Oscars 2025: Anora sweeps with 5 wins while The Brutalist won 3 - Check out the highlights

The 97th Academy Awards took place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre located in Los Angeles and focused on the year that witnessed the highest achievements in cinema. The host for the evening, Conan O'Brien, witnessed an event that included memorable moments of pageantry, historic milestones, and performances that shall forever be etched in memory.

The greatest award winner of the night would be Sean Baker's "Anora", winning five awards namely Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The film's budget was a mere $6 million and marked one of Hollywood's finest-ever journeys of independent filmmaking. In their acceptance speeches, producers Alex Coco and Samantha Quan stressed the need for independent filmmaking and encouraged young filmmakers to pursue their stories.

And so, with her performance in "Anora", Mikey Madison received the Best Actress trophy, while Paul Tazewell's costume design of the "Wicked" event made for a solid win for the first Black man ever to win in that category. Saldaña's role in "Emilia Pérez" bagged her the Best Supporting Actress award, making her the first Dominican-American to win an Oscar.

Brody and Halle Barry reminisced about that infamous kiss at the 2003 Oscars, which added a whiff of controversy while Timothée Chalamet's neon yellow leather outfit was quick to set Twitter afire with memes. The songwriters of Emilia Pérez began singing a short a cappella version of their song during their acceptance speech, truly catching the audience by surprise. Colman Domingo had others up and dancing during a commercial break, a spontaneous act that enlivened audiences in the hall or at home.

The two "Wicked" co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo gave a gut-wrenching rendition of "Defying Gravity," which got a standing ovation. Along with tributes to musical giants, there was a section where Queen Latifah paid tribute to Quincy Jones and where global stars such as Blackpink's Lisa and Doja Cat took the stage.

The In Memoriam tribute paid stirring homage to industry icons beyond Maggie Smith and Kris Kristofferson, who shall forever be reminding us of their legacies. Finally, absent from prime-time television, the Oscars were streamed on Hulu live-a first to regenerate dwindling viewership. However, this was tainted with technical faults during the broadcast. The 2025 Academy Awards were not only a celebration of cinematic excellence but also an assessment of the ever-changing reality of the film industry and its preoccupation with diversity, independent filmmaking, and unforgettable artistry.