Adrien Brody, Mikey Madison, Zoe Saldaña and Kieran Culkin pose backstage with their Oscars® at the live ABC Telecast of the 97th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, 2025

A Look Back at the 2025 Academy Awards

BY JANET SUSAN R. NEPALES / PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AMPAS

The 97th Academy Awards, held March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, marked a triumph for indie filmmaker Sean Baker and his romantic comedy “Anora,” which tells the story of a sex worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch.

Although an underdog at the beginning of the awards season, the film—which premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d’Or—began gaining critical acclaim and accolades. It soon found itself a frontrunner among Oscar nominees, including “Emilia Pérez,” “The Brutalist,” “Wicked,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Dune: Part Two,” “I’m Still Here,” “Nickel Boys” and “The Substance.”

The film grossed $56.5 million worldwide against its $6 million budget and became Baker’s highest-grossing movie.

Baker Makes History With Four Oscars

Baker made history by winning four Oscars in one night—Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director and Best Picture. He is the only filmmaker to have won four Oscars for a single movie.

Although Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” led early in the awards season, controversy over racist and xenophobic tweets from its Spanish-born, openly transgender star, Karla Sofía Gascón hurt its standing.

However, first-time Oscar nominee Zoe Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the musical, becoming the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award.

In her tearful acceptance speech, she added: “My grandmother came to this country in 1961. I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last. The fact I’m getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish—my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted. This is for my grandmother!”

Mikey Madison Surprises in Best Actress Win

Another surprise of the night was Mikey Madison, an Oscar first-timer who won Best Actress for her portrayal of Anora, or “Ani,” in “Anora.” Madison edged out Demi Moore of “The Substance,” fan favorite Cynthia Erivo of “Wicked,” festival darling Fernanda Torres of “I’m Still Here” and Karla Sofía Gascón of “Emilia Pérez.”

Backstage, when asked about winning Best Actress while Baker won four Oscars, the soft-spoken 25-year-old Madison said:

“Oh my gosh, it’s, for lack of a better word, just incredibly surreal. I never thought anything like this would happen in my life. I just love making movies, and I’ve dreamed of being an actress who would be able to be in a film like ‘Anora’ my entire career. And so, it’s a huge honor, one that I think will soak in later down the line, hopefully. I really did not expect it at all.”

On Baker’s historic night, she added:

“Sean is such a wonderful and incredible filmmaker. He is an incredible writer and an amazing editor. He is a true lover of cinema and a kind person. He has dedicated so much of his career to telling really important stories. And so, I’m so happy for him because he’s just a true indie filmmaker. Like, we went off and just made this weird, crazy movie and had fun and poured our hearts into it. And you know, all of this started at Cannes, which was just a dream come true for me, a career-long dream to even just go to a film festival, specifically Cannes, and so everything that followed was wonderful.”

Adrien Brody Wins Second Oscar

Adrien Brody made history by winning his second Oscar for his performance as a Jewish architect in “The Brutalist.”

At age 29, Brody became the youngest actor to win Best Actor for 2002’s “The Pianist.” Now 51, he won his second Oscar for playing László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect who immigrates to rural Pennsylvania after World War II and experiences antisemitism in the three-and-a-half-hour saga directed by Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold.

Kieran Culkin Wins First Oscar on First Nomination

Kieran Culkin, 42, had a historic first Oscar win for his role in “A Real Pain,” written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. Culkin plays a charming yet exasperating Jewish man touring Holocaust sites with his uptight cousin, played by Eisenberg.

During his acceptance speech, the New Yorker also got excited when he reminded his wife, Jazz Charton, that she had promised him a fourth child “if you win an Oscar.”

He said, “And I have not brought it up once until just now. I just have this to say to you, Jazz—love of my life, ye of little faith—no pressure. I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again, and let’s get cracking on those kids. What do you say?”

Conan O’Brien Honors Firefighters in Opening Monologue

Comedian and host Conan O’Brien took a moment during the ceremony to honor firefighters who battled the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, inviting them onstage and even letting them read some of his jokes.

“Please welcome members of the fire service who bravely responded to and battled the Palisades and Eaton wildfires,” O’Brien said. “On behalf of everyone in greater Los Angeles, thank you for all that you do.

“Now I know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but there are some jokes even I am not brave enough to tell. So, on behalf of myself, would you please read what’s in the prompter? And remember, everyone in this audience has to laugh. These are heroes!”