Everything Everywhere All at Once has taken home best picture at the 2023 Oscars, capping a remarkable journey for the scrappy indie film turned awards season juggernaut.
“This is for my dad, who like so many immigrant parents, died young, and he is so proud of me — not because of this,” said producer Jonathan Wang, holding his statuette, “but because we made this movie with what he taught me to do, which is … no one is more important than anyone else.”
The feature from Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) debuted a year ago at South by Southwest and became a surprise box office hit, grossing $106.3 million on a $15 million budget.
Related Stories
Dealing with multiple realities, the quirky A24 film centers on a laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) who transcends universes in order to defeat an ultimate evil. The martial arts-heavy project reinvigorated the career of Ke Huy Quan, who was best known for his work as a child in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and propelled Daniels to top director status and a rich deal at Universal. And after decades in the business, it gave Yeoh her first lead in a Hollywood theatrical feature.
The film also took home wins for directing (Daniels), best actress (Yeoh), best supporting actor (Quan), best supporting actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), original screenplay (Daniels) and editing (Paul Rogers). The award was presented by Harrison Ford, providing for an on-stage Indiana Jones reunion with Quan.
Other films up for best picture included All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, The Fabelmans, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, Triangle of Sadness and Women Talking.
One of the main themes of Everything Everywhere is being kind to one another. That’s something Kwan echoed Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre.
Said Kwan, accepting his third Oscar of the night: “One of the best things we can do for each other is shelter each other from the chaos of this crazy world.”
For more from the Academy Awards, see the star-studded Oscars red carpet arrivals.
