Oscars: Fox leads studio wins as Universal upsets Netflix

Joe Mazzello, from left, Ben Hardy, Rami Malek and Gwilym Lee in a scene from 20th Century Fox's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Feb. 24, 2019 9:30 PM PT

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Universal’s “Green Book” pulled off an upset at the Academy Awards on Sunday, taking home the prize for best picture that many had assumed would go to Netflix’s “Roma.” But it was Fox that landed the most Oscars of any studio, thanks to academy members’ love for “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Fox received a total of six Oscars, with four awards going to 20th Century Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the hit Queen biopic starring Rami Malek, who won for lead actor. Fox Searchlight brought home an additional two Oscars, including Olivia Colman’s surprise lead actress win for “The Favourite.”

Universal scored five wins on Sunday, including a win for its Focus Features division, while Netflix and Disney each received four Oscars in a night that saw no runaway winners. It was also a fruitful night for Participant Media, the film financing company that backed “Roma” and “Green Book,” which each won three awards.

From Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper singing to a ‘Wayne’s World’ reunion, these are the highlights from the 2019 Academy Awards.

Oscars 2019: See the full list of winners and nominees »

New York-based Participant, founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll, has financed many notable Oscar winners and nominees, including best picture winner “Spotlight” in 2015.

Fox’s strong showing comes as the studio is preparing to be absorbed by Disney in an acquisition that is expected to be finalized this year. The $71-billion deal will create what is expected to be Hollywood’s biggest studio, with a vast library of classic and contemporary titles.

Last year, Fox Searchlight took home the most Oscars with six statuettes, thanks to best picture winner “The Shape of Water.”

Universal’s Oscars haul on Sunday came mostly from “Green Book,” which in addition to winning best picture also picked up prizes for supporting actor Mahershala Ali and original screenplay. The film was co-financed by DreamWorks Pictures.

Despite losing the best picture award, Netflix made a significant showing on Sunday night, with Mexico-set “Roma” taking home awards for director, foreign film and cinematography categories.

Netflix also scored a win for the short documentary “Period. End of Sentence.”

It was the streaming giant’s biggest Oscar haul to date. Last year, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based streamer took home the prize for the feature documentary “Icarus.”

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Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Nick Vallelonga, Peter Farrelly and Brian Currie, winners of the best picture award for “Green Book.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Rami Malek (lead actor), Olivia Coleman (lead actress), Regina King (supporting actress) and Mahershala Ali (supporting actor), winners in the Oscar acting categories. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Rami Malek, winner as lead actor for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Olivia Colman, winner of the lead actress Oscar for her role in “The Favourite.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Nick Vallelonga, left, Peter Farrelly and Brian Currie, winners of the original screenplay award for “Green Book.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Andrew Wyatt, left, Anthony Rossomando, Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson pose with the original song award for “Shallow” from the film “A Star Is Born.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Andrew Wyatt, left, Anthony Rossomando, Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson, winners of the original song Oscar for “Shallow.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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An emotional Lady Gaga poses with the original song Oscar for “Shallow.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporting actor winners Mahershala Ali and Regina King. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Producers David Rabinowitz, left, Kevin Willmott and Charlie Wachtel pose with the adapted screenplay award for “BlacKkKlansman.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Alfonso Cuaron, winner of the director, foreign language film and cinematography Oscars for “Roma.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Spike Lee, winner of the adapted screenplay award for “BlacKkKlansman.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Mahershala Ali, winner of the supporting actor Oscar for “Green Book.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Spike Lee, left, winner of the adapted screenplay Oscar, and Mahershala Ali, supporting actor winner for “Green Book.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Ludwig Goransson, winner for the score in “Black Panther.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman, winners of the Oscar for live action short film for “Skin.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman, winners of the Oscar for live action short film for “Skin.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Becky Neiman-Cobb, left, and Domee Shi, winners of the animated short film Oscar for “Bao.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Melissa Berton, left, and Rayka Zehtabchi, winners of the live action short film award for “Period. End of Sentence.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, Paul Lambert and J.D. Schwalm, winners of of the visual effects award for “First Man.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, Paul Lambert and J.D. Schwalm, winners of of the visual rffects award for “First Man.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Bob Persichetti, left, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, winners of the animated feature film award for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Regina King, winner for supporting actress in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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John Ottman, winner of the film editing Oscar for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jay Hart and Hannah Beachler, winners in the production design category for “Black Panther.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jay Hart and Hannah Beachler, winners in the production design category for “Black Panther.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Ruth Carter, winner of the costume design prize for “Black Panther.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Ruth Carter, winner of the costume design prize for “Black Panther.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Nina Hartstone and John Warhurst, winners of the sound editing award for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Paul Massey, from left, Tim Cavagin and John Casali, winners of the Oscar for sound mixing in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney, winners of makeup and hairstyling for “Vice.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill, winners of the documentary feature prize for “Free Solo.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Oscars 2019: The road to ‘Green Book’s’ best picture win »

Disney’s four Oscars came mostly from “Black Panther,” which won three awards in the technical categories. The Burbank studio also won in the animated short category for Pixar’s “Bao.”

Pixar, which was acquired by Disney in 2006, has been a perennial winner in the animated feature category. But this year, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” took home the prize, beating out “Incredibles 2.”

The win for “Spider-Man” marks the first time since 2011’s “Rango” that a Disney or Pixar release hasn’t won in the category.

Annapurna Pictures picked up two Oscars on Sunday — for supporting actress Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk” and the makeup work for “Vice.”

Headed by Megan Ellison, Annapurna has recently endured a difficult period resulting from a string of box-office disappointments, including its recent acclaimed western “The Sisters Brothers.”

In her acceptance speech, King thanked Chelsea Barnard, who stepped down in the fall as the studio’s head of production.

Warner Bros. scored only one Oscar on Sunday, with a win for original song for “A Star Is Born.” Focus Features also had a single win for the adapted screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.”

National Geographic took home an Oscar for its documentary feature “Free Solo.”

Netflix may have lost out for best picture, but it took the opportunity on Sunday night to promote one of its most anticipated upcoming titles.

The streaming giant unveiled the first teaser trailer for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel. The teaser said that the movie would run in theaters and on Netflix’s streaming platform.

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Director Peter Farrelly, center, and the cast of “Green Book” as they win Best Picture during the telecast of the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday.