The 2025 Oscars have come and gone, and the 97th annual ceremony was nothing if not memorable. In a year that finds us literally needing Andrew Garfield to stand on televised stages donning dark-rimmed glasses (thank you, Andrew), we are grateful to have gotten just that ⏤ and so much more.
The big winner of the night was Anora, which took home an impressive five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Director (Sean Baker), Best Original Screenplay (Sean Baker), and Best Editing (Sean Baker). It was basically a fabulous night to be Sean Baker, but if your name was Adrien Brody, Zoe Saldaña, or Kieran Culkin, you made out pretty well yourself. Brody took home his second Best Actor Oscar for The Brutalist while Saldaña and Culkin joined Madison in taking home their first (for Emilia Perez and A Real Pain, respectively).
It was also a tremendous night to be a Wicked fan, and not just because of the special performance we got from dazzling leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The blockbuster movie musical ended up winning two awards ⏤ Best Production Design and Best Costume Design ⏤ the latter of which made Paul Tazewell the first Black man to win an Oscar in that category. Netflix’s Emilia Perez, which led the night with 13 nominations, took home gold for Best Original Song (“El Mal”) and Saldaña’s performance in the Best Supporting Actress category. Controversial Best Actress nominee Karla Sofia Gascón was in attendance at the event after recently missing both the SAGs and the Critics Choice Awards, making the Oscars her first major award show appearance in months.
The ceremony also marked Conan O’Brien’s first time hosting the event, but hopefully not his last. Other notable firsts included Timmy Chalamet getting more love in the show’s first 25 minutes than some people get in their entire lifetimes and Flow winning Best Animated Feature Film, marking the first time Latvia has ever won an Oscar. Audiences were also treated to Nick Offerman providing the off-stage narration we never knew we needed (and hope to get again, especially anytime Amy Poehler presents an award). One of the more jaw-dropping moments of the night (besides Cynthia Erivo singing “Defying Gravity” live, let’s be real) came during a special segment celebrating James Bond. Introduced by Halle Berry in a stunning custom Christian Siriano, the ensuing medley featured performances by BLACKPINK’s Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye, with a seductive cameo from Margaret Qualley (who might need to be in the next film).
Of course, as much as there was to celebrate, there was also plenty to mourn, like the recent passing of Gene Hackman and Jon M. Chu’s missing Best Director nomination. The “In Memoriam” segment was particularly emotional this year as we once again said goodbye to the likes of Maggie Smith, Shelley Duvall, Teri Garr, Donald Sutherland, and James Earl Jones, to name a few. On the bright side, presenter Mick Jagger received a standing ovation simply for existing and it appeared that Elton John could clearly see him, so that was a win! We were also exposed to a harp-playing sandworm, something I don’t think was on anyone’s Oscar bingo card, and now that Dune: Part Two has taken home awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, I might have to finally see it.
Here is the complete list of Oscar winners, followed by some of the best-dressed humans you ever did see.
And the Oscar goes to…
- Best Picture: Anora
- Best Actor: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
- Best Actress: Mikey Madison, Anora
- Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
- Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Perez
- Best Director: Sean Baker, Anora
- Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
- Best International Feature Film: I’m Still Here, Brazil
- Best Original Song: “El Mal,” Emilia Perez
- Best Original Score: Daniel Blumberg, The Brutalist
- Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, Anora
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, Conclave
- Best Visual Effects: Dune: Part Two
- Best Editing: Sean Baker, Anora
- Best Sound: Dune: Part Two
- Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, Wicked
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, Marilyne Scarselli, The Substance
- Best Animated Feature Film: Flow
- Best Animated Short Film: In the Shadow of the Cypress
- Best Documentary Feature Film: No Other Land
- Best Documentary Short: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
- Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, Wicked
- Best Live Action Short Film: I’m Not a Robot
And the award for Best Dressed goes to…
The Oscars Red Carpet was a sight to behold, and some of the lewks served by our favorite celebs knocked us absolutely flat. First things first ⏤ can we talk about Ariana Grande being an absolute vision in Schiaparelli spring couture?!
Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres looked glorious in black and told E! that her dream role would be to star in a remake of Young Frankenstein. Can this happen immediately? Please and thanks.
OKAY WHOOPI WE SEE YOU. Christian Siriano literally said that if he could only dress one person for the rest of his career, it would be Whoop. It’s hard to argue when this is the end result.
Cynthia Erivo came wrapped in a bow like the literal gift she is, and it gave queen of the ball.
Our hearts stopped when we saw that Joe Locke and Kit Connor were in the house!
Songwriting legend Diane Warren was also in attendance and looked fabulous as always. (Did anyone catch her MasterClass documentary?! What an incredible career she’s had.)
Wicked star Marissa Bode naturally gave ruby slipper.
And then we spied with our little eyes a sneaky White Lotus star-on-the-rise!
Zoe Saldaña showed up looking like this and said her next dream is to pick up her kids from school for the rest of the year, causing us to melt like a certain Wizard of Oz character.
Make way for the royalty, people!
Not Selena Gomez literally shining in champagne.
Demi Moore is already being rumored to go down in Oscars history for this *moment*.
And then Timmy Chalamet gave straight-up Laffy Taffy! (I can’t.)
Don’t even get me started on my husband. A vision in caramel.
Despite Hulu’s small stroke at the broadcast’s outset (which left over 34K people in pitch-black streaming darkness), the night ran about as smoothly as one could go. Yes, thankfully, there were no La La Land mixups to give viewers or attendees a collective heart attack. Instead, there was a diverse display of cinematic love, with the wealth being spread amongst many of the night’s nominees, most notably Anora. It was a great night for the nominated films, and now that they’ve gradually begun making their ways to streaming, you finally have a chance to catch up on all the ones you missed while you were busy stressing out about $25 eggs and, oh yeah, America’s impending collapse.
Published: Mar 3, 2025 12:21 am