Anora wins Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards amidst a surprising indie victory over blockbuster competitors.
In Short
Anora, directed by Sean Baker, won best picture at the 97th Academy Awards, following its success at Cannes. Mikey Madison won best actress for her role in the film, as the event celebrated a diverse range of talent.
Anora was named best picture at the 97th Academy Awards, directed by Sean Baker.
This unexpected win comes after it also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The film, set in Brooklyn, tells the story of an erotic dancer who elopes with a Russian oligarch’s son and was produced for US$6 million.
Oscar voters opted for Anora over larger films like Wicked and Dune: Part Two, joining other indie best picture winners in recent years. Mikey Madison won best actress for her role in Anora, defeating favourite Demi Moore.
The cast and crew, including Baker, accepted the best picture award at the ceremony. Sean Baker also won best director, best original screenplay, and best editing, advocating for the importance of theatrical releases in his speech.
Adrien Brody received his second Oscar for best actor for his performance in The Brutalist. Kieran Culkin won the first award of the night for A Real Pain.
Zoe Saldaña earned her first Academy Award for best supporting actress in Emilia Pérez.
Host Conan O’Brien opened the show with his trademark humour, while Morgan Freeman paid tribute to Gene Hackman, who had recently passed away.
The winners list featured Anora as the standout with various other films, marking a diverse range of talent recognised at this year’s awards.
ALL THE 2025 OSCARS WINNERS
- Anora – WINNER
- The Brutalist
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- I’m Still Here
- Nickel Boys
- The Substance
- Wicked
- Adrien Brody – The Brutalist – WINNER
- Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
- Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
- Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
- Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
- Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
- Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
- Mikey Madison – Anora – WINNER
- Demi Moore – The Substance
- Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
- Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
- Sean Baker – Anora – WINNER
- Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
- Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
- James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
- Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
- Ariana Grande – Wicked
- Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
- Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
- Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
- Yura Borisov – Anora
- Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain – WINNER
- Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
- Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
- Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
- A Complete Unknown – Jay Cocks and James Mangold
- Conclave – Peter Straughan
- Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard
- Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
- Sing Sing – Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
- Anora – Sean Baker – WINNER
- The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
- A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
- September 5 – Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David
- The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
- Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late
- El Mal – Emilia Pérez – WINNER
- Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez
- Like A Bird – Sing Sing
- The Journey – The Six Triple Eight
- The Brutalist – WINNER
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot
- I’m Still Here – Brazil – WINNER
- The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
- Emilia Pérez – France
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Germany
- Flow – Latvia
- Flow – WINNER
- Inside Out 2
- Memoir of a Snail
- Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- The Wild Robot
- Black Box Diaries
- No Other Land – WINNER
- Porcelain War
- Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
- Sugarcane
- Wicked – WINNER
- Nosferatu
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Gladiator II
- A Different Man
- Emilia Pérez
- Nosferatu
- The Substance – WINNER
- Wicked
- Wicked – WINNER
- The Brutalist
- Dune: Part Two
- Nosferatu
- Conclave
- A Complete Unknown
- Dune: Part Two – WINNER
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot
- Anora – WINNER
- The Brutalist
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Brutalist- WINNER
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- Maria
- Nosferatu
- Alien: Romulus
- Better Man
- Dune: Part Two – WINNER
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Wicked
- Anuja
- I’m Not a Robot – WINNER
- The Last Ranger
- A Lien
- The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
- Beautiful Men
- In the Shadow of the Cypress – WINNER
- Magic Candies
- Wander to Wonder
- Yuck!
- Death by Numbers
- I Am Ready, Warden
- Incident
- Instruments of a Beating Heart
- The Only Girl in the Orchestra – WINNER
