Making Academy Award history, Leonardo DiCaprio has finally received his first Oscar. He has been awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his role in The Revenant. The film also won Best Cinematography and Best Directing by Alejandro Inarritu.
Journalism drama Spotlight and financial comedy The Big Short were early winners at the 2016 Oscars after taking home the first two awards.
Filmmaker Tom McCarthy and his fellow screenwriter Josh Singer continued their awards season winning streak by claiming Best Original Screenplay for Spotlight, which details the Boston Globe's 2002 expose on the child molestation scandal which rocked the Catholic church in Boston, Massachusetts.
The movie is nominated for six Academy Awards at Sunday's prizegiving, including Best Director for McCarthy and Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams, respectively.
Meanwhile, Adam McKay and Charles Randolph were also celebrating moments after the Los Angeles ceremony kicked off, after landing the Best Adapted Screenplay honour for The Big Short, a comedic take on the 2008 financial crash, based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis.
Director McKay used his acceptance speech to encourage his fellow US citizens to vote responsibly at the upcoming presidential elections if they really want to see change in the future.
"If you don't want big money to control big government, don't vote for candidates that take money from big banks, oil, or weirdo billionaires," McKay declared.
Comedian Chris Rock is hosting Hollywood's big night, which is taking place at the Dolby Theatre, and he addressed the awards' lack of diversity among its top nominees head on, opening the show by quipping, "Well, I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People's Choice Awards!
His solution to the racially unequal nominations was “to have black categories”.
“There’s no real reason to have a men and a women categories in acting, it’s not track in and field, you don’t need to separate them,” he said.
Chris Rock is hosting, and Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, The Weeknd, and Dave Grohl have performed.
He's been in the acting game for 25 years, and despite a number of incredible performances as well as nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio has never received an Oscar.
Predictions have him pinned as a sure winner this year for Best Actor for his role in The Revenant, but he's up against some tough competition in the form of Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender, and Eddie Redmayne.
The 88th Academy Awards begin at 4pm (NZ time), but stars strutted the red carpet from 11:30am.
The winner of each Oscar has been bolded in red.
The full list of nominations:
BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario
COSTUME DESIGN
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
DIRECTING
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
Body Team 12
Chau, beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom
FILM EDITING
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Embrace of the Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out
the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction
“Simple Song #3,” Youth
“Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s On The Wall,” Spectre
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer
SOUND EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
SOUND MIXING
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Newshub. / WENN.com
