Five nominations and 23 years later, Leonardo Di Caprio's cold streak at the Oscars finally came to an end as he won the best actor trophy for his role of a wounded fur trapper seeking revenge in "The Revenant".
The superstar, in his speech thanked his co-star Tom Hardy, director Inarritu for his cinematic vision and all the filmmakers, including his frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, who helped him navigate through his career.
DiCaprio, a keen environmentalist, also took the opportunity to discuss climate change and its impact on planet. "Last I want to say this, making 'The Revenant' was about man's relationship in the natural world... Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work together and stop procrastinating," he said.
The Revenant, which led all nominees with 12 heading into Hollywood's Dolby Theatre ceremony, also saw Inarritu take home Best Director for the second consecutive year, after previously winning the 2015 title for Birdman.
However, they lost out on the top prize of Best Picture to Spotlight, which details the Boston Globe's 2002 expose on the child molestation scandal which rocked the city's Catholic church. The journalism drama landed Best Original Screenplay, too.
Room's Brie Larson emerged victorious as Best Actress, while the Best Supporting Actor accolade went to Mark Rylance for the Bridge of Spies, and Alicia Vikander claimed the Best Supporting Actress prize for The Danish Girl.
It was also a big night for George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, which emerged a six-time winner, virtually cleaning up in the technical categories, including Best Film Editing and Best Production Design.
Here's the complete list of the winners:
Best Picture: Spotlight
Actor in a Lead Role: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Actress in a Lead Role: Brie Larson, Room
Directing: Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant
Original Score: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Original Song: "Writings on the Wall," Spectre, Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
Best Foreign Language Film: Hungary, Son of Saul
Live Action Short Film: Stutterer, Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage
Documentary Feature: Amy, Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
Documentary Short Subject: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Actor in a Supporting Role: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Animated Feature Film: Inside Out, Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
Animated Short Film: Bear Story, Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
Visual Effects: Ex Machina, Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
Sound Mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
Sound Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Mark Mangini and David White
Film Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Margaret Sixel
Cinematography: The Revenant, Emmanuel Lubezki
