The 97th Academy Awards felt different. Maybe it was Conan O’Brien’s chaotic energy as host or the fact that the show clocked in at nearly four hours, but the vibe in the Dolby Theatre was electric. Or maybe it was just the Anora of it all. Sean Baker’s indie darling didn't just win; it dominated in a way we rarely see anymore.
Honestly, the results of oscar awards this year proved that the "little movie that could" still has a fighting chance against the massive blockbusters. While movies like Wicked and Dune: Part Two were busy gobbling up technical trophies, a gritty, neon-soaked story about a Brooklyn sex worker took home the biggest prize of the night.
It was a sweep. Five Oscars.
The Anora Takeover and Sean Baker’s Record Night
Sean Baker is now in the history books. By winning Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Film Editing, he tied a record held by Walt Disney for the most individual Oscar wins in a single night.
Baker’s speech was a "battle cry" for the theatrical experience. He literally begged filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screen. It was raw.
And then there’s Mikey Madison. At 25, she became one of the youngest Best Actress winners ever. Her performance as Ani was the heartbeat of the film, and seeing her beat out veterans like Demi Moore was one of those "torch-passing" moments that the Academy loves to stage.
Why the Lead Acting Races Mattered
Adrien Brody is back.
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His win for The Brutalist makes him a two-time Best Actor winner, over two decades after his first win for The Pianist. His performance as László Toth was massive. He also broke a weirdly specific record: the longest on-screen performance for a Best Actor winner, surpassing Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur.
Brody didn't just win; he took over the stage. He stayed up there for nearly six minutes, ignoring the "play-off" music twice to talk about global issues and his own journey. It was a stark contrast to the technical winners, who were ushered off the stage within seconds.
The supporting races felt almost like destiny.
- Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain. He’s been acting for 35 years—basically his whole life—and he seemed genuinely confused about how he ended up on that stage.
- Zoe Saldaña made history with Emilia Pérez. She became the first American of Dominican origin to win an Oscar. Her speech was a tear-jerker about heritage and "hardworking hands."
Surprises and the "Wicked" Technical Split
If you looked at the nominations, you would’ve thought Wicked was going to clean up in every technical category. It didn't.
While Paul Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win Best Costume Design, the movie lost out in Sound and Visual Effects. Who took those? Dune: Part Two.
It’s kinda funny because Dune had far fewer nominations overall compared to its predecessor. Yet, the Academy clearly still respects Denis Villeneuve's craft. They gave it the "heavy hitter" technical awards, leaving Wicked with Production Design and Costumes.
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The Snub Everyone is Talking About
We have to talk about Demi Moore.
The Substance was the talk of the festival circuit. Moore’s performance was hailed as a "revelatory" comeback. But when the results of oscar awards were read, the film only walked away with Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
The Academy has a famously rocky relationship with horror. Even high-brow "feminist body horror" struggles to get past the gatekeepers. Seeing Moore lose to Madison—the youngest in the category—felt like a cruel echo of the film’s actual plot about aging in Hollywood.
International and Documentary Wins
Brazil finally got its moment.
I’m Still Here won Best International Feature, beating out the heavily favored (but controversial) Emilia Pérez. This was a massive win for Brazilian cinema, especially since Emilia Pérez had been the "it" movie of the season with 13 nominations.
In the documentary category, No Other Land pulled off a major upset. It’s a co-production between Palestinian and Israeli activists, and its win brought a heavy, somber tone to the room. The filmmakers used their time to highlight the ongoing occupation in the West Bank.
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Other notable wins included:
- Flow: A dialogue-free film that won Best Animated Feature.
- The Only Girl in the Orchestra: Winner of Best Documentary Short.
- I’m Not a Robot: Took home Best Live Action Short.
What These Results Mean for the Industry
The 97th Academy Awards showed us that the "Oscars trend" is shifting. We are moving away from the era of the $200 million Best Picture winner and back toward the auteur-driven indie.
Neon (the studio behind Anora) has now proven they can play in the same league as the giants. They managed to navigate the results of oscar awards cycle perfectly, keeping the momentum for Baker’s film alive for months.
If you’re a filmmaker or a student of the craft, there are a few actionable insights to take from this year’s ceremony:
- Originality Wins: Anora was an original screenplay. In a world of sequels (Dune, Wicked, Gladiator II), the top prize went to a fresh story.
- Editing is Key: Sean Baker winning for editing and directing highlights how much the "rhythm" of a film matters to voters.
- The Global Shift: The success of films like Flow and I'm Still Here shows that the "International" category is becoming just as prestigious as the main categories.
The 2025 ceremony proved that the Academy is willing to reward bold, sometimes uncomfortable cinema. Whether it was the body horror of The Substance getting its flowers in makeup or a three-and-a-half-hour epic about an architect winning Best Actor, the voters weren't playing it safe.
If you want to catch up on the winners, most are now hitting streaming services. Anora is the must-watch of the bunch, not just because it won, but because it represents a specific kind of filmmaking that Baker has been perfecting for years. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it’s undeniably human.