A Star is Born wasn’t defeated by another film sweeping the awards but by the trophies being spread out among a number of different releases.
Of course, the song would go on to also win the award for Best Original Song, the only Oscar that A Star is Born would take home of its eight nominations.
At one time it seemed like Star was going to be the movie to beat in most categories, but by the time the actual ceremony came around a number of other films had shown that they would be contenders.
Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper - Shallow (From A Star Is Born/Live From The Oscars)