This year’s Academy Awards were the most unpredictable in recent memory, and Sunday night’s ceremony brought many surprises our way. Sean Baker’s indie comedy Anora ended up stealing the show and topped the list of winners with five trophies, including the coveted best picture Oscars.
Emilia Pérez, A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, Wicked, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, and The Substance were in the running for the best picture prize, but Anora eventually managed to beat them all. In addition to winning an Oscar for his work as the film’s producer, Sean Baker also received prizes for directing, writing, and editing this screwball comedy.
Mikey Madison won an Oscar for the best actress in a leading role for her amazing performance in Anora. Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) also walked away with acting Oscars for their respective performances.
In addition to Brody’s acting Oscar, The Brutalist won two more trophies, emerging as one of the night’s biggest winners with three awards. Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, and Wicked weren’t far behind, with two trophies each.
The 2025 Academy Awards were hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 2.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS AT THE 2025 ACADEMY AWARDS:
BEST PICTURE
Anora
A Cre Films Production
Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Mikey Madison – Anora
DIRECTING
Sean Baker – Anora
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
The Brutalist
Daniel Blumberg
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
I’m Still Here (Brazil)
A VideoFilmes Produções Artísticas Production
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist
Lol Crawley
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
I’m Not a Robot
Victoria Warmerdam and Trent
VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer
SOUND
Dune: Part Two
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
No Other Land
An Antipode Films Production
Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
Music by Clément Ducol and Camille
Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Wicked
Production Design: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
FILM EDITING
Anora
Sean Baker
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
The Substance
Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Conclave
Screenplay by Peter Straughan
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Anora
Written by Sean Baker
COSTUME DESIGN
Wicked
Paul Tazewell
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain