Sean Baker's Anora Dominates the 2025 Oscars Winners List

Sean Baker’s Anora swept the 97th Academy Awards, taking home five Oscars including Best Picture and making its director-producer-writer-editor only the second person ever to win four awards in a single night. The ceremony, hosted by Conan O'Brien on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre, saw Adrien Brody win Best Actor for The Brutalist and deliver the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history. Mikey Madison won Best Actress for Anora, while Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) took the supporting actor and actress prizes.

The night belonged to Anora. Baker's film about a sex worker navigating a chaotic marriage won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. His four personal wins matched a feat only Walt Disney achieved in 1954, but Baker is the first to do it for a single film. The win capped a remarkable run for the indie filmmaker. His producers, Alex Coco and Samantha Quan, joined him on stage for the top prize.

Other major winners included The Brutalist, which earned three awards, and Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, and Wicked, which each won two. The broadcast drew an average of 19.69 million viewers on ABC and Hulu, a slight increase from the previous year. Host Conan O'Brien brought a group of firefighters on stage to acknowledge the Southern California wildfires that had impacted the awards season schedule.

What films won the most awards?

Anora led the night with five total Oscars. Its victories were concentrated in the major categories, a rare achievement. The Brutalist followed with three wins, including Best Actor and Best Production Design. Both Dune: Part Two and Emilia Pérez won two awards, with the latter taking Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song. The blockbuster musical Wicked also won two Oscars, for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Several films won a single award, including Conclave (Best Adapted Screenplay), Flow (Best Animated Feature), and No Other Land (Best Documentary Feature). The spread of awards highlighted a diverse year for cinema, from big studio productions to international indie films.

What historic firsts happened?

The 2025 Oscars were notable for several groundbreaking milestones. Zoe Saldaña became the first Dominican American actor to win an Oscar, taking Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez. Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win Best Costume Design for his work on Wicked.

In the Best Animated Feature category, the Latvian film Flow made history as the first independently animated film and first Latvian production to win an Oscar. The Palestinian documentary No Other Land became the first Palestinian film to win an Academy Award. Karla Sofía Gascón, nominated for Best Actress for Emilia Pérez, was the first openly transgender performer nominated in an acting category.

Adrien Brody's win for The Brutalist was accompanied by a record-setting speech that clocked in at 5 minutes and 37 seconds.

Who hosted and how was the show?

Comedian Conan O'Brien hosted the Oscars for the first time, bringing his signature wit to the Dolby Theatre stage. Producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan returned to helm the broadcast for a second consecutive year. The show opened with a montage tribute to Los Angeles and a performance of "Over the Rainbow" by Ariana Grande.

The telecast introduced some new presentation formats. The awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design were presented by five actors, each featured in one of the nominated films. For the first time, none of the Best Original Song nominees were performed live; instead, the segment featured personal reflections from the songwriters.

Technical issues plagued the first-ever live simulcast on Hulu, which crashed multiple times and cut off just before the Best Actress category was announced. The platform apologized the following day.

Sources

• Academy Awards Official Website
• Wikipedia: 97th Academy Awards
• Nielsen Ratings Data