Anora's triumph, Brutalist's success, and a modest award for the Conclave. The results of the Oscar-2025 ceremony

The Oscar 2025 award ceremony took place on the night of March 2-3. To the surprise of many, Anora took the title of the best film of the year. You can find out all the details in our article.

The Oscar award ceremony has been held since 1929. It presents statuettes to the best films, as well as directors, actors and other people who work in the film industry. The choice of winners has often been criticized, and the jury has been accused of bias and corruption.

Meanwhile, the Oscar remains the most important award in cinema. Even a nomination can be considered an achievement. And the one who received the coveted statuette becomes an "Oscar winner", which is guaranteed to contribute to a successful career.

Last year, the undisputed favorite was "Oppenheimer" by Christopher Nolan, which told the story of the development of the atomic bomb and the fate of its creator. This film took seven awards, including the most important one — "Best Film of the Year". But in 2025, everything turned out to be not so clear-cut.

The biggest surprise of the 2025 Oscars is the title of last year's best picture, which went to Anora. Many critics consider this film overrated, because, in fact, we have before us a variation on the theme of Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts, but in modern realities. In our opinion, there were more worthy candidates in 2024, for example, Clave and Brutalist.

Nominees:

If you look at previous award ceremonies, you will notice that the title of best director is often given to the person who directed the main film of the year. Exceptions do happen, but they are rare. In 2025, the statuette was given to Sean Baker. His previous works were highly praised by critics, but did not achieve popularity with viewers. We are talking about "Red Rocket" and "The Florida Project".

Nominees:

We've known for a long time that Adrien is a great actor. Back in 2003, he won an Oscar for his role as Wladyslaw Szpilman in "The Pianist". In "The Brutalist", he also played a Jew who survived the Holocaust. But here the emphasis is on post-war life and the difficulties that talented people face. Brody perfectly showed how a person can break down when his bold views on art do not coincide with the primitive vision of the customers. Like Francis Ford Coppola's disastrous Megalopolis, Brutalist turned out to be a variation on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, but much more complete and high-quality.

Nominees:

If we continue to draw parallels between Anora and Pretty Woman, the charm of both films is largely due to the leading actresses. Like Julia Roberts back in 1990, Mikey Madison captivates the audience. Her acting seems natural and effortless, so you can’t help but believe the girl’s emotions and empathize with her a little.

Nominees:

Kieran Culkin is the brother of Macaulay Culkin, known for his role as Kevin McCallister in the film "Home Alone". Both guys started acting as children, but their acting careers continue to this day. For example, Kieran appeared in such TV series as Fargo and Succession.

The film True Pain is a comedy drama. But we recommend taking it seriously, because it touches on the topic of the Holocaust and the horrors that Jews experienced during the German occupation. According to the plot, two adult grandsons fulfill their grandmother's dying request and visit her home in Poland. There, the history of the last hundred years opens up to them, with an emphasis on the period of World War II. In addition to the Oscar, Kieran Culkin received six more prestigious awards.

Nominees:

As with "Real Pain," the musical "Emilia Perez" can hardly be called a comedy. Before us is a crime drama in modern realities, where criminal authorities try to escape responsibility at any cost, including by radically changing their appearance. But, as often happens, breaking past ties with the mafia world turns out to be difficult.

Zoe Saldana played Rita Mora Castro, who helped an influential criminal escape justice. However, her actions ultimately did not lead to anything good.

Nominees:

Conclave showed how the election of a new Pope is conducted after the death of the previous one. We see intrigues, underhanded games, backstabbing and secret alliances between cardinals who want to transfer the title of head of the Catholic Church to the right person. During the voting process, the dark secrets of the candidates are revealed, and the favorite changes several times. This is a kind of analogue of the House of Cards series, the action of which takes place not in Washington, but in the Vatican.

Nominees:

Disney's Inside Out 2 grossed $1.69 billion at the box office and became one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. However, the Oscar jury chose not it, but the modest Straume, which was highly praised by critics but went virtually unnoticed by viewers. Its plot is simple — a cat tries to save himself during a flood. It is impossible to escape from the water, so you have to find a way to stay on the surface and not drown. At the same time, there are no dialogues in the cartoon, but they are not needed, because the animals' actions are understandable and logical.

Nominees:

***

Did you follow the Oscars? Were you rooting for Yura Borisov? Or are you not interested in this ceremony? Share your opinion in the comments!