Oscars 2025 Recap: From Record-Breaking Wins to Viral Moments

image courtesy of flickr user lincolnblues

This past weekend, the Oscars 2025 once again celebrated the year’s artistry and achievement in the film industry. Didn’t get a chance to watch the ceremony live? No worries; this article will recap some of the most important moments throughout the night.

General Moments/ Events

With Conan O’Brien as this year’s witty announcer, he brought a night full of entertaining bits and quips. One that has been discussed prominently on the internet was him bringing on Adam Sandler for a joke about proper attire for the carpet, as Sandler wore his usual basketball shorts and large hoodie.

The show also opened up with a strong, inspiring performance by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, as they covered “Defying Gravity”, “Home”, and  “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (clips from such have already been turned to gifs on Twitter).

Another standout moment was the lengthy Bond tribute, with an intricate dance number and performers such as Margaret Qualley, Lisa from Blackpink, Doja Cat, and Raye singing the Bond theme songs. Motivated by the recent acquisition of the Bond franchise by Amazon MGM, the performance started out with a video montage before allowing multiple artists and dancers to take the stage.

Similarly to the Grammys, the Oscars also paid respect to the LA fire department for their devotion and work during the fires this past winter, inviting them on stage alongside Conan O’Brian for some uplifting jokes.

On another note, thousands of viewers were shocked and disappointed when the Hulu broadcast suddenly was cut off at 10:30 PM, showing an error message. People turned to social media to express their anger and confusion, with “Hulu” trending on Twitter (now X) in moments. The stream cut off right before announcing Best Picture and Best Actress winners.

Best Picture

Sean Baker’s “Anora” brought home Best Picture against the highly competitive successes of this year, such as Wicked and Dune: Part Two. This was the fourth win of the night for director Sean Baker and his team on Anora, making history as the most Oscar wins for a single movie in the same year.

Best Actor

Adrien Brody was the night’s winner for Best Actor for his performance in “The Brutalist”. He accepted the reward with evident honor, as the extended length of his acceptance speech has gone on to spark conversation and critique.

Best Actress

Once again, “Anora” made a winner out of its star actress, Mikey Madison. Also up against some strong competition, going against Cynthia Erivo’s famed performance as Elpheba, and Demi Moore for her role in “The Substance”, a similarly explorative representation of the female experience.

Best Production Design

With a strong list of gorgeous films, production design had a range in styles from “Nosferatu’s” dark and dreary to “Dune: Part Two’s” sandy sci-fi grandeurs. In the end, “Wicked”’s Nathan Crowley took home the prize, a testament to the hard work of the crew to bring the well-known world of Oz to the big screen.

Best Original Song

With two nominations for songs from “Emilia Perez”, Jacques Audiard, Camille, and Clement Ducol won for the song “El Mal”.

Best International Feature Film

“I’m Still Here” was the first Brazilian movie to win in this category, showing the success of director Walter Salle’s adaptation of the autobiographical novel Ainda Estou Aqui, by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. 

Best Animated Feature

In a monumental moment for the animation industry, this year’s prize went to Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, and Rob Dyens’s “Flow”, a Blender-animated, small budget indie film from Latvia. Beating out big studio films like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot”, which have been highly regarded from both critics and from the box office, this win shines light on the smaller side of the industry that has seemed to only in recent years been inching its way out of the dark.

Best Director

Another part of the “Anora” sweep, Sean Baker was once again acknowledged for his work directing the film.

Best Supporting Actress

Zoe Saldanada marked another win for “Emilia Perez” as she took the prize for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the third Latina woman and first American of Dominican origin to win the prize.

Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin was awarded for his performance in “A Real Pain”, giving the first speech of the night, which was mostly about his wife’s support and playful relationship. 

Best Documentary Feature

“No Other Land”, a film that brings attention to the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta community during the ongoing conflict in Palestine, was recognized with Best Documentary Feature. The film shares the stories of Basal Adra, a Palestinian activist, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist. The filmmakers Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, and Hamden Ballal called for action towards peace and equality in a heartmoving speech.

Best Original Score

In another win for “The Brutalist”, Daniel Blumberg was awarded for the film’s score, up against similarly powerful performances from films like “Wicked”, “The Wild Robot”, and “Conclave”.

Best Live Action Short Film

Victoria Warmerdam’s “I’m Not a Robot”, released by The New Yorker, won this category, going against “Anuja”, “The Last Ranger”, “A Lien”, and “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”.

Best Visual Effects

Between flying witches, alien symbiotes, giant worms, and a lot of talking monkeys, the giant worms claimed victory as “Dune: Part Two” won for Best Visual Effects, up against “Wicked”, “Alien: Romulus”, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”, and “Better Man”. Gerd Nefzer, Stephen James, and Rhys Salcombe won for the film’s 2,156 VFX shots that brought the world of Arrakis to life. In their speech, they thanked the work of the many VFX studios that  contributed to the film’s success.

Best Original Screenplay

Sean Baker’s writing for “Anora” was another one of the four awards he received for the film.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Peter Straughan won for “Conclave”’s adaptation of Robert Harri’s 2016 novel of the same name.

Best Animated Short Film

Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi won for animated film “In the Shadow of the Cypress”, mentioning in their speech the struggles of awaiting their last-minute visa to attend the ceremony. The Iranian 2D film was self-funded and took six years to finish.

Best Cinematography

Once again, “The Brutalist” took home an Oscar, this time for Lol Crawley’s camerawork.

Best Costume Design 

“Wicked’s” Paul Tazewell won against strong competition in “Nosferatu”, “Gladiator II”, “Conclave”, and “A Complete Unknown”, for his success in his countless creations and designs that brought the musical’s iconic characters to the screen. He also makes history as the first black man to win in the category.

Best Documentary (Short Subject)

“The Only Girl in the Orchestra” creators Lisa Remington and Molly O’Brien won for their work in sharing Orin O’Brien’s story as the first female full-time member of the New York Philharmonic.

Best Film Editing

Once again, Sean Baker, the quadruple threat, won Best Film Editing for his film “Anora”.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

In a clash between body morphing prosthetics in films like “A Different Man”, and an abundance of green paint in “Wicked”, this award went to “The Substance”’s Pierre Olivier Persin, Stephanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli.

Best Sound

“Dune: Part Two”’s Richard King, Rob Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, and Gareth John claimed this category over “Wicked”, “The Wild Robot”, “A Complete Unknown”, and “Emilia Perez”.

Overall, last night was an exciting celebration of some of this year’s artistic achievements in film. With several record breaking/ historical moments and an abundance of inspiring and touching speeches by this year’s winners.