Oscars’ Most Memorable Moments: ‘Anora’ Winning Big, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Powerhouse Performance and Conan O’Brien’s Jokes
The 2025 Oscars, Hollywood’s biggest night, didn’t hold back on delivering plenty of emotional, laughable and awkward moments. From Anora owning the night with five wins to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s show-stopping performance to host Conan O’Brien mocking the Emilia Pérez scandal, here are some of Sunday night’s most unforgettable moments.
Anora Owns the Night With Five Wins
Anora steamrolled through the night, with Sean Baker‘s indie upstart winning five Oscars, including best picture and director, and star Mikey Madison staging an upset for best actress. “It’s a dream come true. I’m probably going to wake up tomorrow,” Madison said when accepting the prize. Many of the people involved with the film no doubt felt the same. Beginning life as an outsider production backed by the New York-backed FilmNation before being acquired by Neon, the class commentary took the top honor at May’s Cannes Film Festival, went through a whole bunch of lulls throughout the season and then emerged Sunday as one of the most dominant Oscar winners in recent memory. Read more. — Steven Zeitchik
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Gen-Z Represents With Mikey Madison Best Actress Win
Anora star Mikey Madison took home the best actress award, beating out Demi Moore who many presumed would win for her role in The Substance. “I grew up in Los Angeles but Hollywood always felt so far away from me,” said Madison in her speech from the Dolby stage. In Anora, Madison played a Brooklyn sex worker who meets and marries the son of a Russian oligarch, after which she runs afoul of his powerful family. Madison said in her speech, “I just wanted to recognize and honor the sex worker community. I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible women I have had the privilege of meeting from that community have been one of the highlights of this entire experience.” Read more. — Mia Galuppo
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Defy Gravity With Performance
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo kicked off the Oscars with a performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The Wicked stars took turns taking the Academy Awards stage after a montage of clips from various Oscar-nominated films were shown, with Grande starting the performance by singing the classic song in homage to Wizard of Oz. Erivo then came onstage to perform Diana Ross’ “Home” from The Wiz. After Erivo’s solo, Grande joined her Wicked co-star to perform “Defying Gravity.” At one point, Grande stepped aside to watch Erivo belt the song’s high notes including the notable riff. Read more. — Lexy Perez
Zoe Salda?a Gives Emotional Speech for Best Supporting Actress Win
While accepting her first Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in Emilia Pérez, a tearful Zoe Salda?a talked about her family, many of whom were in the room at the Dolby. Salda?a, who called out her mother right as she got to the microphone, said in her speech, “I am a proud child of immigrant parents, with dreams and dignity and hard working hands.” Salda?a also talked about the importance of winning the award for a role where she was acting in Spanish. “My grandmother came to this country in 1961,” said the actress. “My grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted by this.” Read more. — Mia Galuppo
Conan O’Brien Mocks ‘Emilia Pérez’ Scandal
Conan O’Brien mocked the Emilia Pérez scandal during his Oscar hosting debut. “I love Anora — Anora uses the F-word 479 times,” he said as he took the stage. “That’s three more than the record set by [Emilia Pérez star] Karla Sofia Gascon’s publicist.” O’Brien then added: “Karla Sofia Gascon is here tonight,” and the audience applauded as she was shown on camera. “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember: My name is Jimmy Kimmel.” Read more. — James Hibberd
Adrien Brody Shuts Down Attempt to Cut Off His Speech
As Adrien Brody noted during his best actor acceptance speech, the Oscars were not his “first rodeo.” Amid emotional remarks, in which among other things he thanked partner Georgina Chapman, the orchestra began playing wrap-up music, which Brody quickly dismissed. “I’m wrapping up. Please. Please. I will wrap up. Please turn the music off. I’ve done this before. It’s not my first rodeo. I will be brief,” the now two-time Oscar winner said to laughs. The win comes two decades after a 29-year-old Brody won for the Holocaust drama The Pianist in 2003, making him the youngest Oscar winner of all time. At that show, he famously kissed presenter Halle Berry, and on this year’s red carpet, Berry kissed him in a throwback to that moment. Read more. — Aaron Couch
Kieran Culkin Asks His Wife for Another Child During Acceptance Speech
Kieran Culkin won the Academy Award for best supporting actor. During his acceptance speech, Culkin sung praises to his Succession co-star and fellow nominee, Jeremy Strong, while also asking his wife for another child. “By the way, Jeremy [Strong], you’re amazing in The Apprentice,” Culkin said before a brief piece of his speech was cut out during the live telecast for seemingly dropping an F-bomb. “I’m not supposed to single anyone out, it’s favoritism, but you were great.” Culkin went on to look back on the trajectory of his career leading to his Oscar win, claiming that he has “no idea how I got here” while noting that acting has always “just been a part of what I do.” He thanked his longtime manager Emily Gerson Saines, adding that his success was “because of [Saines]” and that he’d be “lost” without her and his A Real Pain co-star Jessie Eisenberg. Read more. — McKinley Franklin
Halle Berry and Adrien Brody Share Another Iconic Kiss
Talk about a payback 22 years in the making. On the red carpet ahead of the Oscars, Halle Berry and Adrien Brody reunited and recreated their shocking kiss at the 2003 Academy Awards. Hours before the ceremony got underway, the heartwarming moment was caught on camera (below) when Berry ran up to Brody, planting a longing kiss on her fellow Oscar winner. After a smiling Brody gladly accepted the smooch, they embraced as people around cheered. Berry has been holding out for this payback opportunity, as she told Extra on the red carpet that for “21 years I’ve been waiting to get him on a red carpet and slap one on.” Read more. — Carly Thomas
The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, were held Sunday at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. Find the full winners list here, and check out the A-list red carpet arrivals here.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
