The analysts were proven right–despite its Golden Globe win and unprecedented commercial success, “Avatar” was unable to claim the Academy Award for Best Picture Sunday night.
Instead, the Academy went with fellow frontrunner “The Hurt Locker,” securing the critically-acclaimed war film its place as the best movie of 2009.
Prior to the quick announcement of “The Hurt Locker”‘s victory over nine other acclaimed films, helmer Kathryn Bigelow was awarded the Oscar for Best Director.
The film had earlier won a trophy for Best Original Screenplay.
Star Jeremy Renner’s failure to top Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”) in the lead actor category prevented the film from achieving a sweep of the major categories in which it was nominated. Other losses came in Best Original Score and Best Cinematography; the film claimed victory for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Film Mixing.
Other Key Oscar Wins: Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) for Leading Actress, Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”) for Supporting Actor, Mo’Nique (“Precious”) for Supporting Actress, “Precious” for Adapted Screenplay, “Up” for Animated Feature, “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” for Foreign Language Film.