It was a close race at the 2025 Oscars, but one film walked away with a few more statues than the rest.
Anora was the standout of the evening, winning five out of its six nominations at the Sunday, March 2, ceremony, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for star Mikey Madison, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
“We made this movie for $6 million in New York City with about 40 crew members, they’re all back in New York, this is for you guys,” writer and director Sean Baker said as the cast took the Dolby Theatre stage in Los Angeles to accept the award for Best Picture. “Thank you so much. We made this movie independently. If you’re trying to make independent movies, please keep doing it, we need more.” (Baker is the first person to win four Oscars in one night since Walt Disney in 1953.)
Out of Anora’s fellow Best Picture nominees, The Brutalist trailed closely behind, taking home three wins for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Adrien Brody. Wicked, Emilia Pérez and Dune: Part Two all took home two awards each, and Conclave and I’m Still Here both walked away with one.
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Emilia Pérez led this year’s pack with a total of 13 nominations, followed by The Brutalist and Wicked, both with 10 nominations each. A Complete Unknown and Conclave, meanwhile, trailed with eight nods each. All five films were nominated for Best Picture this year, along with Nickel Boys, Dune: Part Two, The Substance, Anora and I’m Still Here.
The 2025 awards season leading up to the Oscars has been a mixed bag, with The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez taking home Best Motion Picture — Drama and Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, respectively, at the Golden Globes in January. Anora, meanwhile, won Best Picture at the Critics Choice awards earlier this month, while Conclave was awarded Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards on February 23. One week prior, it took home Best Film at this year’s BAFTA Awards.
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“I’ve not been elected to speak — I’ve been designated to speak on before of our conclave, our ensemble,” Conclave star Ralph Fiennes joked during the cast’s SAGs acceptance speech, referencing the movie’s tense papal election. “We had a blessed time with [director] Edward [Berger], whose intelligence and perception and insight and care of us has, I think, brought us the gift of our community of ensemble.”
He continued, “People have spoken so eloquently and movingly about community. I don’t want to add more, but I think we do recognize the supreme importance of it in our work and in the world.” He finished his speech with, “I think that’s what we’re celebrating, is our community.”
While Conclave is now a frontrunner for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars, it was Emilia Pérez that initially was the favorite of the season after it took home four wins out of its 10 nominations at the Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language), Best Original Song (for “El Mal”) and Best Supporting Actress, Film for Zoe Saldaña.
However, the movie musical — which follows Saldaña as a high-powered lawyer hired by a Mexican cartel leader (Kala Sofia Gascón) to help them fake their death and undergo gender-affirming procedures — lost momentum earlier this month when past controversial tweets made by Gascón resurfaced online. The actress was later notably absent at the SAG Awards, which costars Saldaña and Selena Gomez attended.
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Instead, Gascón chose to attend the Cesar Awards in France, which were held the same night as the SAGs. Although she did not speak to press at the time, she later told The Hollywood Reporter that she would be in attendance at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
“I’m not sure how I feel, but I’m grateful to be back,” she confessed. “I’m grateful to all those who’ve believed in me — to Netflix the production company and my colleagues. We can close this beautiful and difficult path that began three years ago.”
