Hollywood is weird right now. Honestly, if you looked at the social media fallout after the 97th Academy Awards, you'd think the world had ended because Demi Moore didn't walk away with a trophy. But that’s the thing about the award shows 2025 cycle—it didn't follow the script. Not even a little bit. We went from "locked-in" favorites to "wait, who just won?" in the span of a single commercial break.
It’s been a wild ride. We saw a indie darling like Anora basically steamroll the competition, a hosting debut from Conan O'Brien that actually felt... funny? And enough "dirty tricks" campaigns to make a political operative blush. If you’re trying to make sense of who won, who lost, and why everyone is still arguing about The Substance months later, you’re in the right place.
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The Night the Underdog Ate the Lion
Let's talk about the Oscars. Specifically, let's talk about how Sean Baker basically became the king of Hollywood in one night. Before the 2025 ceremony, people were betting big on The Brutalist or the operatic Emilia Pérez. Then Anora happened.
Five Oscars. Five.
Sean Baker didn't just win; he broke a record held by Walt Disney since 1954 by taking home four individual trophies in a single night (Directing, Original Screenplay, and a couple of others for good measure). It was a massive win for independent film, but it left a lot of the "prestige" big-budget dramas shivering in the cold.
But the real drama? The Best Actress category.
Mikey Madison winning for Anora was the upset that launched a thousand memes. Everyone—and I mean everyone—thought Demi Moore had it in the bag for The Substance. It was the "comeback" narrative the Academy usually eats up. When Madison’s name was called, the internet practically imploded. Even Ken Jennings joked that the loss felt like a post-credits scene to Moore’s movie. It was brutal, kinda poetic, and definitely the biggest shock of the award shows 2025 season.
Breaking Down the Winners: Who Actually Took Home the Hardware?
If you missed the telecasts, the list of winners across the board looks like a mix of "of course" and "oh, wow."
- Adrien Brody was the safe bet that actually paid off. He snagged Best Actor at the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and the Critics Choice Awards for The Brutalist. Even with his awkwardly long acceptance speech at the Oscars where he fought the "wrap it up" music, nobody can deny the performance was incredible.
- Kieran Culkin continued his streak of being everyone's favorite "terrible" person, winning Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain at both the Oscars and the Globes.
- Zoe Saldaña finally got her flowers, winning Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez.
Then there’s the TV side of things. Shōgun and The Bear continued to dominate, but we saw some new blood too. Severance finally got the Emmy love it deserved, with Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman taking home acting trophies. And let's not forget Hacks beating out The Bear for Best Comedy Series at the Golden Globes—a win that felt like a huge "we’re still here" for traditional sitcom-style writing.
The Controversies Nobody Expected
You can't have a year of award shows 2025 without a little bit of mess. This year, the mess was mostly digital.
Karla Sofía Gascón made history as the first transgender actress nominated for Best Actress for Emilia Pérez. It should have been a pure celebration, but then the "receipts" started flying. Old tweets surfaced, accusations of "dirty tricks" campaigns from rival camps started swirling, and the whole thing got very ugly, very fast. It’s a reminder that in the modern awards circuit, your past is just one search away from being a weapon.
Then you had the weird AI rumors. The Brutalist was actually accused of using AI to manipulate actor accents. The director denied it, but the fact that it was even a talking point shows where our heads are at in 2025. We’re paranoid about what’s real and what’s "enhanced."
Grammys: The Year of the Pop Girlie
While the movies were fighting about AI and old tweets, the music industry was basically a playground for Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and the "new" guard of Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan.
The 67th Grammys in February 2025 felt like a passing of the torch. Beyoncé led with 11 nominations (because she's Beyoncé), but seeing Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter dominate the "Big Four" categories was the real story. It’s rare to see the industry pivot to new stars that quickly, but 2025 didn't care about tradition.
Why 2025 Felt Different (And Kinda Worse?)
If we’re being honest, viewership is still a struggle. The Oscars drew about 18.1 million people. That sounds like a lot until you realize it’s a 7% drop from last year.
Why? Maybe it’s the streaming issues. Hulu had some major technical glitches during the Oscars that left people staring at blank screens during key moments. Or maybe it’s just that we’re all exhausted by the "campaigning."
Award shows are no longer just about the best art. They’re about who can survive a four-month press tour without saying something that gets them cancelled. It’s a marathon of endurance, and by the time we get to the Oscars in March, half the audience is just ready for it to be over.
Actionable Insights for the Next Season
If you're a film buff or just someone who likes to win the office Oscar pool, here’s how to look at the upcoming 2026 cycle based on what we learned this year:
- Ignore the "Locks": If Mikey Madison taught us anything, it's that the "overdue veteran" narrative isn't a guarantee anymore. Watch the indie festivals (Sundance, Telluride) closely.
- Follow the Screenplay: Anora winning Screenplay and Director was the writing on the wall. The Academy is moving toward "auteur" cinema again.
- Watch the Social Sentiment: Keep an eye on the "dirty tricks" campaigns. If a frontrunner suddenly has a "scandal" in February, start looking for your backup pick.
- The "Streaming Curse" is Real: If a show is only on one specific streamer, its Emmy chances might actually be higher because of the focused voting blocks, but its "cultural impact" might be lower.
The award shows 2025 season was a chaotic, beautiful, and occasionally frustrating mess. It proved that Hollywood still has the power to surprise us, even if we have to deal with a few technical glitches and Twitter wars along the way.