The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories honoring films released in 2024. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC and Hulu, was produced by Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, and was directed by Hamish Hamilton.[4][5] Comedian Conan O'Brien hosted the show for the first time.[6]
The nominees for the 97th Academy Awards were announced on January 23, 2025, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, by actress Rachel Sennott and actor Bowen Yang.[10]Emilia Pérez led all nominees with thirteen nominations, the most for a non-English-language film in Oscars history; The Brutalist and Wicked tied for second with ten nominations each.[11] The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 2.[9]
For the first time in Oscar history, two films, Emilia Pérez and I'm Still Here, were nominated simultaneously for Best Picture and Best International Feature.[12]I'm Still Here was also the first Portuguese-language film nominated for Best Picture.[13] With his wins for producing, directing, screenwriting, and film editing Anora, Sean Baker became the second person to win four awards in one night after Walt Disney did so at the 26th ceremony in 1954, and the first to do so for a single film.[14][a] Best Actor winner Adrien Brody gave the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history at five minutes and 37 seconds.[16] Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón became the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for an acting category.[17] Best Supporting Actress winner Zoe Saldaña was the first Dominican American to win an Oscar.[18] Best Costume Design winner Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win that category.[19] Best Animated Feature winner Flow was the first independently animated film to win that category and the first Latvian film to win an Oscar.[20] Best Documentary Feature winner No Other Land became the first Palestinian film to win an Oscar.[21]
Sing Sing – Screenplay by Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley; story by Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley, Clarence Maclin, and John "Divine G" Whitfield; based on the book The Sing Sing Follies by John H. Richardson and the play Breakin' the Mummy's Code by Brent Buell
In October 2024, the Academy hired television producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan to oversee production of the ceremony for the second consecutive year.[31] In a press release, AMPAS president Janet Yang and Academy CEO Bill Kramer explained their decision in selecting the pair stating, "Their love for cinema, their collective creative vision, and their unparalleled expertise in live television make them the perfect team to create an exceptional show for our global audience on the film industry's biggest night."[32] In response, Kapoor and Mullan released a statement saying, "We are thrilled to lead the brilliant Oscars production team again and work alongside the Academy and Disney/ABC to help create an unforgettable night of television for movie lovers worldwide."[5] The following month, comedian and former talk show host Conan O'Brien, who previously hosted two Primetime Emmy Awards telecasts in 2002 and 2006, was selected to host the 2025 gala.[33] "Conan has all the qualities of a great Oscars host — he is incredibly witty, charismatic and funny and has proven himself to be a master of live event television," remarked producers Kapoor and Mullan regarding their choice for host.[34]
The Southern California wildfires affected the telecast and its surrounding events. Voting for the nominations, which began on January 8, 2025, was originally planned to end four days later. However, due to the wildfires which affected several Academy members, the voting period was extended by five more days ending on January 17. The nominations announcement was also delayed nearly a week to January 23.[35][36] In addition, the annual Academy nominees luncheon originally scheduled for February 10 was cancelled, and the Scientific and Technical Awards gala initially planned for February 18 was delayed by two months to April 29.[37] At the start of the broadcast, a montage paying tribute to Los Angeles featuring clips from films such as Barbie (2023), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), La La Land (2016), Mulholland Drive (2001), and The Wizard of Oz (1939) was shown prior to Ariana Grande's performance of "Over the Rainbow".[38] During the broadcast, a QR code was displayed providing a link containing resources for fire relief efforts.[39] Later, host O'Brien brought onstage a group of twelve firefighters and other first responders and thanked them for their service during wildfires.[40][41] Three of those members, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) captain Erik Scott, LAFD helicopter pilot Jonith Johnson Jr., and Pasadena Fire Department Captain Jodi Slicker, delivered jokes onstage to the audience due to O'Brien jokingly claiming, "There are some jokes even I'm not brave enough to tell."[42]
For the first time, the broadcast was made available for streaming live on Hulu.[43] The simulcast on said streaming platform was notably met with technical issues such as crashing multiple times throughout the ceremony and prematurely ending the stream just before the Best Actress nominees were announced; Hulu apologized the following day.[44][45]
Notable changes were introduced in the production of the telecast. In a break from previous presentations, the awards for Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography were presented by five actors, one of whom was featured in each of the nominated films in the category.[26][46] The format was similar to how the acting awards were presented at the 81st and 96th ceremonies in 2009 and 2024, respectively.[47] The Academy also announced that none of the five nominees for Best Original Song would be performed live during the gala.[48] In lieu of the performances, each of the nominated songs was highlighted through personal reflections and behind-the-scenes insight from the creative teams responsible for the nominees.[49]
Several others participated in the production of the ceremony and related events. Musician Michael Bearden was the musical director for the telecast. Production designer Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley designed a new stage for the show.[32] Comedian and journalist Amelia Dimoldenberg served as a social media and red carpet correspondent for the Oscar's online outlets.[50] Choreographer Mandy Moore oversaw the James Bond musical tribute which featured performances from Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye, and an appearance in the beginning by actress and dancer Margaret Qualley.[51]
Best Picture theatrical qualification and other rule changes
In June 2023, the Academy announced that, starting with the 97th awards, all films submitted for Best Picture would have to comply with several standards regarding their theatrical runs.[52] In a press release, AMPAS president Janet Yang and Academy CEO Bill Kramer said of the new standards, "In support of our mission to celebrate and honor the arts and sciences of moviemaking, it is our hope that this expanded theatrical footprint will increase the visibility of films worldwide and encourage audiences to experience our artform in a theatrical setting. Based on many conversations with industry partners, we feel that this evolution benefits film artists and movie lovers alike."[53] Many media outlets pointed out that the new rules were drafted in response to the growing presence of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ submitting their films for awards consideration.[54]
According to the new rules, in addition to the previous requirement where prospective films must play theatrically for a week in either Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta, or Miami,[c] they also would have to be shown in an expanded seven-day theatrical run in 10 of the top 50 US markets. The expanded theatrical run would have to occur within 45 days after the film's initial release in the eligibility year, and can be shown in either consecutive or nonconsecutive days. For films released later in the calendar year with expansions after January 10, distributors would have to submit to AMPAS release plans for verification and the theatrical run would have to be completed no later than January 24. Non-American films could also have theatrical runs in two markets outside the US to be counted toward ten theatrical markets needed for consideration. However, these films would have to release in the top 15 international theatrical markets in addition to the film's country of origin.[56]
Additional rule changes were also approved by the AMPAS Board of Governors in April 2024. Drive-in theaters, which were temporarily allowed as a venue to meet qualification and eligibility standards during the COVID-19 pandemic, would be no longer recognized as a method to fulfill requirements for consideration.[57] In the Best Original Score category, up to three composers can receive individual statuettes if all composers contribute significantly to a film's musical score. Additionally, the shortlist for the aforementioned category would increase from fifteen to twenty films. For the screenplay awards, all films must submit a final shooting script to be eligible for consideration in either category. Animated feature films submitted for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category may also be eligible for the Best Animated Feature award provided they meet the rules outlined for both categories. Finally, recipients of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award will now receive an Oscar statuette as opposed to a bust of Thalberg in previous years.[55][58]
Box office performance of Best Picture nominees
When the nominations were announced, nine of the ten films nominated for Best Picture had earned a combined gross of $900million at the American and Canadian box offices at the time.[28]Wicked was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $466million in domestic box office receipts. Dune: Part Two came in second with $283million; this was followed by A Complete Unknown ($59million), Conclave ($32million), The Substance ($17million), Anora ($15million), The Brutalist ($6million), Nickel Boys ($1.1million), and I'm Still Here ($162,000).[59] The box office figures for Emilia Pérez were unavailable due to distributor Netflix's policy of refusing to release such figures.[60]
Critical reviews
Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman called the show "a brisk and elegantly executed piece of media stagecraft, successful in more ways than not. It was lavishly designed and purged of dead spots, and the winners were given the chance to reveal who they were, which is really the heart of the show."[61] Columnist Brian Lowry of TheWrap commented, "The 97th Academy Awards largely mastered the delicate mechanics of that juggling act, acknowledging weightier matters — such as bringing out Los Angeles firefighters for an extended ovation — while seeking to provide a sense of playfulness, even silliness, courtesy of host Conan O'Brien."[62] Television critic Judy Berman of Time praised O'Brien's hosting performance writing, "Whenever O'Brien was onstage, balancing impish humor with a palpable love for movies and compassion for an industry where so many recently lost so much to the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, the ceremony felt light and loose." She concluded her remarks by stating, "Still, the best moments of this hosting gig were just Conan being Conan, letting the winners enjoy their spotlight and laughing at himself to make everyone else feel comfortable."[63]
Kelly Lawler of USA Today reserved praise for O'Brien and the winners' speeches, but she wrote, "Inoffensive and somewhat bland, the 2025 Oscars lacked passion and fervor, or a distinctive hook that makes the ceremony more than just a generic recitation of winners."[64] Television critic Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "I'm perfectly happy to pretend that this telecast was the show we deserved at this point in history, when everything feels so unstable. But maybe it was just an uneven mess. Who's to say?" He criticized several decisions such as dropping the performances of the Best Original Song nominees in favor of musical tributes to James Bond and Quincy Jones that contributed to the telecast's bloated runtime, but he commended O'Brien's hosting performance and called writing during the gala "impressively sharp".[65]The Detroit News film critic Adam Graham commented, "Sunday night's Academy Awards telecast was severely lacking in the movie star razzle dazzle we look forward to on the broadcast. Coming at the end of a packed awards and entertainment season, it felt more like reheated leftovers than it did Hollywood's biggest night."[66]
Ratings and reception
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 19.69million people over its length, which was a 1% increase from the previous year's ceremony.[67] In addition, it garnered a higher 18–49 demo rating with a 4.54 rating among viewers in that demographic.[68] Ratings figures included those who watched the telecast on ABC, streamed it on Hulu, or viewed it on computers, tablets, and other digital devices.[69] The positive critical reviews and strong ratings figures led the Academy to select O'Brien to host the following year's ceremony scheduled for March 15, 2026, with producers Kapoor and Mullan also being hired for that ceremony.[70][71]
↑ While Bong Joon Ho received four statuettes for Parasite (2019), AMPAS recognizes the country of the film as the winner of the Best International Feature award with the director accepting the award on behalf of said country.[15]
↑ In April 2024, the Academy replaced Miami with Dallas as one of six cities where a film may debut to qualify for awards consideration by the Academy.[55]
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