| | | | | | What's news: The 2025 awards season is finally over, and things ended rather well for Sean Baker. Conan O'Brien won praise for hosting the Oscars, as Donald Trump was largely ignored. And lest not forget, plucky Wales celebrated two Oscar winners! — Abid Rahman
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🏆 Oscars 2025 🏆 ►Finishing strong. Anora was named best picture at the 2025 Oscars, which were handed out Sunday night. Anora was the top winner of the night, earning a total of five awards. Star Mikey Madison was named best actress, while Sean Baker won four awards for his film: best director, best original screenplay, best film editing as well as a statuette for best film. In the other acting categories, Adrien Brody was named best actor for The Brutalist, Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for best supporting actor, for his role in A Real Pain. Zoe Saldaña was named best supporting actress for her performance in Emilia Pérez. The winners.
—Snubs, surprises and shutouts. Suprises from Sunday's ceremony included Mikey Madison nabbing best actress over veteran Demi Moore (who numerous pundits predicted would win with her first Oscar nomination after a long career and wins at the SAG Awards, Critics Choice and Golden Globes); and Adrien Brody defeating Timothée Chalamet, after the latter's strong run at the end of awards season. Conclave, The Substance and A Complete Unknown arguably underperfomed, with the first two films taking only one prize and James Mangold's movie completely shut out. Other major surprises included indie animated film Flow triumphing over The Wild Robot and Inside Out 2. The snubs.
—Scott's take. THR's executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg dissects the results of the 97th Oscars and also wraps up one of the wilder awards seasons in recent memory. Scott explains how Anora won big, why Demi Moore lost and more. The analysis.
—Entering the pantheon. Until Sunday, no filmmaker had won four Academy Awards for the same movie. Sean Baker pulled off the feat when he landed Oscars for producing, directing, writing and editing Anora. THR's Steven Zeitchik writes that Francis Ford Coppola, Bong Joon Ho, Alfonso Cuaron and Chloe Zhao all got close, and Walt Disney even won four for four different films, but Baker now has the unique distinction of going four for four for the same film. The story.
—🏴 Huge night for Wales! 🏴 The breadth of talent with ties to Wales was on display at the 2025 Oscars. Two out of the three Welshmen nominated won big at the Dolby Theatre, including The Brutalist cinematographer Lol Crawley, who grew up in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain (say that three times, really quickly). In his acceptance speech, Crawley thanked "all my friends back in Wales." Elsewhere, special effects artist Rhys Salcombe, who grew up in Aberystwyth, was one of the recipients of the best visual effects award for his work on Dune: Part Two. Tidy! The story.
—Seismic evening. The Oscar winners weren’t the only ones left shocked on Sunday night. While A-list actors, directors and producers gathered for Hollywood’s biggest night, a preliminary 3.9-magnitude earthquake hit the North Hollywood area around 10:13 p.m. PT, according to the USGS. The quake could be felt across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. The earthquake occurred just hours after the Oscars wrapped up; however, most stars are still out and about at after parties. The story. |
Review: Conan Helps to Steady an Erratic Oscars Telecast ►"I don’t understand why the “I Won’t Waste Time” song needed to exist." In his review of the telecast of the 97th Academy Awards, THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg writes that host Conan O'Brien was deft and some of the speeches and production ideas were strong, but there were too many head-scratching choices and tonal inconsistencies to call the night a success. The review.
—"Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember: My name is Jimmy Kimmel." Conan O'Brien made his Oscars hosting debut on Sunday, and it's fair to say, judging by the reaction on social media, he cracked some real zingers. THR pored over the monologue and collated all of Conan's best jokes. The monologue.
—"Many people we celebrate tonight are not famous, they’re not wealthy, but they are devoted to a craft they can, in moments, bring us all together." At the end of his monologue, Conan O’Brien opted to eschew a generalized tribute to Hollywood. Instead, the host delivered a heartfelt shoutout to the movie industry’s many thousands of behind-the-scenes workers and craftspeople who make movie magic happen. Later in the telecast, O’Brien introduced firefighters who fought the recent wildfires and asked them to read jokes from a teleprompter — and demanded that the audience laugh as they read one-liners about Joker: Folie à Deux and Bob Dylan’s singing. The story.
—Cynthia and Ariana defying gravity. From Zoe Saldaña's emotional acceptance speech to Kieran Culkin asking his wife for another child, THR has gathered together the night's biggest scene-stealers. The most memorable moments.
—What the cameras missed. Halle Berry and Adrien Brody re-creating their infamous 2003 Oscars kiss, the snack packs and PDA from Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner are just some of the things that didn't make the televised broadcast. The missed moments.
—Yikes! News on more missed moments, particularly for Hulu subscribers. The streamer’s big night at the Oscars was cut short for many viewers when Hulu's red carpet coverage was followed by glitches in the stream of the broadcast of the main ceremony, leaving its paying customers in the dark for more than two hours. To make matters worse, at the ceremony’s end, Hulu’s stream cut off early. The story. |
Morgan Freeman Honors Gene Hackman ►"A man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work." Morgan Freeman opened the annual In Memoriam segment at the 2025 Oscars by sharing kind words about his former co-star, Gene Hackman, who died last week. Freeman addressed the Dolby Theatre audience in Hollywood by saying, “This week, our community lost a giant — and I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman.” The story.
—"When we talk about Black excellence, we talk about Quincy." The late Quincy Jones' groundbreaking contributions to cinema and song were honored at the Oscars by Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah. Winfrey credited Jones for launching her own acting career. “He actually discovered me for The Color Purple which was my first film,” she said. “Quincy was love — he lived out loud in human form and poured that love into others and to his work.” The story.
—Glaring omissions. The In Memoriam portion of the Oscars telecast paid a moving tribute to several stars and movie industry folk who have died over the last year, but there were some notable omissions that were quickly pointed out on social media. Tony Todd, Michelle Trachtenberg, Shannen Doherty, Mitzi Gaynor, Olivia Hussey, Bernard Hill, Silvia Pinal and Alain Delon were among the big names missing from the somber section. The story.
—No big mentions of you know who. Despite Donald Trump being back in the White House (and all the chaos and cruelty that comes with him), the 2025 Oscars were surprisingly apolitical. Hollywood’s biggest night typically offers several moments of political-focused commentary, whether it be from the host, presenters or winners. However, this year, most avoided commenting on the current tense political climate, other than minor remarks sprinkled throughout the ceremony. The story.
—Not completely devoid of politics. During their speeches for winning the best documentary feature for No Other Land, the filmmakers called out U.S. foreign policy on Israeli-Palestinian relations. No Other Land, made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, depicts the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta territory by Israeli soldiers and the alliance that develops between Palestinian journalist and co-director Basel Adra, and Israeli journalist and co-director Yuval Abraham. "We call on the world to stop the injustice and stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people," Adra said. The story. |
Best Dressed Stars at the Oscars ►Maximum drama. As ever, THR's Laurie Brookins picks out the stars that dazzled at the Oscars with their style. Demi Moore in sparkling Armani Privé, Elle Fanning in Sarah Burton's inaugural haute-couture look for Givenchy, and Cynthia Erivo's dramatic Louis Vuitton gown were among Laurie's highlights. The looks.
—More looks! THR has a larger roundup of all the most significant looks captured on the Oscars red carpet. The gallery.
More from the 2025 Oscars...
—Halle Berry gets payback, kisses Adrien Brody on Oscars red carpet
—Music of James Bond celebrated in song by Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye
— Guy Pearce wears “Free Palestine” pin on the red carpet
—Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande open Oscars with Wicked anthem “Defying Gravity” |
'Last Breath' Opens to $7.8M On Slow Weekend ►Worrying lack of product. Oscar weekend was a bust at the box office this year. Overall domestic revenue is estimated to come in between $56m and $57m, the lowest by a long shot in at least a decade, according to ComScore. This excludes the year the awards show was delayed to early April because of the pandemic and as theaters were still struggling to come back online. Over Oscar weekend in 2021, combined revenue hit $57.2m over the April 4-6 frame. The reason for this year’s drought? A lack of new event product and the performance of Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World. And nearly all the top Oscar nominees are now available in the home, or long done with their theatrical runs.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Brave New World had no trouble staying atop the chart in its third outing with $15m for a domestic total of $163.7m $341.8m globally. The lingering question — can it hold on like Mufasa: The Lion King, or will it ultimately be deemed a disappointment?
The weekend’s only new film was Focus Features’ deep-sea survival thriller Last Breath. The specialty pic opened on the higher end of expectations with $7.8m domestically after receiving solid reviews and a B+ CinemaScore. It also boasts a 90 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it’s still a smaller genre title. The box office report. |
'Crazy Rich Asians' TV Series in the Works at Max ►Finally! Crazy Rich Asians will next be adapted to TV, with Max developing a series based on Kevin Kwan’s books. Jon M. Chu, director of 2018 feature, and Adele Lim, the film’s co-writer, are both on board. The fate of CRA has been up in the air for years. After the 2018 film grossed $240m at the global box office, a sequel was a no-brainer. Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed development on a sequel drawing from novel China Rich Girlfriend was in development within weeks of the opening. But scheduling and the eventual departure of Lim stalled development — as did Chu’s massive commitment to directing the Wicked films. Lim will serve as showrunner on the Warner Bros. Television project, which has opened a development writers room. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Sharon Horgan is setting up shop at HBO. The creator and star of Bad Sisters and Catastrophe — along with her production company, Merman — has signed a two-year, first-look deal with HBO. The first project under the deal is a comedy series that Horgan will write, executive produce and star in; HBO has given the untitled show a straight-to-series order. Horgan previously had a first-look deal at Apple TV. That pact led to Bad Sisters, which has aired two seasons and is awaiting word on a third. Horgan also has worked with HBO in the past, creating and executive producing the premium cabler’s Divorce, which ran for three seasons. The story.
—🎭 Dead Lasso 🎭 Apple TV+ is adding to its comedy roster with a series starring Tatiana Maslany. The Emmy winner will topline a comedic thriller titled Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. The show comes from creator David J. Rosen, who will also serve as showrunner. David Gordon Green is set to direct and will be an executive producer. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is described as a darkly comic thriller about a newly divorced mom (Maslany) who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer. The story.
—Legging out. NBC‘s Sunday dramas Suits LA and Grosse Pointe Garden Society didn’t post great initial ratings. A few days of streaming, however, have brightened the picture a good amount. Suits LA had 2.61m same-day viewers for its on-air premiere, according to Nielsen. After three days on Peacock and with other delayed viewing, it’s up to 4.7m viewers (based on Nielsen and NBC’s internal data). Grosse Pointe Garden Society, meanwhile, jumped from 1.79m viewers for its first airing to 3.3m across platforms over three days. The ratings. |
'White Lotus': Will Belinda Avenge Tanya? ►"When Mike White asks you to do something, you say yes." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Natasha Rothwell about the latest episode from season three of HBO's The White Lotus. The returning star talks about Greg's surprise return in season three and wanting justice for Jennifer Coolidge's departed character. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"Rowan is thinking about the battle to come." For THR, Abbey White spoke to Mayfair Witches showrunner Esta Spalding about the finale of the AMC series' second season. Spalding discusses the choices and implications of characters like Rowan, Julien and more, the future of Lasher and the Taltos children, and the potential connections between Mayfair Witches and The Talamasca show while she awaits news about a third season. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"She really does deeply love her mom and want to protect her." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Sarah Desjardins about episode four of season three of Paramount+ with Showtime's Yellowjackets. Like the audience, Desjardins was also intrigued about her character Callie, and understands her more now after events still to come. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I was able to find about 10 sentences about the actual Mamie Fossett." Jackie also spoke to Jennifer Carpenter who just made her debut in Paramount+'s Yellowstone spinoff 1923. The Dexter alum joins the Yellowstone franchise as Mamie Fossett, a female deputy doing some of the "deadliest work that one could do it that time," Carpenter explains. The interview.
In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in March
—Anjelica Huston faces toxic love triangle in Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero trailer
—Lisa Kudrow, Brian Cox get stuck in haunted house in trailer for The Parenting
—James Houghton, Knots Landing star and Young and the Restless writer, dies at 75
What else we're reading...
—On a night with little overt politics, Alison Willmore writes that the Oscars' most pressing cause this year was saving the movies themselves [Vulture]
—Jared Diamond and Isabella Simonetti dig into the MLB's strategy to shift to a new TV model after ending its association with ESPN [WSJ]
—Interesting piece from A.S. Hamrah on the rush to use AI in Hollywood movies to achieve "perfection" but actually creating art that feels less human [Fast Company]
—Lauren Michele Jackson laments the times we live in, where everything, even horrific tragedy, is turned into an edgy joke [New Yorker]
—Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger and Helene Cooper report that former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to stop offensive cyberoperations against Russia [NYT]
Today...
...in 2017, Open Road Films released Ry Russo-Young's Before I Fall in theaters. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Lauren Oliver, the Groundhog Day-esque film starred Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage and Logan Miller. The original review.
Today's birthdays: George Miller (80), Jessica Biel (43), Julie Bowen (55), Katherine Waterston (45), Miranda Richardson (67), Camila Cabello (28), Tone Loc (59), Kelly Reichardt (61), Julia Schlaepfer (30), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (52), Aarti Mann (47), Carsten Norgaard (62), Mercedes Mason (43), Laura Harring (61), Patrick Renna (46), Mary Page Keller (64), Jared Rushton (51), David Faustino (51), Inde Navarrette (24), Sandy Martin (76), Sarah Smart (48), Thomas Barbusca (22), Susan Gallagher (65), Heidi Swedberg (59), Oksana Lada (49), Samantha Scaffidi (36), Juliette Angelo (26), Harry Richardson (32), Andrea Brooks (36), Tim Kazurinsky (75), Hayley Marie Norman (36), Shraddha Kapoor (38), Barret Swatek (48) |
| Joseph Wambaugh, who turned his experiences from 14 years with the LAPD into such gritty books as The Onion Field, The New Centurions, The Blue Knight and The Glitter Dome — all adapted for the screen — died Friday. He was 88. The obituary. |
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