Oscars 2025 recap: Biggest moments from the 97th Academy Awards

The 97th Academy Awards took place Sunday night.

Last Updated: March 2, 2025, 11:05 PM EST

The 2025 Oscars honored the best in cinema from the past year Sunday night.

The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, ended with "Anora" taking home the coveted trophy for best picture.

"Anora" was the top film of the night, taking home five Oscars including best director for Sean Baker.

The top acting prizes went to Adrien Brody, who won best actor for "The Brutalist," and Mikey Madison, who won best actress for "Anora." Winning in the supporting categories were "Emilia Pérez" star Zoe Saldaña and "A Real Pain" star Kieran Culkin.

Heading into the ceremony, "Emilia Pérez" led the field of nominees with 13 total Oscar nominations. It ended the night with two trophies.

This year's show honored the city of Los Angeles in the wake of the wildfires that left at least 29 dead and destroyed thousands of homes earlier this year, bringing firefighters onto the Oscars stage and hosting a charitable component to raise money for fire victims.

The Oscars ceremony aired live on ABC and streamed live on Hulu for the first time.

Scroll down for a recap of the 2025 Oscars.

Key moments:

Here's how the night unfolded. All times Eastern.
Mar 02, 2025, 9:57 PM EST

'The Brutalist' wins best cinematography Oscar

Lol Crawley won the Oscar for best cinematography for "The Brutalist."

Other nominees in the category included Greig Fraser for "Dune: Part Two," Paul Guilhaume for "Emilia Pérez," Ed Lachman for "Maria" and Jarin Blaschke for "Nosferatu."

Lol Crawley accepts the Cinematography award for "The Brutalist" onstage during the 97th Annual Oscars March 2, 2025 in Hollywood.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Mar 02, 2025, 9:55 PM EST

Morgan Freeman remembers Gene Hackman before In Memoriam

Morgan Freeman remembered late actor Gene Hackman in a touching tribute before the In Memoriam segment.

“This week, our community lost a giant, and I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman," Freeman said, adding that Hackman had "received two Oscars, but more importantly, he won the hearts of film lovers all over the world."

He continued, "Gene always said, 'I don't think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.'"

"I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you will be remembered for that and so much more," he concluded. "Rest in peace, my friend."

Freeman then introduced the In Memoriam segment, remembering lives lost over the last year.

Names highlighted in the segment included Gena Rowlands, Maggie Smith, filmmaker Jeff Baena, Bob Newhart, Kris Kristofferson, Teri Garr, Cheng Pei-Pei, John Amos, Bill Cobbs, Joan Plowright, Anouk Aimée, Donald Sutherland, Art Evans, songwriter Richard M. Sherman, Louis Gossett Jr., producer Jon Landau, Shelley Duvall, director David Lynch, James Earl Jones.

Mar 02, 2025, 9:41 PM EST

'I'm Not a Robot' wins best live action short film Oscar

The Oscar for best live action short film went to "I'm Not a Robot."

Dutch filmmaker Victoria Warmerdam (R) and US filmmaker Trent accept the award for Best Live Action Short Film for "I'm Not a Robot" onstage during the 97th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on March 2, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Other films nominated in the category included "A Lien," "Anuja," "The Last Ranger" and "The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent."

Mar 02, 2025, 9:38 PM EST

'Dune: Part Two' wins best visual effects

Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer won the Oscar for best visual effects for their work on "Dune: Part Two."

Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer and Paul Lambert accept the Visual Effects award for "Dune: Part Two" onstage during the 97th Annual Oscars, March 2, 2025 in Hollywood.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, stars of the forthcoming Disney film "Snow White," presented the category.

Other films nominated in the category included "Alien: Romulus," "Better Man," "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" and "Wicked."

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