2025 Oscars Winners & Nominees – The Only List You Need
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.
Major Oscar Awards
Best Picture - 2025 Oscar Awards
Winner: Anora – Producers Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha QuanWhy 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
Best Director - 2025 Oscar Awards
Winner: Sean Baker – AnoraWhy 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)
Acting Categories - 2025 Oscar Awards
Category
Winner & Why
Other Nominees
Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The BrutalistArchitect László Tóth’s moral decay let Brody tap the intensity that won him 2002’s Pianist Oscar.
Timothée Chalamet, Colman Domingo, Ralph Fiennes, Sebastian Stan
Best Actress
Mikey Madison – AnoraBAFTA & Indie‑Spirit momentum plus bilingual emotional range sealed the deal.
Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres
Best Supporting Actor
Kieran Culkin – A Real PainBalanced acidic comedy with raw grief.
Yura Borisov, Edward Norton, Guy Pearce, Jeremy Strong
Best Supporting Actress
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia PérezGenre‑blended performance lit up critics & voters.
Monica Barbaro, Ariana Grande, Felicity Jones, Isabella Rossellini
All acting winners and nominees per official ballot.
Writing - 2025 Oscar Awards
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.
Best Cinematography - 2025 Oscar Awards
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.
Best Visual Effects (VFX) - 2025 Oscar Awards
Film
Winner / Nominees (Key VFX Supervisors)
★ Dune: Part Two
Alien: Romulus
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.
Best Sound - 2025 Oscar Awards
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
Best Makeup & Hairstyling - 2025 Oscar Awards
Film
Winner / Nominees
★ The Substance
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
Wicked
Why it won: Practical body‑horror prosthetics served narrative depth rather than shock value alone.
Best Costume Design - 2025 Oscar Awards
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.
Best Original Score - 2025 Oscar Awards
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.
Key Craft Categories - 2025 Oscar Awards
Category
Winning Film
Head of Department (IMDb linked)
Original Song
“El Mal” – Emilia Pérez (Camille, Clément Ducol)
Reggaetón‑tinged anthem supporting trans narrative.
Feature & Short‑Form Winners - 2025 Oscar Awards
Category
Winner
Quick Note
Top‑10 Fast Facts
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Why This Matters for Producers & Crew
Winning an Oscar often boosts back‑end payments and visibility for everyone involved—from costume designers to sound mixers. If you’re budgeting your own award‑calibre project, accurate payroll and union compliance are non‑negotiable. Topsheet automates on‑set timecards, union fringes, and 2 % transparent payroll fees (never hidden), freeing you to focus on the creative work. Learn how in our crew payroll primer.
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Sources: Official winners list – Oscars.org and AMPAS ballot; Entertainment Weekly live recap; Wikipedia compilation of nominees.