The Oscars took place yesterday evening (March 2), with big wins for favourites such as Anora and The Brutalist.
While it proved a night of few shocks, there were a number some surprises and several notable snubs too, especially towards the end of the ceremony. Here’s a round-up of the biggest talking points from the 2025 Academy Awards.
- READ MORE: Oscars 2025 winners – see the full list
Anora takes home five awards
The strong favourite going into tonight’s ceremony was Sean Baker’s comedy drama, which had done pretty well on the awards circuit in advance of the Oscars. While there was potential for an upset from Conclave – which won the BAFTA and SAG casting awards – it was clear early on that Anora was doing well (and much better than expected) after winning Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay. Sean Baker spent most of the night on his feet – and after winning Best Director, it was clear that the film was unstoppable, eventually taking home Best Picture too.
It wasn’t a night of huge surprises in general
In the end, the biggest surprise came in the overall lack of surprise in the major categories, as most of the expected winners ended up taking home gold. The supporting acting prizes, as predicted, went to Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña, and despite some strong competition from Timothée Chalamet, leading actor Adrien Brody took home his second Oscar for The Brutalist. However, Demi Moore was a strong favourite for Best Actress for The Substance but…
Mikey Madison took home Best Actress
The Anora star won Best Actress over favourite Demi Moore, in the process becoming the ninth-youngest winner of the award. She called the win “surreal” and much like her recent BAFTAs speech, she praised the sex worker community, declaring: “They have shared their stories, they have shared their life experiences over the years, my deepest respect, I share this with you.” However, some viewers felt that Moore was snubbed in losing the award, even suggesting that it aligns with the plot of Moore’s movie The Substance.
Wallace and Gromit were robbed
Animated film Flow went up against heavyweights such as Inside Out 2 – last year’s biggest film – and much-loved British favourite Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, though proved triumphant over those Goliaths, in the process becoming the first Latvian film to win an Oscar. It did win a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film back in January, though many hadn’t expected it to take home gold at the Oscars too.
No Other Land wins Best Documentary Feature
No Other Land, which is made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective and centres on the displacement of Palestinians from a region in the West Bank, won Best Documentary Feature, beating the likes of Black Box Diaries and Sugarcane. The film wasn’t able to get a distributor in the US, and ended up being self-distributed, so winning at Hollywood’s biggest ceremony was quite a big feat. The film’s co-directors Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham also won praise for their powerful speeches, which spoke about Palestine and criticised US foreign policy.
David Lynch only got a short tribute
There were a few notable omissions from the In Memoriam segment, including Buffy star Michelle Trachtenberg, who passed away last week, as well as Candyman’s Tony Todd. Viewers were also disappointed not to see a more substantial tribute to director David Lynch during the ceremony, notably after James Bond’s big Amazon news led to a whole segment dedicated to the franchise. Some viewers were left somewhat unsettled by the use of Mozart’s bittersweet epic ‘Lacrimosa’ during the In Memoriam segment, one person calling it “fucking insane” and another “scary” after the segment usually opts for something more sentimental.
A Complete Unknown was completely shut out
The Bob Dylan biopic had been a strong contender going into the night thanks to its eight nominations, with the best bet being Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet, though ended up walking home completely empty handed.
Songwriter Diane Warren ignored again
The perennial Best Original Song nominee was up for her 16th nod, this time for ‘The Journey’ from The Six Triple Eight, though once again walked home empty handed after losing to ‘El Mal’ from Emilia Pérez. She was previously nominated last year for ‘The Fire Inside’ from Flamin’ Hot, though was beaten by Billie Eilish and her Barbie track ‘What Was I Made For?’ that time.