When you look again over the historical past of the Oscars, you’ll see simply how usually previous winners have been enormous motion pictures in scope. From Across the World in Eighty Days to Gladiator, epics have been the secret. That’s nonetheless a pattern that emerges (final 12 months’s Oppenheimer, as one instance). However the 2025 Academy Awards proved that Oscar voters even have an actual appreciation for tales which can be small in scope, as Anora received Greatest Image together with 4 different main awards.
In reality, of this 12 months’s nominees, Anora wasn’t simply one of many smaller tales, but additionally most likely the one which may finest be described as a comedy. (Proof that issues have actually modified for the Oscars.) Its momentum was so highly effective that it overwhelmed the anticipated win for Demi Moore in The Substance; Moore’s awards season narrative was a strong one, nevertheless it couldn’t overcome the Academy’s affection for the story of Mikey Madison’s intercourse employee dealing with off in opposition to Russian oligarchs.
Maybe, as host Conan O’Brien joked later within the night, “individuals are excited to see somebody stand as much as a strong Russian” in at this time’s local weather. That joke, for the report, was maybe one of many only a few politically-themed bits of the night time. In any other case, what’s at present occurring in American politics was largely left on the sidelines — general, the night time’s most political second got here from the winners for Documentary Characteristic Movie, No Different Land, who spoke about “the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its individuals, which should finish, and the Israeli hostages brutally taken within the crime of October seventh, which should be freed” of their acceptance speech.
The most important win for epics this 12 months got here by way of The Brutalist: Whereas Brady Corbet’s very lengthy drama and A Full Unknown each tracked a few years within the lives of their male protagonists, Adrian Brody in the end received over Timothée Chalamet for taking part in a fictional architect. In reality, maybe the largest loser of the night time was Bob Dylan: Not solely did his biopic go winless, however the legendary folks singer was additionally the butt of a number of jokes all through the night time, together with Mick Jagger declaring that he’s youthful.
Going into this 12 months’s awards, there have been numerous query marks as to who would truly win in a number of classes: The one anticipated end result to come back true was Supporting Actor winner Kieran Culkin for A Actual Ache. In any other case, there was a decent quantity of sharing the wealth when it comes to awards, with eight of the ten Greatest Image nominees profitable at the very least one award. (Nickel Boys was the one different shutout, having been nominated for Greatest Image in addition to Tailored Screenplay.) This wealth-sharing was very true within the crafts classes, with The Brutalist taking Cinematography and Rating, Conclave taking Depraved taking Manufacturing Design and Costume Design, Emilia Perez profitable for Authentic Track, and Dune: Half Two taking Sound and Visible Results.
Manufacturing-wise, O’Brien didn’t run as tight a ship as he promised in his opening monologue (which did embrace a cheeky time-wasting musical quantity about how he wasn’t going to waste any time that night time): The present ran three hours and 45 minutes, with the promised tributes to James Bond and Quincy Jones including some musical moments however not a lot heft to the proceedings. At the very least we had some high quality comedy bits scattered by way of the night time, like Ben Stiller’s presentation for the Greatest Manufacturing Design Award (beneath).
In the meantime, the In Memoriam section didn’t, as previous years have, flip right into a distracting dance get together on stage. As a substitute, the producers went in maybe probably the most dramatically completely different course doable: A choir carried out “Lacrimosa” from Mozart’s Requiem whereas the deceased have been acknowledged by way of montage. It was nearly a contact too heavy-handed; extra emotionally impactful was Morgan Freeman’s heartfelt tribute to Gene Hackman, who simply handed away this week on the age of 95.
Nonetheless, one good contact from the In Memoriam was the way in which it showcased the achievements of below-the-line artists, ensuring to specify the movies labored on by expertise you won’t know by title. In reality, between O’Brien’s monologue acknowledging the hard-working women and men answerable for what we see on display screen, and the usage of the 5 Presenters format to pay tribute to the nominees for Cinematography, Costume Design, and different classes, the Oscars demonstrated numerous respect for the craft of filmmaking — at any scale.
Will one other intimate film triumph on the 2026 Academy Awards? There are some notable epics because of be launched in 2025. However a 12 months like this one is a reminder that if a movie like Anora can win like this, actually something is feasible on the Oscars. All due to the magic of the flicks.