Oscars 2025: Highlights and Reflections

Image Credit: Loren Javier

Whether you’re a movie lover or completely oblivious to them, the 97th Academy Awards, held on March 2nd, 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, sparked some interesting conversations. Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the night was packed with big wins, unforgettable performances, and LONG speeches. Personally, I liked that older actors like Demi Moore (The Substance) were recognized. In this article, I’ll share my thoughts on some of the most talked about moments of the night.

What are the Oscars?

For those unfamiliar, the Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, is an annual ceremony celebrating all aspects of the film industry. Awards are presented in categories like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress, among many others. Winners are chosen by the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures. This ceremony marks the largest night for filmmakers in Hollywood. 

Host: Conan O’Brien

The 2025 Oscars did a solid job of recognizing a broad range of talent. This year’s ceremony was a huge production, and host Conan O'Brien brought on his signature one-liners and funny bits, made famous on his late night talk show, Late Night With Conan O’Brien. He didn’t shy away from the hard-hitting jokes. One of the bigger controversies leading up to this night was the backlash that the film Emilia Pérez faced for offensive comments made on Twitter by leading actress Karla Sofía Gascón. O’Brien quipped “Anora uses the f-word 479 times; that’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist.” With this being such a large topic of discussion for the night, it was interesting to see the host call out Gascón on national television. 

Winners in the hit categories:

The hit film, Anora, dominated the night, winning Best Picture, Best Director for Sean Baker, and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. Adrien Brody secured Best Actor for his role in The Brutalist, marking his second Oscar win. Emilia Pérez won Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña and Best Original Song (“El Mal”). Flow made history as the first independent animated film to win Best Animated Feature. I'm Still Here won Best International Feature, and Wicked took home awards for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.

Performances and tributes:

Wicked fans may have felt that the film was snubbed this year, but that didn’t stop the cast from taking the spotlight. Renowned actress and singer Cynthia Erivo and mega superstar Ariana Grande took center stage to perform hits from their blockbuster film, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Home From the Wiz,” and “Defying Gravity.” They proved once again that not only do they have incredible voices that mash well together, but they also have a timeless and glamorous fashion sense that really got people talking.

Erivo and Grande weren’t the only performers that made headlines, however. Big names like Margaret Qualley, Lisa from BLACKPINK, Doja Cat, and Raye performed a strong tribute to the iconic trilogy of James Bond movies. 

Tributes are always a big part of the Oscars, and Hollywood legends like Gene Hackman, James Earl Jones, Maggie Smith, Gena Rowlands, and Donald Sutherland, who all passed away within the past year, were also honored at this year’s ceremony. 

Record-breaking speeches:

While many speeches had strong messages about peace and justice, a few felt long-winded and made the show longer than needed. Adrian Brody’s speech went on for a record breaking 5 minutes and 39 seconds, which marks the longest speech in Oscars history. Some viewers took issue with this lengthy speech because they felt it was unfair to other speakers, who ultimately had their speeches cut short due to the length of Brody’s speech. Brody was already under scrutiny for recent headlines about The Brutalist. The film had been accused of using AI for enhancing the Hungarian, spoken by Lazlo Toth and Erzebet Toth in the film.

The future of film:

While this year’s Oscars lacked show-stopping controversial moments (like the Will Smith/Chris Rock slap), in the end, the Oscars were definitely engaging. They gave us a look into the future for movies, with directors like Sean Baker advocating for films to be made for the big screen again, even as movie theaters have struggled in recent years. For a ceremony that celebrates movies, I was appreciative of powerful figures speaking up about the importance of experiencing films in theaters.