‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Wins Best Picture at 2023 Oscars

By Althea Legaspi and Jon Blistein

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL at Once took home the Best Picture trophy at the Academy Awards on Sunday, bringing the film’s total awards of the night won to seven and capping off a remarkable awards season run.

Producer Jonathan Wang accepted the prize, saying in his speech, “I never thought I would get to say this, so I say it with one voice, with all of these people: Thank you to the Academy.” He added, “This is for my dad, who like so many immigrant parents died young, and he’s so proud of me not because of this, but because we made this movie with what he taught me to do.” 

Co-director Daniel Kwan then added, “I think one of the things I realized growing up was that, one of the best things we can do for each other is shelter each other from the chaos of this crazy world we live in… The world is changing rapidly, and I fear that our stories are not keeping at pace. And sometimes it’s a little scary knowing that movies move at the rate of years, and that the internet is moving at the rate of milliseconds. But I have great faith in our stories. These stories have changed my life and they’ve done that for generations, and I know that we’ll get through this.”

Leading all 2023 Oscars nominees with 11, the indie multiverse smash hit took home seven awards total, including Best Picture, Best Director and Original Screenplay for the Daniels, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, and Best Editing. The film traces the fantastical tale of Evelyn Wang (Yeoh), a Chinese-American grappling with financial ruin, as she uncovers her alternate selves to become an unlikely hero to save the multiverse.

The film’s stars have been a favorite during awards season, with both Yeoh and Quan making history at the SAG Awards, becoming the first Asian film actors winners (Jamie Lee Curtis also won for her supporting role, and they also collectively won Outstanding Performance by a Cast/Ensemble). They each also took home best acting trophies at the Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards, with castmate Stephanie Hsu winning Best Breakthrough Performance and where the film took home Best Feature.

Everything Everywhere beat out nine other films, including All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, The Fablemans, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, Triangle of Sadness, Women Talking to take home the top Best Picture prize.

From Rolling Stone US.