"Slumdog Millionaire" picked up eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
British filmmaker Danny Boyle was named best director.
Sean Penn has his second best-actor Academy Award with his win in the title role of "Milk."
But "Slumdog" was the big winner.
Besides best picture and best director, the film also earned Oscars for cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, original score and song.
The rags-to-riches tale brought in an extra $54 million domestically since its nomination Jan. 22 — more than doubling its gross since its November premiere, to $98 million to date.
The worsening economy almost sank "Slumdog" as Time Warner Inc. announced it would shut down Warner Independent, which had bought its North American distribution rights.
Flush with success, director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson said they hoped the big win would convince studios to continue to take chances on smaller films.
Still, it is a troubling time for major studios, which have announced restructuring plans as well as smaller film slates going forward to mitigate(v.减轻) risk in a tough economy.
