The 2025 Academy Awards have come and gone as the stars dressed to the nines and packed themselves into the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and hoped all they’d worked for over the year would be rewarded.
Leading the pack with 13 nominations was divisive Emilia Pérez, followed by The Brutalist and Wicked each with 10, and Conclave and A Complete Unknown with eight.
Other moderately nominated films were Anora with six, and Dune: Part 2 and The Substance with five.
The fourth and fifth most nominated films had a disappointing night with A Complete Unknown walking away with nothing and Conclave only getting a minor accolade for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Conclave gained notoriety shortly after its release for its themes and, most importantly, its final twist, which annoyed many prominent Catholics, including Bishop Robert Barron.
More recently, it has sparked the interest of the wider community, with many left watching and wondering what a real conclave would look like, spurred on by Pope Francis’ ill health and lengthy hospitalisation.
Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the jokes came quick and fast, with some highlights being laughing at Emilia Pérez’s lead Karla Sofia Gascon for resurfaced mean tweets and poking fun at US President Donald Trump via drama Anora.
The big winner of the night was Anora, snapping up five of the six awards it was nominated for with writer, editor, producer, and director Sean Baker picking up the Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Director gongs.
Anora also got the highest honour of the night, winning Best Picture out from under the frontrunners of Conclave, A Complete Unknown, and The Brutalist’s feet.
Mikey Madison was also awarded Best Actress for her performance as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, for her portrayal of a sex worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian millionaire who falls afoul of his family who insists the pair divorce.
Madison was also a dark horse pick, with I’m Still Here lead actress Fernanda Torres expected to get the award after getting the Golden Globe for her performance as a mother and wife coping with the disappearance of her dissident politician husband during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
Other award winners were Kieran Culkin for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Real Pain, Zoe Saldaña for Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez, and Adrien Brody getting Best Actor for his role as Lásló Tóth in The Brutalist.
See The Catholic Weekly reviews for Conclave, Dune: Part 2, A Complete Unknown, and The Brutalist.