By Tracy Brown and Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — The 97th Academy Awards were presented Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, and on a show that ran nearly four hours and saw five different films win multiple awards, “Anora” filmmaker Sean Baker was the big winner with a record-tying four Oscars. Baker’s quartet of statuettes were for original screenplay, editing, director and best picture. Mikey Madison of “Anora” took the prize for actress in a leading role.

Adrien Brody won actor in a leading role for “The Brutalist,” and while “A Real Pain’s” Kieran Culkin and “Emilia Pérez’s” Zoe Saldaña triumphed in the supporting acting categories. “Emilia Pérez” added a second win for original song. In addition to Brody, “The Brutalist” won for cinematography and original score. “Wicked” (costume design and production design), and “Dune: Part Two” (sound and visual effects) won two Oscars each.

Here are the winners at the 97th annual Academy Awards:

Best picture

“Anora” | WINNER

“The Brutalist”

“A Complete Unknown”

“Conclave”

“Dune: Part Two”

“Emilia Pérez”

“I’m Still Here”

“Nickel Boys”

“The Substance”

“Wicked”

Directing

Sean Baker, “Anora” | WINNER

Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”

James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”

Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”

Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Actor in a leading role

Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist” | WINNER

Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”

Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”

Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”

Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Actress in a leading role

Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”

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Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”

Mikey Madison, “Anora” | WINNER

Demi Moore, “The Substance”

Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”

Actor in a supporting role

Yura Borisov, “Anora”

Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain” | WINNER

Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”

Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”

Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”

Actress in a supporting role

Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”

Ariana Grande, “Wicked”

Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”

Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”

Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez” | WINNER

International feature

“I’m Still Here”| WINNER

“The Girl With the Needle”

“Emilia Pérez”

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”

“Flow”

Original screenplay

Sean Baker, “Anora” | WINNER

Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, “The Brutalist”

Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”

Moritz Binder and Tim Fehlbaum; co-written by Alex David, “September 5”

Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Adapted screenplay

James Mangold and Jay Cocks, “A Complete Unknown”

Peter Straughan, “Conclave” | WINNER

Jacques Audiard, in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi, “Emilia Pérez”

RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, “Nickel Boys”

Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar; story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield, “Sing Sing”

Documentary feature

“Black Box Diaries”

“No Other Land” | WINNER

“Porcelain War”

“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”

“Sugarcane”

Documentary short

“Death by Numbers”

“I Am Ready, Warden”

“Incident”

“Instruments of a Beating Heart”

“The Only Girl in the Orchestra” | WINNER

Animated feature

“Flow” | WINNER

“Inside Out 2”

“Memoir of a Snail”

“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”

“The Wild Robot”

Animated short

“Beautiful Men”

“In the Shadow of the Cypress” | WINNER

“Magic Candies”

“Wander to Wonder”

“Yuck!”

Live-action short

“A Lien”

“Anuja”

“I’m Not a Robot” | WINNER

“The Last Ranger”

“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”

Original song

“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez” (Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard) | WINNER

“The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight” (Music and lyric by Diane Warren)

“Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing” (Music and lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada)

“Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez” (Music and lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol)

“Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late” (Music and lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin)

Original score

Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist” | WINNER

Volker Bertelmann, “Conclave”

Clément Ducol and Camille, “Emilia Pérez”

John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, “Wicked”

Kris Bowers, “The Wild Robot”

Cinematography

Lol Crawley, “The Brutalist” | WINNER

Greig Fraser, “Dune: Part Two”

Paul Guilhaume, “Emilia Pérez”

Ed Lachman, “Maria”

Jarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu”

Film editing

Sean Baker, “Anora” | WINNER

Dávid Jancsó, “The Brutalist”

Nick Emerson, “Conclave”

Juliette Welfling, “Emilia Pérez”

Myron Kerstein, “Wicked”

Costume design

Arianne Phillips, “A Complete Unknown”

Lisy Christl, “Conclave”

Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, “Gladiator II”

Linda Muir, “Nosferatu”

Paul Tazewell, “Wicked” | WINNER

Makeup and hairstyling

Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado, “A Different Man”

Julia Floch-Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, “Emilia Pérez”

David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton, “Nosferatu”

Pierre Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, “The Substance” | WINNER

Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth, “Wicked”

Production design

“The Brutalist” (Production design: Judy Becker; set decoration: Patricia Cuccia)

“Conclave” (Production design: Suzie Davies; set decoration: Cynthia Sleiter)

“Dune: Part Two” (Production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Shane Vieau)

“Nosferatu” (Production design: Craig Lathrop; set decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová)

“Wicked” (Production design: Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Lee Sandales) | WINNER

Sound

“A Complete Unknown” (Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco)

“Dune: Part Two” (Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill) | WINNER

“Emilia Pérez” (Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta)

“Wicked” (Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis)

“The Wild Robot” (Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts)

Visual effects

“Alien Romulus” (Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan)

“Better Man” (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs)

“Dune: Part Two” (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer) | WINNER

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burk)

“Wicked” (Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould)

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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By BETH HARRIS, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mikey Madison won the best actress Oscar on Sunday for “Anora,” a role that catapulted the 25-year-old into a burgeoning film career after achieving initial success on television.

The Brooklyn-set comedy-drama had received six nominations.

Madison had been best known for playing a sullen teenager in the FX comedy series “Better Things,” which ended in 2022. She also appeared in the hit movies “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and the fifth installment of the horror franchise “Scream.”

Those jobs attracted the attention of director-writer Sean Baker, who penned the title role in “Anora” for Madison. She studied Russian and did her own stunts in the film, in addition to learning to pole dance to play an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

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The film debuted to critical acclaim at Cannes last year, winning the Palme d’Or. It has gained momentum ever since, with its box-office success easily outearning its $6 million budget.

Hollywood veteran Demi Moore of “The Substance” had been the Oscar front-runner, having won over Madison at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. However, Madison beat out Moore for the BAFTA two days before Oscar voting ended, as well as at last weekend’s Independent Spirit Awards.

She was born Mikaela Madison Rosberg in Los Angeles, one of five children of psychologist parents. Her mother signed her up for an acting class in her mid-teens after Madison had trained in competitive horseback riding, which she found lonely compared to the collaborative nature of acting.

In addition to Moore, the other nominees were Cynthia Erivo for “Wicked,” Karla Sofía Gascón for “Emilia Pérez” and Fernanda Torres for “I’m Still Here.”

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Baker won best director at the Oscars on Sunday for “Anora,” bookending a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker whose stories seek to humanize sex workers and immigrants.

Baker, 53, wrote, produced, directed and edited the film, which is also among the top contenders for best picture. The comedy-drama stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who marries the impetuous son of a Russian oligarch. They impulsively tie the knot on a ketamine-induced Las Vegas getaway, angering his parents, who send their bumbling henchmen after the couple to force an annulment.

“If you didn’t cast Mikey Madison in ‘Once Upon a Time,’ there would be no ‘Anora,’” Baker told Quentin Tarantino, who presented the award.

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Baker came into the night the favorite for the directing Oscar after earning the top prize from the Directors Guild of America, a win that historically all but guarantees an Oscars victory. He also took home the top awards at the Producers Guild and Independent Spirit Awards.

This year’s best director lineup featured five first-time nominees in the category for the first time in nearly three decades. All had writing credits on their respective films, demonstrating the academy’s growing preference for auteurs who can masterfully bring their own vision to life. For the Oscar, he beat out Brady Corbet of “The Brutalist,” James Mangold of “A Complete Unknown,” Jacques Audiard of “Emilia Pérez” and Coralie Fargeat of “The Substance.”

Going into the night, Baker had the potential to win a record four Oscars for “Anora,” which was nominated for six in total. He won for best original screenplay and best editing — a rarity as directors don’t typically cut their own films. He is also up for best picture.

“Anora” brings Baker’s signature style of provocative comedy from indie theaters into the mainstream, blending slapstick humor with social commentary in a way that makes lessons about marginalized groups palatable to a wider audience. He made the film on a modest budget of $6 million — an amount one producer joked is smaller than the catering budget of some of its competitors. Last year’s best picture winner, “Oppenheimer,” had a $100 million budget.

Baker has been vocal about the difficulty of making independent films and surviving as an indie filmmaker in an industry that increasingly supports big-budget spectacles. In a rousing speech at the Independent Spirit Awards, he said indies are in danger of becoming “calling card films” — movies made only as a means to get hired for projects at major studios. Without backing for independent films, he said, some of the most creative and innovative projects might never be made.

He exhorted filmmakers to keep moving films for the big screen, bemoaning the erosion of the theatergoing experience.

“Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together. In a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever. It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home,” he said.

Baker has long been passionate about using his craft to help destigmatize sex work. His 2012 film “Starlet” follows a budding friendship between an adult film star and a crotchety widow who sells her a thermos full of cash at a yard sale. Baker said the connections he formed with sex workers involved in the project inspired him to feature them in several other films.

He received widespread praise for “Tangerine” (2015), in which he used three iPhone 5S smartphones to tell a story about transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. In “The Florida Project” (2017), a single mother living in an Orlando motel turns to sex work to provide for her daughter. And “Red Rocket” (2021) follows a retired porn actor’s journey back to his small Texas hometown.

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrien Brody clinched his second Oscar for best actor, winning Sunday for his role as a visionary Hungarian architect in “ The Brutalist ” and solidifying his legacy as one of Hollywood’s most compelling talents.

Brody took home best actor at the 97th Academy Awards for his powerful portrayal of Lázló Tóth, who escapes the Holocaust and sails to the United States to find his American Dream. The film spans 30 years in the life of Tóth, a fictional character whose unorthodox designs challenged societal norms, and his relentless pursuit of artistic integrity.

Brody triumphed over fellow nominees Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown,” Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing,” Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave,” and Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice.”

“The Brutalist,” which is nominated for 10 Oscars including best picture, is Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour postwar American epic filmed in VistaVision. Brody starred in the film alongside Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.

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After winning best actor at the 78th British Academy Film Awards in February, Brody said “The Brutalist” carries a powerful message for divided times.

“It speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated and how we want to be treated by others,” he said. “There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism.”

Brody won an Academy Award for best actor in 2003 for his role in “The Pianist.” His gap of 22 years would be the second longest between best actor wins. It was 29 years between wins for “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Father” for Anthony Hopkins.

Brody is also known for his performances “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Darjeeling Limited” and “Midnight in Paris.”

For Brody, his role in “The Brutalist” had obvious echoes with arguably his most defining performance. In Roman Polanski’s 2002 “The Pianist,” Brody also played a Jewish artist trying to survive during WWII.