Anora Dominates the 2025 Oscars

The 2025 Oscars were a wild ride, and the indie film Anora steamrolled its way through the ceremony, taking home five major awards—including Best Picture and Best Director for Sean Baker, and an upset Best Actress win for Mikey Madison.

“I’m probably going to wake up tomorrow,” Madison joked in her acceptance speech, and it’s easy to see why she might have felt that way. The film, which started as an outsider production backed by FilmNation and then acquired by Neon, had been a bit of a dark horse throughout the season. But on Sunday, it emerged as one of the most dominant winners in Oscar history.

Baker, known for his unique voice in the indie film scene, added to his growing list of accolades by winning four Oscars for Anora. He took home awards for producing, directing, writing, and editing his action-packed black comedy about the unlikely relationship between a stripper and a Russian oligarch’s son. In a rare achievement, Baker captured four Oscars for the same film—something no director had ever done before.

“I saved this film in the edit. That director should never work again,” Baker quipped humorously while accepting his Oscar for editing, referring to himself. The humor continued when he won Best Director, where he took a moment to make a passionate plea for the importance of the theatrical experience. “Where did we fall in love with movies? At the movie theater,” he said, emphasizing the communal magic of seeing a film on the big screen. His message about the value of cinema in a divided world resonated deeply.

When Anora was announced as Best Picture, a stunned and overwhelmed Baker and his team stood on stage in disbelief. “I don’t know how this could be real life,” said producer Samantha Quan, Baker’s wife, as they collectively took in the moment.

The win is another massive victory for Neon, the indie powerhouse that surprised the world five years ago with Parasite—the first non-English language film to win Best Picture. Anora follows in the footsteps of Parasite, further proving that unconventional, outsider films can take on Hollywood and come out on top.

In a nod to Hollywood’s past, The Brutalist also had its moment at the Oscars, with Adrien Brody winning Best Actor for his role. This win marked Brody’s second Oscar after his 2003 win for The Pianist. At 29, Brody remains the youngest actor to ever win Best Actor, keeping the record intact while stopping Timothée Chalamet from potentially breaking it this year.

But it was Mikey Madison’s win that truly stood out. With her Best Actress victory, Madison became the first Gen Z actor to take home an acting Oscar. Born in 1999, she made history, further cementing the shifting tides of Hollywood’s awards circuit.

Anora’s historic night is a celebration of not just indie cinema, but the rise of fresh, bold voices in film.