The 97th annual Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, took place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Ovation Hollywood, hosted by Conan O’Brien, an American television host and comedian, for the first time. There were many speeches, big winners, and the show delivered both expected wins and surprising upsets.
The night’s big winner was Anora, who dominated almost all categories, winning 5 Oscars, with director Sean Baker winning nearly all of them. Baker made history by winning 4 Oscars in one night for a single person. The record was last held by Walt Disney in 1954, but Disney won for 4 different projects at the ceremony, while Baker won all for the same movie. Baker won Best Director, Film Editing, Original Screenplay, and Best Picture. Baker has made many other films, including Tangerine and The Florida Project, but neither have won as many Oscars as Anora did. Adding onto all of Baker’s awards for the night, Mikey Madison shocked many by winning Best Actress for her role in Anora. Lots were expecting that actress, Demi Moore, was going to win for her role in The Substance, but Madison ended up being on top. Madison wins her first Oscar ever and becomes the ninth-youngest winner for Best Actress.
There were also many big actors and actresses winning. Twenty-two years after winning his first Best Actor award, Actor Adrien Brody won his second Best Actor award for his role in The Brutalist as another Holocaust survivor, after winning his first award for The Pianist. “I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and othering,” Brody said during his speech. “I pray for a healthier and happier and more inclusive world.” Brody’s win comes over Timothee Chalamet for his role in A Complete Unknown, who also had the chance to become the youngest best actor ever, a record held by Brody.
Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) and Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) won Oscars for their supporting roles. Saldaña makes history by being the first American of Dominican origin to claim an Oscar. With 13 nominations, Emilia Pérez only won one other category, Best Original Song, along with Saldaña’s award. Even though Emilia Pérez won four awards at the Golden Globes, It wasn’t expected that the movie would win that many awards, after a scandal caused by offensive tweets by star Karla Sofía Gascón.
What came as a shock to many people was Wicked having 10 nominations and only winning 2 awards. The movie won Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. American Costume Designer Paul Tazewell has made costumes for many movies, including Hamilton and West Side Story, but he makes history by becoming the first Black Male to ever win Best Costume Design and becoming the 5th Black Male to ever win an Oscar. Many thought that actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande should have won at least one Oscar, considering that they opened up the Oscars, singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Home,” and “Defying Gravity.” People also really wanted Cynthia Erivo to win so that she would become the youngest EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner at 38 years old.
Overall, this year’s Academy Awards was one of the most unpredictable in years, with many astonishing wins and surprising snubs. O’Brien did a successful job at hosting this year, letting the winners enjoy their spotlight and laughing at himself to make everyone else feel less awkward. The night was intense and extravagant, whether it was the speeches, Andrew Garfield telling Goldie Hawn how much his mother loved her work, or even O’Brien making fun of Adam Sandler for what he was wearing. This year had some people stunned and made lots of history.
