Los Angeles: Fantastical romance The Shape of Water won best picture, the film industry's most prestigious honour, at Sunday's Oscarinfo-icon ceremony.

The Fox Searchlight movie's Mexican filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro, took home the best director Oscar, dashing the hopes of a rare win by a woman or a black filmmaker.

The movie about a mute cleaning woman who falls in love with a strange river creature had gone into the ceremony with a leading 13 nominations, and won a total of four Academy Awards.

As expected, Britaininfo-icon's Gary Oldman was named best actor for playing Worldinfo-icon Warinfo-icon Two leader Winston Churchill in Warner Bros.' Darkest Hour, while Frances McDormand's woman in a fury was a popular best actress winner for Fox Searchlight's dark comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Elsewhere, awards were spread around, recognising first-timers, LGBT moviesinfo-icon and films inspired by other cultures.

Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel tackled Hollywoodinfo-icon's sexual misconduct scandal with jokes on a night heavy with nods to activism on issues ranging from LGBT issues and school shootings to sexism and racisminfo-icon.

Gay romance Call Me by Your Name won best adapted screenplay and racial satire Get Out won best original screenplay.

A Fantastic Woman, Chile's groundbreaking story about a transgender woman, played by transgender actress Daniela Vega, won best foreign language film, and Mexican-inspired Coco was named best animated featureinfo-icon.

Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney took home their first Oscars for their supporting roles Three Billboards and independent ice-skating movie I, Tonya respectively.