“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a film made for under $20 million by the independent studio A24, was the big winner at the 95th Academy Awards, picking up best picture and six other trophies over some of the highest-grossing movies in Hollywood history.

Michelle Yeoh won the best actress award for her lead role in the genre-bending sci-fi film, becoming the first Asian to capture that Oscar, while Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan won for their supporting roles in the picture. The team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert together shared Oscars for writing and directing “Everything Everywhere.”

Scheinert is from Birmingham. Paul Rogers, another Alabama native, won the Film Editing award for his work on the film.

Posing with their oscars are, from left. Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Wang, Daniel Kwan, Stephanie Hsu, and Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Best Picture and multiple other awards for ’Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Two of the highest-grossing films ever came up short. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the James Cameron-directed sequel that grossed $2.3 billion, scored one Oscar for visual effects. “Top Gun: Maverick,” the Paramount Pictures fighter-jet movie that took in nearly $1.5 billion globally, won for sound editing.

Talked-about films such as “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Tar” were shut out. “Everything Everywhere” generated $106.7 million in ticket sales worldwide.

“The creators of ‘Everything Everywhere’ knew that ‘mom as superhero’ would resonate with movie audiences,” said Rich Licata, a publicist who advises studios and networks on awards campaigns.

The night was also a chance for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to move past the wild controversy that overshadowed last year’s ceremony – when actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage before winning best actor – and keep the focus on the movies.

The evening was both traditional and new. As in years past, it put the spotlight on an original film. It also continued the academy’s efforts to highlight talent that was overlooked in the past.

Among the large number of first-time nominees, Asian actors made a stronger-than-usual showing – with Yeoh and Quan using the occasion to inspire others.

“To all the ladies: Don’t let anyone tell you that you are past your prime,” Yeoh said in her acceptance speech.

Michelle Yeoh accepts the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars on March 12. (Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images)

Earlier, Quan was honored for his supporting role in the picture. He plays Waymond Wang, the husband of Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner whose struggle to complete her taxes spirals into a genre-bending multiverse of conflicts.

“They say stories like this only happen in the movies,” he said in an emotional speech. “I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American dream.”

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The event was an otherwise subdued affair. Winners avoided making political speeches while picking up their trophies, which has been a popular soapbox in years past. Jimmy Kimmel, hosting for the third time, took a few jabs at last year’s events but avoided totally skewering the industry.

Besides A24, which also picked up two awards for the Brendan Fraser-led drama “The Whale,” Netflix Inc. emerged as a big winner. It collected a trophy for best animated feature for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and four prizes for the World War I movie “All Quiet on the Western Front.” The streaming giant also won for “The Elephant Whisperers,” a documentary short film.

Daniel Kwan and Birmingham native Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Best Director award for ’Everything Everywhere All at Once’, pose in the press room during the 95th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Walt Disney Co.’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” won for best costume design. The movie was the latest installment of the popular Marvel franchise. Disney won two awards overall.

“Thank you to the academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,” said Ruth Carter, who designed costumes for the picture. Carter said her mother recently died and she hoped the franchise’s late star Chadwick Boseman, who died from cancer after the first film, was taking care of her.

Last year’s ceremony reversed a long-term ratings decline, even before the viral slap. The show, broadcast on ABC, attracted 16.6 million viewers last year, up 58% from a year earlier.

(With assistance from Christopher Palmeri.)