Oscars 2025 recap: Biggest moments from the 97th Academy Awards

The 97th Academy Awards took place Sunday night.

ByHayley FitzPatrick, Carson Blackwelder, Angeline Jane Bernabe, and Mason Leib via GMA logo
Last Updated: March 2, 2025, 11:05 PM EST

The 2025 Oscars honored the best in cinema from the past year Sunday night.

The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, ended with "Anora" taking home the coveted trophy for best picture.

"Anora" was the top film of the night, taking home five Oscars including best director for Sean Baker.

The top acting prizes went to Adrien Brody, who won best actor for "The Brutalist," and Mikey Madison, who won best actress for "Anora." Winning in the supporting categories were "Emilia Pérez" star Zoe Saldaña and "A Real Pain" star Kieran Culkin.

Heading into the ceremony, "Emilia Pérez" led the field of nominees with 13 total Oscar nominations. It ended the night with two trophies.

This year's show honored the city of Los Angeles in the wake of the wildfires that left at least 29 dead and destroyed thousands of homes earlier this year, bringing firefighters onto the Oscars stage and hosting a charitable component to raise money for fire victims.

The Oscars ceremony aired live on ABC and streamed live on Hulu for the first time.

Scroll down for a recap of the 2025 Oscars.

Key moments:

Here's how the night unfolded. All times Eastern.
Mar 02, 2025, 4:21 PM EST

When is the ABC Oscars red carpet pre-show?

"Dancing with the Stars" co-host and "Bachelor" host Jesse Palmer will host a 30-minute pre-show, "The Oscars Red Carpet Show," kicking off at 6:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Before that, tune in to ABC's official pre-show, "On the Red Carpet at the Oscars," to see live interviews from the red carpet with some of the night's nominees and presenters.

The pre-show, hosted by ABC News Live "Prime" anchor and "World News Tonight" Sunday anchor Linsey Davis and "GMA" weekend co-anchor and "World News Tonight" Saturday anchor Whit Johnson, will be streamed on ABC and ABC News Live.

Joining Davis and Johnson are ABC News correspondent Chris Connelly, KABC-TV entertainment reporter George Pennacchio and Variety's chief awards editor, Clayton Davis.

Mar 02, 2025, 4:14 PM EST

How to watch the Oscars tonight

The 2025 Oscars will air live on ABC in more than 200 territories worldwide beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

For the first time, the ceremony will also stream live on Hulu.

Mar 02, 2025, 4:15 PM EST

Colman Domingo and more Oscar nominees gather for pre-Oscars party

Several Oscar nominees attended a pre-Oscars celebration in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, ahead of Hollywood's biggest night.

Colman Domingo, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Moore, Monica Barbaro, Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison were among the nominees who attended the Motion Picture and Television Fund's 23rd Annual Night Before event on the Fox Studio Lot.

Mikey Madison, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Moore, Colman Domingo and Yvette Nicole Brown attend MPTF's 23rd Annual Night Before, Mar. 1, 2025 in Los Angeles
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

They were joined by Yvette Nicole Brown, Kim Kardashian, Mindy Kaling and more.

See more moments from the evening below.

Colman Domingo and Monica Barbaro attend MPTF's 23rd Annual Night Before at Fox Studio Lot, on March 1, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for MPTF

Adrien Brody and Colman Domingo attend the CHANEL and Charles Finch Annual Pre-Oscar Dinner at the Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel, on March 1, 2025, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Stefanie Keenan/WireImage via Getty Images

Mar 02, 2025, 4:12 PM EST

What won big at last year's Oscars?

"Oppenheimer" was the big winner at the 2024 Oscars, taking home seven trophies -- including the coveted best picture prize.

The film also won for best director for Christopher Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor Robert Downey Jr., best cinematography, best editing and best original score.

A scene from the movie "Oppenheimer."
Universal Pictures

Other big wins from the 2024 Oscars included Emma Stone winning best actress for "Poor Things" -- which won four total Oscars -- and Da'Vine Joy Randolph winning best supporting actress, the sole Oscar for "The Holdovers."

"The Zone of Interest" won best international feature film, "The Boy and the Heron" won best animated feature film and "What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie" won best original song.

Check out a recap of the ceremony here.

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