After months of anticipation, the Academy Awards finally returned to Hollywood this Sunday night—and they were worth the wait! Sean Baker’s indie screwball comedy Anora emerged as the biggest winner of the night and walked away with five trophies, including the coveted best picture Oscar.
Anora came into the night with six nods and managed to dominate in almost all the categories it was nominated in, starting with best picture. It defeated tough competition in the likes of Emilia Pérez, The Brutalist, Wicked, A Complete Unknown, and Conclave to win the night’s most coveted prize.
Its leading lady, Mikey Madison, walked away with the Oscar for the best actress in the leading role, beating Golden Globe winners Demi Moore (The Substance) and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here). Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) collected the remaining three Oscars in the acting categories for their respective performances.
In addition to winning an Oscar for producing Anora, Sean Baker was also honored for his work as director, screenwriter, and editor of this film. The list of major winners also included The Brutalist with three Academy Awards, plus Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, and Wicked with two each.
The 2025 Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 2, with Conan O’Brien hosting the show for the first time.
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
