Life of Daniel
Academy Awards 2025 Recap: Anora Leads Hollywood’s Biggest Night; First Oscar for Many
Written by Daniel Meyers for Respect My Region | Published March 7, 2025
The 97th Academy Awards, the biggest night in Hollywood, was held on Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony honored the best films of 2024, as nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Comedian Conan O’Brien hosted the ceremony for the first time, and it was broadcast live on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Hulu, making it the first ceremony in Oscars history to be simulcast on a streaming service.
The night was significant for several industry workers, as many were awarded the first Academy Award of their careers.
Emilia Pérez led with the most nominations, 13, and won two. Anora was the biggest winner of the night, winning five awards out of six nominations.
The 97th Academy Awards opened with a celebration of Hollywood, featuring clips from classics like The Wizard of Oz and more recent blockbusters such as Barbie, leading into a performance by Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who sang a melody of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “Home” (from The Wiz), and “Defying Gravity.” Wicked was nominated for 10 awards at the Oscars of 2025, winning two.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Actor Robert Downey Jr. presented the first award at the 97th Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor. The Oscar went to Kieran Culkin for his role in A Real Pain and is the actor’s first Academy Award. Culkin won against actors Yura Borisov, Edward Norton, Guy Pearce, and Jeremy Strong.
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film
Presented by Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn, the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film went to Flow by Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman. Flow won against Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and The Wild Robot.
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn presented the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, which went to In the Shadow of the Cypress by Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi. The film won against Beautiful Men, Magic Candies, Wander to Wonder, and Yuck!
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
The Oscar for Best Costume Design, presented by Lily-Rose Depp, Elle Fanning, John Lithgow, Connie Nielsen, and Bowen Yang, went to Paul Tazewell for Wicked. Tazewell won against Arianne Phillips (A Complete Unknown), Lisy Christl (Conclave) , Janty Yates (Gladiator II) , and Linda Muir (Nosferatu). Significantly, Tazewell is the first openly gay Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and it was the first Oscar of his career.
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
Actress Amy Poehler presented the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, which went to Sean Baker for Anora. Baker won against Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold (The Brutalist), Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain), Moritz Binder and Tim Fehlbaum (September 5; co-written by Alex David), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance.) Significantly, this was the first Oscar win of Baker’s career.
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Presented by Amy Poehler, playwright Peter Straughan won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2025 Oscars for Conclave, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris. Straughan won against James Mangold and Jay Cocks, (A Complete Unknown) Jacques Audiard, (Emilia Pérez) RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, (Nickel Boys) and Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley (Sing Sing.) Significantly, it was the first Oscar of Straughn’s career.
Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
At the 2025 Oscars ceremony, the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling went to Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli for their work on The Substance. They won against Mike Marino, David Presto, and Crystal Jurado, (A Different Man) Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, (Emilia Pérez) David White, Traci Loader, and Suzanne Stokes-Munton, (Nosferatu) and Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, and Sarah Nuth (Wicked.)
Academy Award for Best Film Editing
Presented by Daryl Hannah, the award for Best Film Editing was another victory for Anora. Sean Baker won against Dávid Jancsó (The Brutalist), Nick Emerson (Conclave), Juliette Welfling (Emilia Pérez) ,and Myron Kerstein (Wicked).
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph presented the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, which was awarded to Zoe Saldaña for her role as Rita Mora Castro in Emilia Pérez. Saldaña won against Monica Barbaro, (A Complete Unknown) Ariana Grande, (Wicked as Galinda “Glinda” Upland) Felicity Jones, (The Brutalist as Erzsébet Tóth) and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave as Sister Agnes.) Significantly, Saldaña’s victory marked her first Oscar nomination and win, making her the first Dominican actor to win an Oscar.
Academy Award for Best Production Design
Presented by Ben Stiller, accompanied by a height/lift joke on stage, Wicked won its second award of the night for Best Production Design by Nathan Crowley, with set decoration by Lee Sandales. Wicked won against Judy Becker and Patricia Cuccia (The Brutalist), Suzie Davies and Cynthia Sleiter (Conclave), Patrice Vermette and Shane Vieau (Dune: Part Two), and Craig Lathrop and Beatrice Brentnerová (Nosferatu).
Academy Award for Best Original Song
Mick Jagger presented the Academy Award for Best Original Song, which was awarded to “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez, performed by Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Camille, and written by Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard. “El Mal” won against “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight – music and lyrics by Diane Warren, “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing – music and lyrics by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada, “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez – music and lyrics by Camille and Clément Ducol, and “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – music and lyrics by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin.
Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film
Presented by Selena Gomez and Samuel L. Jackson, Netflix’s The Only Girl in the Orchestra by Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film. They won against Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard (Death by Numbers), Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp (I Am Ready, Warden), Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven (Incident), and Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari (Instruments of a Beating Heart).
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film was presented by Selena Gomez and Samuel L. Jackson and was awarded to No Other Land by Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham. No Other Land won against Shiori Itō, Eric Nyari, and Hanna Aqvilin, (Black Box Diaries) Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska, and Paula DuPré Pesmen, (Porcelain War) Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius, and Rémi Grellety, (Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat) and Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, and Kellen Quinn (Sugar Cane.)
Academy Award for Best Sound
Presented by Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill won the Oscar for Best Sound for Dune: Part Two. They won against Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey, and David Giammarco, (A Complete Unknown) Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz, and Niels Barletta, (Emilia Pérez) Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson, and John Marquis, (Wicked) and Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo, and Leff Lefferts (The Wild Robot.)
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
Ana de Armas and Sterling K. Brown presented the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, which was another victory for Dune: Part Two. Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer won the award against Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin, and Shane Mahan, (Alien: Romulus) Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs, (Better Man) Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, and Rodney Burke, (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) and Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk, and Paul Corbould (Wicked.)
Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film
The Oscar for Best Live-Action Short Film went to I’m Not a Robot, directed and written by Victoria Warmerdam and produced by Henry Gillet, Wim Goossens, and Trent. I’m Not a Robot won against A Lien, Anuja, The Last Ranger, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent.
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography was presented by Joe Alwyn, Alba Rohrwacher, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, and Willem Dafoe. Lol Crawley won for The Brutalist against Greig Fraser, (Dune: Part Two) Paul Guilhaume, (Emilia Pérez) Edward Lachman, (Maria) and Jarin Blaschke (Nosferatu.) Significantly, it was Crawley’s first Oscar nomination and win.
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Penélope Cruz presented the Oscar for Best International Feature Film award to Brazil’s I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles. I’m Still Here won against France’s Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard; Republic of Lativa’s Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis; Denmark’s The Girl with the Needle, directed by Magnus von Horn; and Germany’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. Significantly, it was the first Oscar of Salles’ career.
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The next award presented at the 2025 Oscars was for Best Original Score, which went to composer Daniel Blumberg for The Brutalist. Blumberg won against composers Volker Bertelmann (Conclave), Clément Ducol and Camille (Emilia Pérez), John Powell and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), and Kris Bowers (The Wild Robot).
Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
The Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role was presented by Cillian Murphy and was awarded to Adrien Brody for his role as László Tóth in The Brutalist. Brody won against Timothée Chalamet, (A Complete Unknown as Bob Dylan) Colman Domingo, (Sing Sing as John “Divine G” Whitfield) Ralph Fiennes, (Conclave as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence) and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice as Donald Trump.)
Academy Award for Best Director
Presented by Quentin Tarantino, one of the most successful directors in Hollywood, the Oscar for Best Directing was awarded to Sean Baker for Anora. Baker won against Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance). Baker’s four wins tied him with Walt Disney for the most Oscars won by a person in the same year. He also became the only person to win four Oscars on the same night for the same film.
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Presented by Emma Stone, the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role went to Miki Madison for Anora. Madison won against Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba Thropp, Wicked), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez / Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, Emilia Pérez), Demi Moore (Elisabeth Sparkle, The Substance), and Fernanda Torres (Eunice Paiva, I’m Still Here). Significantly, it was the first Academy Award of Madison’s career.
Academy Award for Best Picture
Presented by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, the most coveted award of the night, for Best Picture, unsurprisingly went to Anora, by Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker. Anora won against Nick Gordon, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, D.J. Gugenheim, and Brady Corbet, (The Brutalist) Fred Berger, James Mangold, and Alex Heineman, (A Complete Unknown) Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, and Michael A. Jackman, (Conclave) Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve, (Dune: Part Two) Pascal Caucheteux and Jacques Audiard, (Emilia Pérez) Maria Carlota Bruno and Rodrigo Teixeira, (I’m Still Here) Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Joslyn Barnes, (Nickel Boys) Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner, (The Substance) and Marc Platt (Wicked.)
This year’s ceremony also paid tribute to the resilience of Los Angeles, honoring the city’s fire department and strength in the aftermath of the devastating Southern California wildfires, which claimed at least 29 lives and destroyed thousands of homes.