And just like that, Oscar season is over!

Last night saw the biggest stars in Hollywood gather together as the 88th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles.

In one of the closest Best Picture races in Academy Awards history, the factual drama Spotlight overcame stern competition from The Big Short and The Revenant to clinch the prestigious main honour.

The film, which focuses on the Boston Globe’s investigation into child abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, only managed one other win in the Original Screenplay category for filmmaker Tom McCarthy and writing partner Josh Singer.

As a result, it becomes the first Best Picture winner since The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) to triumph with less than three accolades to its name.

Despite recent wins at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, the fact-based western The Revenant had to settle for three gongs, which included an inevitable and long-overdue Best Actor win for leading man Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Hollywood star finally persevered at the fifth attempt for his physically-demanding performance as explorer Hugh Glass, and received a standing ovation while collecting the award.

During his speech, DiCaprio thanked co-star Tom Hardy for his “fierce talent on screen” and “friendship off-screen” before campaigning for action to combat climate change, saying making The Revenant was “about man’s relationship to the natural world”.

Additionally, Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu became the first auteur in over sixty years to win back-t0-back Best Director accolades, having previously succeeded a year earlier with Birdman, while cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki claimed victory in his own category for a third consecutive year.

Meanwhile, Brie Larson eased her way to the Best Actress gong for her powerful role as imprisoned mother Joy “Ma” Newsome in the indie drama Room and thanked everyone involved in the film, including her young co-star Jacob Tremblay.

Swedish star Alicia Vikander also found success after overcoming Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) to secure the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of painter Gerda Wegener in the factual drama The Danish Girl.

However, a surprise outcome in the Best Supporting Actor category saw British performer Mark Rylance beat sentimental favourite Sylvester Stallone (Creed) to the prize for his performance as Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Steven Spielberg’s Cold War drama Bridge of Spies.

In his speech, Rylance said:

“I’ve always just adored stories, hearing them, seeing them, being in them. So, for me to have the chance to work with one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Steven Spielberg, has just been such an honour.”

Elsewhere, the post-apocalyptic blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road pulled off an impressive six technical wins for Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing.

Despite some late momentum, the satirical dramedy The Big Short had to settle for a Best Adapted Screenplay accolade for filmmaker Adam McKay and his writing partner Charles Randolph.

Meanwhile, veteran film composer Ennio Morricone finally landed his long wait for a maiden Oscar win after prevailing for his work on the Quentin Tarantino western The Hateful Eight.

The ‘Maestro’ had previously been nominated five times without success, and used his speech to thank Tarantino for choosing him for the film.

As expected, Pixar’s Inside Out and Hungary’s Son of Saul were the respective winners of Best Animated Film and Best Foreign Language Film, while the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy sealed victory in the Best Documentary category.

However, there were a couple of surprise technical victories on the night, as the indie sci-fi Ex Machina upset the likes of Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens to take home the Best Visual Effects gong.

Another major upset came in the Best Original Song line-up, as British songwriter Sam Smith beat Lady Gaga to the award for his soulful rendition of “Writing’s on the Wall” from the James Bond blockbuster Spectre.

Finally, there were also successes for some of the smaller contenders including A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (Best Documentary Short Subject), Stutterer (Best Short Film – Live Action) and Bear Story (Best Short Film – Animated).

However, it was a disappointing night for Best Picture contenders Brooklyn and The Martian, as both films went home empty-handed from multiple nominations. Additionally, the sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens missed out on Oscar recognition alongside the likes of Carol and Sicario.

In his second gig as Oscar host, Chris Rock was risqué as he tackled the Oscar diversity row on various occasions throughout, while poking fun at the likes of Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith over their decision to boycott the ceremony.

The full list of Oscar winners are…

BEST PICTURE
SPOTLIGHT

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro González Iñárritu, THE REVENANT

BEST ACTRESS
Brie Larson, ROOM

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, THE REVENANT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Alicia Vikander, THE DANISH GIRL

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Rylance, BRIDGE OF SPIES

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SHORT (Adam McKay & Charles Randolph)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SPOTLIGHT (Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer)

BEST EDITING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE REVENANT

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST SOUND MIXING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST SOUND EDITING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
EX MACHINA

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Ennio Morricone)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
SPECTRE, (“Writing’s on the Wall”)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
INSIDE OUT

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
SON OF SAUL (Hungary)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
AMY

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
A GIRL IN THE RIVER: THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
STUTTERER

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
BEAR STORY