The 97th Academy Awards, which took place on March 2, 2025, ended the award season celebratory gatherings. The night was one of tension, shock, and records, and pride of the winner of the night was “Anora” that bagged a record five Oscars. The movie took home the Best Director, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Picture awards. Inaugural Night Director Sean Baker, speaking enthusiastically about the success of the independent film, pointed out that the victory of “Anora” was a victory for independent filmmaking. On a microscopic budget of a paltry six million dollars, the film illustrated the strength of creative thinking to overcome budget limitation, and Baker himself won four awards bestowed on him. Night controversy was owned by the movie “Emilia Perez,” which garnered the most overall nominations with a total of thirteen.
While it didn’t win major awards such as Best Picture and Best Director, it did set records with Zoe Saldana’s Best Supporting Actress award. Saldana became the third Latina woman to have ever won an award and the first one to win an award not for “West Side Story.” The movie also took home Best Original Song for “El Mal.” “Wicked” took home ten awards and nominations for Costuming and Production Design, despite the fan favorites Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo losing their respective awards. The highlight of the evening was the opening number of “Defying Gravity” from the film.
“Dune: Part Two” was a reprise of the success of its predecessor, taking home Best Sound and Best Visual Effects awards. “The Substance,” the season’s perennial nominee, still surprised many for not taking home the Best Actress in a Leading Role award, although taking home a Best Makeup and Hairstyling award.
“The Brutalist,” which utilized AI to design actor accents, took home three awards, including Best Actor in a Leading Role for Adrien Brody. Kieran Culkin and computer-animated silent film “Flow” were some of the other bigger wins, including Best Supporting Actor for “A Real Pain,” and Best Animated Feature for “Flow.”.
Conan O’Brien’s own presentation was classy in its own right, with Blackpink’s Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye having musical performances and a Quincy Jones tribute, among other things to make the night shine. The 97th Academy Awards most certainly were one night that shall live long as being one in which to cherish excellence on the screen on countless a different kind and achievement.
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