Date Published
The ultimate recap of the 97ᵗʰ Academy Awards - Updated July 25 2025
The Oscar awards are put on every year by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also known as The Academy Awards. We created this article so you can easily find any piece of information you may wonder from "who won best picture?" to "who hosted the Academy Awards?". Every major winner and nominee you can find here.
Hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theatre on March 2 2025, the 97ᵗʰ Academy Awards crowned Anora the night’s big victor with five trophies, while The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, Wicked, and Emilia Pérez took multiple craft honors.
Winner: Anora – Producers Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
Why it won: Voters praised its raw immigrant‑tale authenticity, razor‑sharp editing, and breakout lead turn, creating peak “you‑have‑to‑see‑this” buzz in the final balloting week.
Other Nominees: The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, Wicked
Winner: Sean Baker – Anora
Why voters loved it: Hand‑held verité energy and tonal tightrope‑walking between comedy and social realism.
Nominees: Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)
Category | Winner & Why | Other Nominees |
|---|---|---|
Best Actor | Adrien Brody – The Brutalist | Timothée Chalamet, Colman Domingo, Ralph Fiennes, Sebastian Stan |
Best Actress | Mikey Madison – Anora | Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres |
Best Supporting Actor | Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain | Yura Borisov, Edward Norton, Guy Pearce, Jeremy Strong |
Best Supporting Actress | Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez | Monica Barbaro, Ariana Grande, Felicity Jones, Isabella Rossellini |
All acting winners and nominees per official ballot.
Category | Winner (linked) | Crew Shout‑out | Why They Won |
|---|---|---|---|
Original Screenplay | Anora – Sean Baker | Baker’s solo script juggles dark humour & pathos. | Ground‑level authenticity drew raves. |
Adapted Screenplay | Conclave – Peter Straughan | Adapted from Robert Harris; nail‑biter papal‑election thriller. | Tight plotting & moral suspense impressed voters. |
Film | Winner / Nominees |
|---|---|
★ The Brutalist | |
Dune: Part Two | |
Emilia Pérez | |
Maria | |
Nosferatu |
Why it won: Crawley’s austere 70 mm monochrome mirrored the film’s architecture, swaying both ASC and Oscar voters.
Film | Winner / Nominees (Key VFX Supervisors) |
|---|---|
★ Dune: Part Two | |
Alien: Romulus | Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda‑Fauser, Daniel Macarin, Shane Mahan |
Better Man | Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs |
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, Rodney Burke |
Wicked | Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk, Paul Corbould |
Why it won: Seamless sand‑worm cavalry sequences and photoreal desert storms set a new benchmark for large‑format VFX.
Film | Winner / Nominees (Re‑Recording & Supervising Mixers) |
|---|---|
★ Dune: Part Two | |
A Complete Unknown | Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey, David Giammarco |
Emilia Pérez | Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz, Niels Barletta |
Wicked | Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson, John Marquis |
The Wild Robot | Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary Rizzo, Leff Lefferts |
Why it won: A layered Arrakis soundscape—wind, worm and whisper—mixed in 12‑track IMAX delivered total immersion
Film | Winner / Nominees |
|---|---|
★ The Substance | Pierre‑Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, Marilyne Scarselli |
A Different Man | |
Emilia Pérez | Julia Floch‑Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, Jean‑Christophe Spadaccini |
Nosferatu | |
Wicked |
Why it won: Practical body‑horror prosthetics served narrative depth rather than shock value alone.
Film | Winner / Nominees |
|---|---|
★ Wicked | |
A Complete Unknown | |
Conclave | |
Gladiator II | |
Nosferatu |
Why it won: Tazewell’s inventive riffs on Oz lore blended Broadway spectacle with high‑fashion silhouettes.
Film | Winner / Nominees |
|---|---|
★ The Brutalist | |
Conclave | |
Emilia Pérez | |
Wicked | |
The Wild Robot |
Why it won: Blumberg’s avant‑jazz minimalism amplified the film’s stark visual language, capturing Oscar voters’ ears.
Category | Winning Film | Head of Department (IMDb linked) |
|---|---|---|
Film Editing | Turbo‑paced montage mirrored immigrant hustle. | |
Production Design | Art‑deco Emerald City sets wowed voters. | |
Original Song | “El Mal” – Emilia Pérez (Camille, Clément Ducol) | Reggaetón‑tinged anthem supporting trans narrative. |
Category | Winner | Quick Note |
|---|---|---|
Animated Feature | First Latvian winner, entirely indie. | |
International Feature | I’m Still Here (Brazil) | First Portuguese‑language BP nominee. |
Documentary Feature | First Palestinian feature Oscar. | |
Live‑Action Short | Netherlands breaks 28‑year drought. | |
Animated Short | Persian stop‑motion reflection on memory. | |
Documentary Short | Moving portrait of cellist Anita Lasker‑Wallfisch. |
Anora became the first festival acquisition title to win Picture since Moonlight.
Director Sean Baker collected four Oscars in one night (Picture, Director, Editing, Original Screenplay) — matching Walt Disney’s 1954 record.
Paul Tazewell is the first Black male Costume Design winner for Wicked.
Latvia’s Flow is the first independent, non‑studio feature to win Animated Feature.
Adrien Brody’s acceptance ran 5 min 37 s — the longest speech in Oscar history.
Both Emilia Pérez and I’m Still Here earned simultaneous Picture & International Feature nods — a first.
Zoe Saldaña is the first Dominican‑American acting winner.
Dune: Part Two repeated Part One’s Sound + VFX sweep.
Live‑action short I’m Not a Robot delivered the Netherlands its first Oscar since 1997.
Nielsen put U.S. viewership at 19.7 million, up 6 % YOY.
Who hosted the 2025 Oscars?
Conan O’Brien made his Oscar‑hosting debut.
Which film won the most awards?
Anora led with five wins, including Picture and Director.
Where can I find union pay‑rate info for my own project?
Check our SAG‑AFTRA rate guide plus other union‑specific posts on the Topsheet blog.
Did any records fall this year?
Yes—first Black male Costume Design winner (Paul Tazewell), first Latvian Animated Feature winner (Flow), Sean Baker’s four‑Oscar night, and more outlined above.
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Sources: Official winners list – Oscars.org and AMPAS ballot; Entertainment Weekly live recap; Wikipedia compilation of nominees.