Oscars 2025 recap and winners
Mar 03, 2025
David Ho looks at the happenings and highlights of the 97th Academy Awards ceremony
The 2025 Oscars packed in lots of surprises. The sex worker dramedy Anora swept with five wins, including the highly competitive Best Picture and Best Actress category, where Demi Moore was widely expected to win for the latter with her role in The Substance.
The event was hosted by Conan O’Brien with a hilarious opening monologue that poked fun at The Substance, Emilia Pérez's Karla Sofía Gascón, Amazon, and Timothée Chalamet, but he wasn’t the only cracking the jokes onstage. The Los Angeles firefighters were also invited where they threw zingers at Joker 2 and O’Brien himself.
Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the awards ceremony with moving performances of songs from The Wizard of Oz. Grande started with Somewhere Over The Rainbow, followed by Erivo with Home. The two then reunited to launch into “Defying Gravity”, the signature song from their film.
There was also a stunning tribute to James Bond, with The Substance star Margaret Qualley doing a dance number, followed by performances by BlackPink’s Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye.
Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the awards ceremony with moving performances of songs from The Wizard of Oz. Grande started with Somewhere Over The Rainbow, followed by Erivo with Home. The two then reunited to launch into “Defying Gravity”, the signature song from their film.
There was also a stunning tribute to James Bond, with The Substance star Margaret Qualley doing a dance number, followed by performances by BlackPink’s Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye.
On the red carpet, Halle Berry “paid back” Adrien Brody with a kiss. This was in reference to the 2003 Oscars where The Brutalist star infamously kissed Berry on the lips when she presented him with the Best Actor award. Berry must be his lucky charm as Brody repeated his victory this year.
Check the list of winners:
Best Picture
Anora - WINNER
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo - Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison - Anora - WINNER
Demi Moore - The Substance
Fernanda Torres - I’m Still Here
Best Actor
Adrien Brody - The Brutalist - WINNER
Timothée Chalamet - A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo - Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes - Conclave
Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice
Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro - A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande - Wicked
Felicity Jones - The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini - Conclave
Zoe Saldaña - Emilia Pérez - WINNER
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov - Anora
Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain - WINNER
Edward Norton - A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce - The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice
Best Director
Sean Baker - Anora - WINNER
Brady Corbet - The Brutalist
James Mangold - A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat - The Substance
Best Original Screenplay
Anora - WINNER
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance
Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave - WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist - WINNER
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Maria
Nosferatu
Best Original Score
The Brutalist - WINNER
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Original Song
“El Mal” - Emilia Pérez - WINNER
“The Journey” - The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” - Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” - Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” - Elton John: Never Too Late
Best Editing
Anora - WINNER
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked - WINNER
Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked - WINNER
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance - WINNER
Wicked
Also see: #review: Is Captain America's Brave New World worth exploring?
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two - WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two - WINNER
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Best International Feature
I’m Still Here (Brazil) - WINNER
The Girl with the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Best Animated Feature
Flow - WINNER
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress - WINNER
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Best Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot - WINNER
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best Documentary Feature
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land - WINNER
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Best Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra - WINNER
Also see: #review: Bridget Jones is Mad About the Boy in her farewell film
