60 Fun Facts About Oscars 2023

On what date was the 95th Academy Awards ceremony held?

The show honored films released in 2022 and handed out Oscars in 23 categories. It aired on ABC in the United States.

Which Hollywood venue hosted the 2023 Oscars ceremony?

The Dolby Theatre has hosted the Oscars since 2002, when it opened as the Kodak Theatre.

Which comedian hosted the 2023 Oscars, his third time in the job?

He had previously hosted the 89th and 90th ceremonies, including the year of the La La Land / Moonlight envelope mix-up.

Before 2023, the host had already presided over the Oscars in which two consecutive years?

Those were the 89th and 90th ceremonies. In his 2023 press release he joked that being asked back was 'either a great honor or a trap'.

Which film won Best Picture at the 2023 Oscars?

The multiverse comedy-drama swept the night, becoming only the third film ever to win three acting Oscars.

How many Oscars did the Best Picture winner take home in 2023?

It won Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay and Film Editing, converting well over half of its nominations.

How many nominations did the 2023 Best Picture winner receive, the most of any film that year?

Its two closest rivals, a German war remake and an Irish black comedy, tied for second with nine apiece.

The 2023 Best Picture winner was the first film of which genre to win the top prize?

The Academy had never before given its top prize to a sci-fi film, despite nominees such as Star Wars, E.T. and Arrival.

The 2023 Best Picture winner was the third film to win three acting Oscars. Which was one of the other two?

The other was A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Network's three wins in 1977 included a posthumous Best Actor for Peter Finch.

Who won Best Actor at the 2023 Oscars for playing a reclusive, 600-pound English teacher in The Whale?

It capped a widely celebrated comeback. Director Darren Aronofsky said he had spent a decade searching for the right actor for the role.

The 2023 Best Actor winner became the first person from which country to win the category?

He was born in Indianapolis to Canadian parents and holds dual citizenship. Aronofsky cast him after seeing a trailer for an obscure Brazilian film.

For the first time since 1935, all five 2023 Best Actor nominees shared what distinction?

The field was Fraser, Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal and Bill Nighy, none of whom had been nominated before.

Which of these actors was NOT nominated for Best Actor at the 2023 Oscars?

Cruise's fighter-jet sequel earned six nominations, but none for its star. Mescal was recognized for Aftersun and Nighy for Living.

Who won Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars for playing laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang?

The Malaysian star's win made her the first Asian winner of Best Actress. She was 60 at the time.

The 2023 Best Actress winner was the second woman of color to win it. Who was the first?

Berry won in 2002 for Monster's Ball, and she was one of the presenters of the lead acting awards in 2023.

Ana de Armas earned a 2023 Best Actress nomination for Blonde, playing which figure?

Blonde was Netflix's fictionalised take on Marilyn Monroe's life. De Armas was the only nominee from a streaming-first release in the category.

Whose surprise 2023 Best Actress nod for To Leslie triggered an Academy review of campaigning?

The film's distributor ran no conventional campaign; instead its director and his wife rallied celebrities to host screenings and post online. The Academy kept the nomination but rewrote its rules that May.

Who won Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Oscars for playing Waymond Wang?

His tearful speech, which opened with 'Mom, I just won an Oscar!', came after a 19-year break from acting.

The 2023 Best Supporting Actor winner was the first Oscar winner from which country?

His family came to the United States as refugees. He was only the second Asian winner in the category, after Haing S. Ngor for The Killing Fields.

The 2023 Best Supporting Actor winner played Short Round as a child in which 1984 film?

He was cast at 13 after auditions at his elementary school, then played Data in The Goonies a year later. His Oscar came on the same night his old co-star from that film handed out Best Picture.

Who won Best Supporting Actress at the 2023 Oscars for playing IRS auditor Deirdre Beaubeirdre?

It was her first Oscar nomination and win, at 64, decades after her Halloween debut made her a scream queen.

The 2023 Best Supporting Actress winner is the daughter of Janet Leigh and which actor?

Both parents were Oscar nominees but neither won; Leigh was nominated for Psycho and Curtis for The Defiant Ones.

The 2023 Best Director winners were only the ___ pair of directors to win for the same film.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known as the Daniels, followed Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (West Side Story) and the Coen brothers (No Country for Old Men).

Before their Oscar-winning film, the Daniels were best known for the video to which 2013 hit?

The DJ Snake and Lil Jon video earned them a Grammy nomination. Their feature debut was 2016's Swiss Army Man, starring Daniel Radcliffe as a flatulent corpse.

Which studio distributed the 2023 Best Picture winner, then its highest-grossing film?

The film grossed about $143M worldwide on a budget under $25M after opening in just ten theaters.

Which German-language war film won Best International Feature at the 2023 Oscars?

Netflix's adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's novel also won seven BAFTAs including Best Film. It was Germany's first win in the category since The Lives of Others.

How many Oscars did the 2023 Best International Feature winner take home in total?

It added Cinematography, Original Score and Production Design to its International Feature win, second only to the Best Picture winner's haul.

The Banshees of Inisherin tied for second with nine nominations in 2023. How many Oscars did it win?

Despite four acting nominations, it went home empty-handed. Its writer-director Martin McDonagh already owned an Oscar for the short Six Shooter.

Which composer won Best Original Score in 2023 for the German First World War film?

Bertelmann also records as Hauschka. He beat 90-year-old John Williams, the oldest competitive nominee in Oscar history.

At 90, John Williams became the oldest competitive Oscar nominee ever for scoring which film?

It was his 53rd nomination, a record for any living person, and came for Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical drama about his childhood.

Judd Hirsch's 2023 supporting nomination came a record 42 years after his first, for which 1980 film?

The gap is the longest between two Oscar nominations. He lost both times, in 1981 to his Ordinary People co-star Timothy Hutton.

Which stop-motion film won Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Oscars?

Del Toro's dark, Fascist-Italy-set version had been in development since 2008 before Netflix rescued it. He dedicated it to his parents.

Which song won Best Original Song at the 2023 Oscars, the first Indian song ever to do so?

The RRR dance number, composed by M. M. Keeravani, was performed live by singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj to a standing ovation.

RRR, whose song won an Oscar in 2023, is a film in which Indian language?

Its lyricist Chandrabose said he wrote 90 percent of the song in half a day and took 1.7 years to finish the rest.

Which song did Rihanna perform at the 2023 Oscars?

The nominated ballad from the Black Panther sequel was co-written with Tems and Ludwig Göransson. It was her first Oscars performance.

Lady Gaga almost skipped singing 'Hold My Hand' at the 2023 Oscars because of which film?

Her appearance was confirmed only on the morning of the show. She performed a stripped-back version in jeans and a T-shirt.

Which documentary about a poisoned Russian opposition leader won Best Documentary Feature in 2023?

It premiered at Sundance in January 2022 and won the festival's audience award. Its subject died in an Arctic prison in February 2024.

Which cable news channel's film arm co-produced the 2023 Best Documentary Feature winner?

The film follows the investigation into a 2020 Novichok poisoning that put its subject in a coma.

Which film won Best Documentary Short in 2023, the first Indian film to win in that category?

Director Kartiki Gonsalves spent about five years filming an indigenous couple raising orphaned elephants in Mudumalai National Park.

What is the name of the orphaned baby elephant in the 2023 Best Documentary Short winner?

Bomman and Bellie, of the Kattunayakan tribe, later adopt a second calf, Ammu, and eventually have to give Raghu up.

Which film won Best Live Action Short at the 2023 Oscars?

The comedy about two estranged brothers reunited on a farm in Northern Ireland also won the BAFTA. The cast led the audience in singing happy birthday to star James Martin on stage.

Which film won Best Animated Short at the 2023 Oscars?

It was adapted from Charlie Mackesy's best-selling illustrated book, and Mackesy shared the Oscar with producer Matthew Freud.

Ruth E. Carter won her second Oscar in 2023 for Costume Design on which film?

Her first win was for the original Black Panther in 2019. She had earlier been nominated for Malcolm X and Amistad.

Ruth E. Carter dedicated her 2023 Oscar to her mother, who had died the week before at what age?

Carter later became the most-nominated Black woman in Academy history with a fifth nod for Sinners.

Which film won Best Visual Effects at the 2023 Oscars?

It was the second Avatar film to win the category; the original won in 2010. It was the second-highest-grossing Best Picture nominee of the year.

Sarah Polley won Best Adapted Screenplay in 2023 for which film?

Adapted from Miriam Toews's novel, it was also a Best Picture nominee. Polley beat Kazuo Ishiguro's Living and Rian Johnson's Glass Onion.

Which was the highest-grossing Best Picture nominee of the 2023 Oscars, with about $719M domestically?

For the first time since 1983, the two highest-grossing films of the year were both nominated for Best Picture.

What color was the arrivals carpet at the 2023 Oscars, the first non-red carpet since 1960?

Consultant Lisa Love said the lighter shade was chosen so it would not clash with a sienna-colored tent shielding guests from the weather.

Why did the Academy hire a 'crisis team' for the 2023 ceremony?

CEO Bill Kramer said the Academy had 'run many scenarios'. The host still opened with jokes about the incident, and it passed without any repeat.

The 2023 host joked in a press release that being invited back was 'either a great honor or a ___'.

He added that he was grateful the Academy asked 'so quickly after everyone good said no'.

Which pair announced the 2023 Oscar nominations on January 24, 2023?

The announcement was made at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Ahmed had won an Oscar the previous year for the short The Long Goodbye.

Which action star presented the Best Picture award at the 2023 Oscars?

The moment reunited him with his former child co-star Short Round, who had just won Best Supporting Actor and jumped into his arms on stage.

Which singer performed 'Calling All Angels' during the 2023 In Memoriam segment?

The segment was introduced by John Travolta, who choked up remembering his Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John.

Roughly how many US viewers watched the 2023 Oscars on ABC?

That was a 13 percent rise on 2022 and the first back-to-back annual increase since 2014, making it the year's most-watched prime-time entertainment broadcast.

Who received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Governors Awards ahead of the 2023 Oscars?

The citation praised his advocacy for Parkinson's research. His foundation has funded more than $1 billion in research since 2000.

Which songwriter received an Honorary Oscar for 2023 while also being nominated that year for 'Applause'?

The honorary award came after 13 nominations without a win. She performed 'Applause' on the show with Sofia Carson, then lost a 14th time.

Who produced the 2023 Oscars telecast, with one of the pair also directing?

They were hired in September 2022; Rickey Minor served as musical director.

Why did the 2023 ceremony present all 23 categories live, unlike the year before?

In 2022 eight below-the-line categories had been handed out before the live telecast.

Which presenter pulled out of the 2023 ceremony after testing positive for COVID-19?

Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley were the first women-led design team for an Oscars stage.

Who introduced the In Memoriam segment at the 2023 Oscars?

Lenny Kravitz sang 'Calling All Angels' during the tribute.