Leonardo DiCaprio won his first Oscar on Sunday for his leading role in revenge movie "The Revenant."
DiCaprio, 41, had been nominated four times previously for an Oscar over a career spanning 25 years. But he was favorite to finally take home the best actor Academy Award this year for his grueling portrayal of a fur trapper left for dead in an icy wilderness after being mauled by a bear.
"Spotlight," the movie that recreates the Boston Globe's probe of sex abuse in the Catholic
Church, won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, the highest honor in the film industry.
The film, which took years to research, follows the journalists who in 2002 revealed that church officials had routinely covered up reports that priests had sexually assaulted dozens of children. The Boston Globe won a Pulitzer prize for its efforts.
Brie Larson won the best actress Oscar on Sunday for her role as a young woman held hostage for years with a young son in the emotional thriller "Room."
It is the first Oscar and nomination for the 26-year-old Larson, who has starred in more than 45 films and television.
shows in the past two decades. She beat out previous Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence for the accolade.
George Miller has missed out on the directing Oscar, despite his Mad Max: Fury Road crew cleaning up at the 88th Academy Awards in an historic night for the Australian film industry.
The award for best director went to Alejandro Inarritu for The Revenant, the Mexican filmmaker's second straight win in the category after also claiming the Oscar last year for Birdman.
Biden delivers message on sexual abuse
Vice President Joe Biden made a special appearance at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday to advocate for victims of sexual assault and introduced a powerful performance by Lady Gaga that featured survivors of sexual abuse.
Biden came on stage to rousing applause, quipping "I'm the least qualified man here tonight" before he addressed the issue of sexual assault.
"Despite significant progress over the last few years, too many women and men on and off college campuses are victims of sexual abuse," Biden said.
He then asked the audience to join him, President Barack Obama and survivors of abuse in taking the pledge to "intervene in situations when consent has not or cannot be given."
"We must and we can change the culture so that no abused woman or man - like the survivors you see here tonight - ever feel like they have to ask themselves, 'What did I do?' They did not do anything wrong."
Mad Max pair collect gongs
They were the red-hot Oscar favourites for their stunning work on the post-apocalyptic desert action chase film that was shot in the Namibian desert and in more hospitable Fox Studios in Sydney.
The film's British costume designer Jenny Beavan also picked up a win, as the 88th Academy Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where Mad Max: Fury Road is nominated in 10 categories.
Mad Max also won in the makeup and hairstyling category.
Other winners of the night included Alicia Vikander, who won best supporting actress for "The Danish Girl", "The Big Short" for best adapted screenplay and "Spotlight" for best original screenplay.
AUSTRALIA'S OSCAR NOMINEES
Rachel McAdams, left, and Michael B. Jordan present the award for best cinematography at the Oscars. Source: AAP
Best Picture: George Miller and Doug Mitchell (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Director: George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Editor: Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Cinematography: John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Production Design: Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Sound Mixing: Ben Osmo (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Sound Editing: David White (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Makeup and Hairstyling: Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Visual Effects: Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver and Tom Wood (Mad Max: Fury Road)
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