The Hurt Locker, the tense story of a group of American soldiers who defuse roadside bombs in Iraq, won the Academy Awards battle Sunday, claiming six statues, including nods for Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay.
The relatively low-budget film, which has taken in a modest $14.7 million at the box office domestically, beat out the most popular film of all time, Avatar, the science-fiction epic that has raked in more than $720 million in the U.S.
The Hurt Locker's triumph also marked the first time that a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, got the honors as Best Director. She was up against her ex-husband, Avatar's James Cameron, in the category.
Still, for all of The Hurt Locker's success, Oscar proved to be fairly democratic -- and predictable -- Sunday in the ceremonies held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. This comes on the heels of a nomination process in which the Best Picture category was expanded to 10 titles to appeal to a broader range of tastes.
So, the remaining honors were divided among several films, with Avatar receiving three awards (although they were all in technical categories), Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire earning two (including Best Supporting Actress for Mo'Nique and Best Adapted Screenplay), Up nabbing two (Animated Film and Original Score) and Crazy Heart receiving two as well (Best Actor for Jeff Bridges and Original Song for The Weary Kind).
Also as expected, Christoph Waltz, in Inglourious Basterds, walked away with the statue for Best Supporting Actor.
While Oscar pretty much stuck to the script that observers said it would follow, there were still some ripples of surprise. Though it might have seemed a foregone conclusion that Meryl Streep would cart home the gold for her celebrated portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, she once again left empty-handed as Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress nod for her role in the sports drama The Blind Side.
However, it was Up in the Air, the serio-comic look at life in corporate America starring George Clooney that was tipped early as a possible Best Picture winner, that really crashed and burned as it, too, won nothing. It will just have to make do with more than $80 million in box-office receipts.
Cary Darling is the Star-Telegram pop culture critic, 817-390-7571
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