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‘Anora’ takes home Best Picture Oscar for the 97th Academy Awards

By Scott Flynn, WSBTV.com
97th Annual Oscars - Show HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 02: Cast and crew including Darya Ekamasova, Lindsey Normington, Vache Tovmasyan, Karren Karagulian, Alex Coco, Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Samantha Quan, Luna Sofía Miranda, Sean Baker, Drew Daniels and Yura Borisov accept the Best Picture award for "Anora" onstage during the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 02, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
By Scott Flynn, WSBTV.com

ATLANTA — All the gold statues have been handed out and the indy film “Anora” has taken home the coveted Best Picture award for the 97th Academy Awards.

“Anora,” is a strip club Cinderella story without the fairy tale ending.

The film’s director, Sean Baker, also won the award for Best Director, and its lead actress Mikey Madison won best actress for her breakthrough performance.

“Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater,” said Baker. “Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen.”

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“I want to thank the sex worker community,” said Baker, echoing comments he made when “Anora” won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. “They have shared their stories. They have shared life experiences with me over the years. My deepest respect. Thank you. I share this with you.”

The Oscars otherwise spread the love around, dishing out awards to “Anora,” “Conclave,” “Wicked” and “The Substance.” Eight of the 10 movies nominated for best picture came away with at least one award at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday. That included the beleaguered Netflix contender “Emilia Pérez,” which, despite a backlash to old offensive tweets by star Karla Sofía Gascón, won best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña.

“I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard-working hands,” said Saldaña. “I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.”

See how the night unfolded below:

7:03 p.m.

Ariana Grande sings a stunning version of “Over the Rainbow,” from “The Wizard of Oz.”

A beautiful throwback to the film that inspired “Wicked” for which she is nominated.

And now Cynthia Erivo sings “Home” from the Wiz. Erivo is up for Best Actress.

7:06 p.m.

Erivo and Grande join together to sing “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked.”

7:25 p.m.

Best Supporting Actor goes to Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain.” First win and nomination for Culkin.

7:41 p.m.

“Flow” wins the award for Animated Feature Film.

7:43 p.m.

Best Animated Short Film goes to “In the Shadow of the Cypress.”

7:58 p.m.

Best Costume Design goes to Paul Tazewell for the movie “Wicked.” He is the first Black man to win this award.

8:09 p.m.

Best Original Screenplay goes to Sean Baker who wrote “Anora.”

8:12 p.m.

Best Adapted Screenplay goes to “Conclave” adapted by Peter Straughan.

8:22 p.m.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling goes to Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli for “The Substance.”

8:40 p.m.

Best Film Editing award goes to Sean Baker for “Anora.”

8:44 p.m.

The award for Best Supporting Actress goes to Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez.”

8:55 p.m.

Best Production Design goes to Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales for “Wicked.”

9:03 p.m.

Best Original Song goes to El Mal from “Emilia Pérez,” Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard.

9:11 p.m.

Award for Best Documentary Short Film goes to “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” by Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington.

9:14 p.m.

The award for the Best Documentary Feature Film goes to “No Other Land,” by Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham.

9:27 p.m.

The award for Best Sound goes to “Dune: Part Two”- Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill.

9:30 p.m.

The award for Best Visual Effects goes to “Dune: Part Two” - Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer.

9:38 p.m.

The award for Best Live-Action Short Film goes to Victoria Warmerdam and Trent for “I’m Not a Robot.”

9:53 p.m.

The award for Best Cinematography goes to Lol Crawley for “The Brutalist.”

9:57 p.m.

The award for Best International Feature Film goes to “I’m Still Here,” from Brazil.

10:06 p.m.

The award for Best Original Score goes to Daniel Blumberg for “The Brutalist.”

10:21 p.m.

The award for Best Actor goes to Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist.”

10:30 p.m.

The award for Best Director goes to Sean Baker for “Anora.”

10:38 p.m.

The award for Best Actress goes to Mikey Madison for “Anora.” This is Madison’s first Oscar nomination and now win.

10:44 p.m.

The award for Best Picture goes to “Anora”

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