The 97th Academy Awards are done. The ceremonies are complete, Conan O’Brien has wrapped up his speeches, the after-parties have induced hangovers and the red carpet is stowed for another year.
So, what about the winners and losers? It was a massive night for Sean Baker and his film Anora whilst other films faced their fair share of inevitable Oscars disappointment.
Scroll down to discover this year’s winners, snubs and surprises.
Anora experiences the greatest day
The race toward Best Picture was wide open this year with critical awards circuit wins for the likes of The Brutalist, Conclave and Anora.
Ultimately, it was the last of those movies that triumphed: Anora walked away with Best Picture, Best Director for Sean Baker, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Original Screenplay (for Baker) and Best Film Editing (for Baker).
Anora’s success was anticipated following its run of wins at the influential Director’s, Producer’s and Actor’s Guild awards. These ceremonies are seen as omens of a particular movie’s chances at the Oscars and this trend was again proven with Anora’s massive haul.
Even so, with Conclave’s recent Best Film win at the BAFTAs, one might have anticipated a last-minute upset. Instead, Edward Berger’s acclaimed Papal thriller secured Best Original Screenplay for Peter Straughan, one of the shoo-in categories given Straughan’s formidable momentum over the last few months.
As for Baker, he used his acceptance speech to discuss the importance of independent cinema and also the stigma surrounding sex work, a critical theme in Anora’s storyline. Here’s an additional piece of trivia: Baker now ties with Walt Disney as the only person to win four Oscars on the same night. How do you like them apples?
Watch Anora again this March – it returns to Cineworld for four days only.
The Substance doesn't quite make horror movie history
Coralie Fargeat’s dementedly fleshy and provocative body horror epic The Substance promised all manner of things for the horror genre.
For one, it could have been the first horror flick to win Best Picture since The Silence of the Lambs back in 1991. It could also have been the first horror movie to win a Best Director award for a female director, and it could have yielded Demi Moore her first-ever Oscar.
Sadly, none of those things came to fruition. Moore lost out to Mikey Madison for Anora, concluding an unpredictable battle for the Oscar that had seen significant wins go to both parties. Moore secured the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical and Best Actress at the Screen Actor’s Guild awards whereas Madison secured the BAFTA for Best Actress.
Even so, The Substance did walk away with its (virtually locked-in) prize for Best Make-Up and Hairstyling. It’s validation for Fargeat’s unerring belief in practical effects, which repulse, entrance and amuse in equal measure. We’re just imagining how these Oscars would have gone down had Monstro Elisasue turned up for real…
The Brutalist scores big wins
It wasn’t quite a home run for Brady Corbet’s four-hour architecture epic The Brutalist but it made significant wins in several areas.
Adrien Brody capitalised on his unstoppable momentum to win Best Actor, even telling the orchestra to hush down before he finished his speech. (There are of what happened when Julia Roberts won Best Actress for Erin Brockovich back in 2001.)
Despite Timothée Chalamet’s surprise win for Best Actor at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards for A Complete Unknown, Brody had long been the bookie’s favourite to secure the Best Actor prize.
The Brutalist also received Best Original Score for composer Daniel Blumberg whose arrestingly avant-garde work, mixing neo-classicism with jazz and musique concréte effects, helps imbue the movie with much of its driving power.
Kieran Culkin capitalises on his unstoppable success
Kieran Culkin had won practically every Supporting Actor award going for the poignant Euro road-trip comedy-drama A Real Pain. The Oscar was his to lose, and it was little surprise to see him walk away with the prize. In typical style, his wry speech was one of the best of the night – check it out below.
Additional wins
Walter Salles’ stirring Brazilian drama I’m Still Here secured Best International Feature over the controversial Emilia Perez. The latter did score Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldana. Dune: Part Two and Wicked had to be content with technical wins in the Best Sound (Dune: Part II) and Production Design and Costume Design (Wicked) categories.
In a surprise twist, the arresting Latvian animated Flow beat The Wild Robot to the Oscar for Best Animated Film. The acclaimed Chris Sanders adventure had been expected to walk it but didn't capitalise on its nomination. Flow, the first-ever Latvian film to win an Academy Award, is released at Cineworld on
Morgan Freeman honours Gene Hackman
Just before the Oscars, the revered Gene Hackman passed away at the age of 95. His Unforgiven co-star and close friend Morgan Freeman led a moving tribute to the Hollywood legend.
Discover the full list of Oscar winners below.
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