When you first pull up the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia page, it looks like any other standard entry for a sci-fi flick. You’ve got your cast list, the basic plot summary, and a massive section on its awards sweep. But that's just the surface. If you were actually around when this movie dropped in March 2022, you know it wasn't just another A24 release. It was a cultural earthquake that basically rewrote the rules for what an "Oscar movie" is supposed to look like. It’s a story about a laundromat owner, tax audits, and hot dog fingers, yet it somehow became the most awarded film of all time.
It’s weird.
Really weird.
But that's why we’re still talking about it years later. People didn't just watch it; they obsessed over it. They spent hours editing the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia data to track every single minor trophy won from obscure critic circles in the middle of nowhere. By the time the dust settled, the film had surpassed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for the title of the most-awarded movie ever.
The Multiverse of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
The "Daniels," as they’re known, didn't come from a traditional prestige cinema background. Their first big splash was a music video for "Turn Down for What," followed by Swiss Army Man—the "farting corpse movie" starring Daniel Radcliffe. When they started drafting the script for Everything Everywhere All at Once back around 2016, the multiverse wasn't the overused trope it is now. Marvel hadn't quite beaten the concept into the ground yet.
The production was actually a masterclass in "guerilla" filmmaking on a mid-budget scale. Most people assume the visual effects were handled by some massive studio like ILM or Weta. Nope. The core VFX team consisted of just five people, including the Daniels themselves. They did most of the work in their bedrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic using standard software like After Effects. This is a detail often buried in the technical sections of the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia credits, but it’s arguably the most impressive part of the film's creation. They achieved a high-concept sci-fi look for roughly $14.3 million, which is basically the catering budget for a modern superhero movie.
Breaking Down the Plot Without Getting a Headache
Trying to explain the plot to someone who hasn't seen it is a nightmare. Honestly, it sounds like a fever dream. Evelyn Wang (played by the legendary Michelle Yeoh) is a stressed-out immigrant mother dealing with a failing business, a husband (Ke Huy Quan) who wants a divorce, and a daughter (Stephanie Hsu) she can't seem to connect with.
Then, while sitting in an IRS office being grilled by Jamie Lee Curtis, her husband’s body is "hijacked" by a version of himself from another universe.
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He tells her she’s the only one who can save the multiverse from a chaotic entity named Jobu Tupaki. To gain powers, Evelyn has to perform "verse-jumps" by doing things that are statistically improbable—like chewing used gum or professing love to a stranger. It’s chaotic. It’s loud. It’s often very gross.
But the reason the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia summary is so long is because the movie uses these ridiculous sci-fi mechanics to talk about something incredibly grounded: generational trauma. The "Everything Bagel" that Jobu Tupaki creates isn't just a doomsday weapon; it's a metaphor for nihilism. If everything matters, then nothing matters. The film’s genius is how it argues for "kindness" as a radical act of survival in a world that feels increasingly meaningless.
The Michelle Yeoh Renaissance
We have to talk about Michelle Yeoh. For decades, she was the queen of Hong Kong action cinema and a reliable character actor in Hollywood (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Crazy Rich Asians). But she was rarely the "lead" in a way that let her show her range. The Daniels originally wrote the lead role for Jackie Chan. When he passed, they flipped the script to focus on the wife.
It changed everything.
Yeoh had to be a martial arts master, a grieving mother, a glamorous movie star, and a woman with hot dogs for fingers. Her performance wasn't just "good"—it was a reclamation of her entire career. When she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, she became the first Asian woman to ever do so in that category. That single fact changed the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia page from a film entry into a piece of historical record.
Why the Internet Lost Its Mind
The digital footprint of this movie is massive. Most films have a standard marketing cycle: trailer, release, home video, done. This movie stayed in the conversation for over a year. Part of that was the "Waymond Wang" effect. Ke Huy Quan, who hadn't acted in 20 years because he couldn't find roles for Asian actors, became the heartbeat of the film.
His real-life story of returning to Hollywood and winning an Oscar felt like a real-life multiverse jump.
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Then there are the memes. The googly eyes. The pet rocks with subtitles. The Raccacoonie bit. These weren't just jokes; they were symbols of the film's philosophy. The rock scene, in particular, is a five-minute sequence with no dialogue and no movement. It’s just two rocks sitting on a cliff. In any other movie, that would be a pretentious disaster. Here, it’s the emotional climax. It’s the moment the audience finally gets to breathe.
Critical Reception and the Award Sweep
If you scroll down to the "Accolades" section of the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia page, it’s honestly exhausting to read. The film received 11 nominations at the 95th Academy Awards and won seven.
- Best Picture
- Best Director
- Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh)
- Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan)
- Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis)
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Film Editing
The win for Jamie Lee Curtis was actually somewhat controversial among film nerds. Many felt Stephanie Hsu, who played the antagonist/daughter, gave the more complex performance. Others argued for Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This debate still rages in the "Talk" pages of Wikipedia, where editors argue over the wording of the film's "universal acclaim."
The Technical Wizardry of Verse-Jumping
How do you film a movie that takes place in a thousand universes at once? Paul Rogers, the film's editor, had the Herculean task of stitching it all together. There are sequences where the screen changes aspect ratios, colors, and textures every few frames.
The "fast-paced" nature of the film was designed to mimic the feeling of being online—constantly bombarded with information, tabs, and notifications. It’s a "maximalist" film. While some critics found it overstimulating, younger audiences felt it was the first movie that actually understood how their brains work in the 21st century.
Interestingly, the Daniels used a lot of practical effects. The "bagel" was a real physical prop. The wires for the stunts were often visible on set and painted out later. They didn't have the budget for a massive green-screen stage, so they filmed in an old office building in Simi Valley, California. They basically lived in that building for weeks, turning different floors into different universes.
Legacy and What It Means for A24
Before this, A24 was known for "elevated horror" like Hereditary or quiet indies like Moonlight. This movie turned them into a powerhouse. It was their first film to cross $100 million at the global box office. It proved that "weird" could be "profitable."
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But the real legacy is how it changed the Academy. For years, the Oscars were accused of being out of touch, favoring slow-burn dramas over anything with "genre" elements. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a sci-fi, kung-fu, comedy, family drama. It’s everything. By rewarding it, the Academy signaled a shift toward a more modern, diverse, and chaotic era of filmmaking.
Navigating the Everything Everywhere All at Once Wikipedia Data
If you’re looking to use the Wikipedia page for research or just out of curiosity, keep an eye on a few specific areas that provide the most insight:
- Development: Look for the details on the script's evolution. It was originally much darker and focused more on the sci-fi mechanics than the family core.
- Themes: The section on "Existentialism vs. Nihilism" is actually quite well-written and explains the "Bagel vs. Googly Eye" philosophy better than most film textbooks.
- Production: Check out the list of "alternate universes" that didn't make the final cut. There were ideas for a universe where everyone was a giant bird and another where the characters were just sketches.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
Whether you're a filmmaker or just someone who loved the movie, there are a few things you can actually take away from the story of this film.
First, limitations are a gift. The Daniels didn't have a $200 million budget, so they had to be creative. They used toys, cheap props, and a small team of friends. If they had more money, the movie probably wouldn't have been as inventive.
Second, specific is universal. The movie is deeply rooted in the specific experience of a Chinese-American immigrant family. By being so specific about their struggles—the laundry business, the language barrier, the tax issues—they created a story that people from all backgrounds could relate to.
Finally, don't be afraid of the "weird." On paper, a movie about a multiverse-traveling tax auditor sounds like a tough sell. But by leaning into the absurdity, the filmmakers created something truly original.
If you want to dig deeper, don't just stop at the everything everywhere all at once wikipedia page. Watch the "Making Of" featurettes. Listen to the Daniels' commentary tracks. There is a wealth of information about how they managed to balance such a massive tonal shift from "dildo fight" to "emotional reconciliation" in the span of five minutes. It shouldn't work, but it does.
The best way to appreciate the film now is to look at it as a blueprint for the future of independent cinema. It showed that you don't need a massive studio or a pre-existing IP (like a comic book or a reboot) to dominate the cultural conversation. You just need a really good bagel and a lot of heart.