97th Academy Awards 2025: ‘Anora’ Triumphs as Best Picture; Complete Winners List

97th Academy Awards 2025: Unfolding on March 2nd of 2025 at the 97th Academy Awards the organisers recognised the top cinematic achievements from the preceding year. At this prestigious event the organisers dedicated their recognition to both exceptional storytelling and remarkable performances throughout all categories.

Best Picture: “Anora”

This film depicts a woman’s emotional experience with both relationships and grief within a small community storyline. Audiences together with critics found the moving plot and strong acting performances in “Anora” highly persuasive.

Nominated Films for Best Picture:

Film Title	Release Date
Anora	January 15, 2024	Mikey Madison, Yura Borisov
The Brutalist	February 20, 2024	Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones
A Complete Unknown	March 10, 2024	Timothée Chalamet, Monica Barbaro
Emilia Pérez	April 5, 2024	Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña
Wicked	May 25, 2024	Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande
Conclave	June 15, 2024	Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini
Dune: Part Two	July 20, 2024	Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya
I’m Still Here	August 30, 2024	Fernanda Torres, Wagner Moura
Nickel Boys	September 15, 2024	Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome
The Substance	October 22, 2024	Demi Moore, Sebastian Stan

Best Director: Sean Baker for “Anora”

The expert direction of Sean Baker in “Anora” perfectly displays the real emotions of his characters because he directs them with authentic and sensitive authenticity.

Nominated Directors:

Director	Film Title
Sean Baker	Anora
Jacques Audiard	Emilia Pérez
Brady Corbet	The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat	The Substance
James Mangold	A Complete Unknown

Best Actor: Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist”

Through “The Brutalist” the audacious structure of the film gets conveyed by Adrien Brody who shows the transformative journey of an architect whose profession and personal life undergo significant tests.

Nominated Actors:

Actor	Film Title
Adrien Brody	The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet	A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo	Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes	Conclave
Sebastian Stan	The Apprentice

Best Actress: Mikey Madison for “Anora”

Mikey Madison received the Best Actress award for her powerful rendition of Anora which revealed both the fragile emotional state and the inner strength of a woman.

Nominated Actresses:

Actress	Film Title
Mikey Madison	Anora
Cynthia Erivo	Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón	Emilia Pérez
Demi Moore	The Substance
Fernanda Torres	I’m Still Here

Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain”

Through his role in “A Real Pain” Kieran Culkin offered layered interpretation to the storyline which made him win Best Supporting Actor at the awards.

Nominated Supporting Actors:

Actor	Film Title
Kieran Culkin	A Real Pain
Yura Borisov	Anora
Edward Norton	A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce	The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong	The Apprentice

Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez”

In “Emilia Pérez” Zoe Saldaña delivered a profound acting performance to become the recipient of the Best Supporting Actress prize.

Nominated Supporting Actresses:

Actress	Film Title
Zoe Saldaña	Emilia Pérez
Monica Barbaro	A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande	Wicked
Felicity Jones	The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini	Conclave

Best Original Screenplay: “Anora”

Through the screenplay of “Anora” the storey brings audiences a moving narrative which follows characters as they experience love loss and self-evolution.

Nominated Screenplays:

Film Title
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
5th of September
The Substance

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Emilia Pérez”

Through a skillful adaptation process “Emilia Pérez” presents its original content into an appealing narrative which audiences worldwide appreciate.

Nominated Screenplays:

Film Title
Emilia Pérez
Conclave
A Complete Unknown
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

 

Best Animated Feature: “Flow”

The innovative animated production together with its moving tale makes “Flow” stand out as an exceptional animated feature film.

Nominated Films:

Film Title
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

Best International Feature: “I’m Still Here” (Brazil)

The International Feature category honored “I’m Still Here” as the winner because of its story about resilience that demonstrates survival action.

Nominated Films:

Film Title	Country
I’m Still Here	Brazil
The Girl with the Needle	Denmark
Emilia Pérez	France
The Seed of the Sacred Fig	Germany
Flow	Latvia

 

Best Documentary Feature: “No Other Land”

“No Other Land” provides an insightful look into

Final Thoughts

The 97th Academy Awards presented audiences with multiple diverse achievements that represented the current industrial changes of cinema. The Academy honoured “Anora” by granting it five prestigious awards which included both Best Picture and Best Director for Sean Baker. An independent film with personal themes gained widespread recognition at the same time that both these storey approaches demonstrated power simultaneously. Through the “Anora” role Mikey Madison won Best Actress recognition because she demonstrated superior emotional subtlety in her performance.

Through his rewarding performance as The Brutalist’s lead role Adrien Brody captured the Best Actor acclaim which solidified his status as both multifaceted and strong performer. Paul Tazewell established history at the evening by winning the costume design award in “Wicked” which became the first successful achievement for a Black man in this category. The awards ceremony dedicated itself to honouring a wide range of storytelling through winners who came from various backgrounds and genres. These awards show how movies bring people together. They inspire and challenge audiences from different countries.