s love of music for his own. He “devoted his whole life to music,” the composer said. Eventually his father gave him a guitar and opened up his world.

“I love the guitar,” he continued. “It was the guitar that eventually led me to one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Ryan Coogler.”

“Sinners” is filmmaker Coogler’s bluesy, vampire, gangster musical about the tenuousness of life in the Jim Crow South. But it’s also a story of two brothers coming home to Mississippi in 1932 to launch a juke joint after spending time on the German front in World War I and then learning from Al Capone in gangland Chicago, as The Associated Press’ Jocelyn Noveck writes in her review. It’s a also story about love, and one about music, especially the transporting power of the blues. “Sinners” entered the night with a record-setting 16 nominations.

When the nominations were announced in January, Göransson told AP that he was grateful for the recognition for this project in particular.

“We woke up to a bunch of amazing, beautiful texts and calls. And it’s very much like a family affair, this film. Everyone on “Sinners,” we’ve been working together for a long time and we’re kind of like a family,” he said. “What’s cool about this film, and what’s incredible about this movie, is that it’s about blues music. It’s about a guitar player. ... Anything we’re hearing today on the radio and from Western culture, you know, wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for blues. Ryan (Coogler) was able to show that in the movie and through the movie.”