‘CODA’ Wins Best Picture At the 2022 Oscars, An Academy First For a Majority Deaf Cast

CODA won Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars on Sunday night, giving Apple its first-ever Best Picture Oscar, and becoming the first Best Picture winner in Oscar history to feature a majority-Deaf cast.

Producers Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi, and Patrick Wachsberger accepted the Oscar for CODA‘s Best Picture win, which was presented by Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli (who was seen in public for the first time in quite some time, in a wheelchair).

“It hasn’t been an easy ride,” Rousselet said as he accepted the award before he praised director Sian Heder for guiding them through the process.

Earlier in the night, CODA director and writer Sian Heder took home the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, CODA actor Troy Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor, while The Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion won the award for Best Director.

But of course, the biggest story of the 2022 Oscars will inevitably be the unhinged moment where Will Smith smacked presenter Chris Rock on live TV for making a joke about his wife’s shaved head. Later in the night, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for King Richard, and accepted it with tears streaming down his face, as he spoke about his need to defend his family. Well… no one can accuse the 94th Academy Awards of being boring.

CODA beat out nine other films nominated for Best Picture this year: The Power of the Dog, Don’t Look Up, King Richard, Drive My Car, West Side Story, Dune, Nightmare Alley, Belfast, and Licorice Pizza.

And that’s a wrap on the 2022 Oscar season! It’s been a long, ugly battle—complete with honest-to-god slaps— but to the victors go the gold statues and endless scrutiny on Twitter. Now, who’s ready to leave those stuffy Oscar movies behind and dive into summer movie season? Let’s go watch Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum make out in the jungle in The Lost City!

Watch CODA on Apple TV+