Fans watching the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony on television — or attempting to watch it on Hulu — only got part of the story.
Behind the scenes, Hollywood’s biggest stars showed off alternately charming and ridiculous displays.
The cast members of Wicked shared some amusing moments backstage during the event, such as Ariana Grande using her dress’ stiff skirt as a makeshift phone holder.
Ariana made a brief appearance on camera as she stood up alongside Cynthia Erivo to show appreciation for Wicked’s costume designer, Paul Tazewell, who received an Oscar for his work on their movie.
As she stood up for a standing ovation, her phone was clearly visible resting on the ripple shelf of her skirt.
Another Wicked star was also responsible for one of the vainest moments of the night.
During some downtime, Jeff Goldblum, who plays the Wizard in Wicked, was seen displaying his phone to his wife Emilie Livingston.
But photos snapped of him from behind revealed that Goldblum was hilariously swiping through his own red carpet photos.
His costar Ariana was also the subject of one of the sweetest behind-the-scene images at the ceremony.
She was joined by her partner and fellow Wicked actor, Ethan Slater, who also showed his support. The couple displayed plenty of public displays of affection at the event.
In one moment, they embraced just in front of the stage during a commercial break, with Ariana wrapping her arms around Ethan’s neck.
Ariana communicated passion with her eyes alone earlier in the ceremony when she introduced the show by channeling Judy Garland in a rendition of The Wizard Of Oz’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
After she wrapped up, Cynthia paid tribute to their Oscar-nominated film by performing a song from Wicked.
Ariana was briefly glimpsed just off to the side of the stage as she looked affectionately at her friend and costar wowing the audience.
There were lighter moments, too, such as when Best Actor nominee Colman Domingo led the audience in a toast during a commercial break.
He was toasting LA itself to honor the city after devastating fires that swept through part of it in January.
But then the actor, who looked outstanding in a red-and-black double-breasted tux, showed off his winning charisma by convincing a solid chunk of the audience to get up and dance before the show started up again.
The evening’s host, Conan O’Brien, may have shocked some viewers with a risqué joke about Kendrick Lamar and Drake, but he won rave reviews from viewers at home and also proved himself to be a class act.
Ramin Setoodeh, co-editor-in-chief of Variety, revealed that Conan had left a note for each Oscars attendee under their seat, along with a box with snacks and a beverage to help them make it through the notoriously long show.
‘Dear star/seat filler — I hope you enjoy these complimentary snacks. I tried my best to include a gummy but Disney said that was a “hard pass,” he joked.
The note also included a doodle of the comedian.
Demi Moore was left crushed as Mikey Madison beat her to the coveted Best Actress award at the 2025 Oscars, on a night when Anora dominated with five wins including Best Picture.
Demi, 62, had been a clear front-runner and her fury was palpable as 25-year-old rising star Mikey’s name was called out in front of a stunned audience at the 97th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Other big winners on Sunday night included Zoe Saldana, who took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the controversial Emilia Perez, and Adrien Brody, who triumphed over Timothée Chalamet for the Best Actor award with his performance in the The Brutalist. Kieran Culkin kicked off the evening with a Best Supporting Actor win for A Real Pain.
Demi could be seen with a clenched jaw as her name wasn’t called, but she did say ‘nice’ to herself as she applauded Mikey’s big win.
It was a particularly surprising upset because Demi had won the actress award at most of the major pre-Oscar events for her role in The Substance.
Mikey portrays an escort in Anora, an independent film with a $6 million budget for which Sean Baker won Best Director. She recognized the sex worker community in a touching acceptance speech.
She said: ‘I also just want to, again, recognize and honor the sex worker community. I will. Yes. I will continue to support and be an ally.
‘All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this incredible experience.’
At the end of the night the film earned top prize Best Picture Award over The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked.
Anora’s writer and director Sean Baker also earned three awards including: Best Original Screenplay, Achievement in Film Editing, and the coveted Best Director.
The film is centered around a young escort named Ani (played by Mikey) from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
Adrien Brody took home his second ever Best Actor award earlier in the night.
The 51-year-old actor stopped the exit music from playing as he was recognized for his work in The Brutalist.
He beat out an impressive field including: Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown, Colman Domingo — Sing Sing, Ralph Fiennes — Conclave, and Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice.
Adrian previously won Best Actor for his work on classic film The Piano back in 2003.
Zoe Saldaña shook the controversy surrounding her film Emilia Pérez as she earned Best Supporting Actress.
The show hit a high note as the 46-year-old American actress was crowned for the Netflix film.
She triumphed over: Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown, Ariana Grande — Wicked, Felicity Jones — The Brutalist, and Isabella Rossellini — Conclave.
Zoe became the first ever Oscar winner of Dominican descent and made sure to thank her ancestors for paving the way to have a successful acting career in America.
Emilia Pérez has earned a tide of negative publicity after racist and Islamophobic tweets from her costar Karla Sofía Gascón — some quite recent — were discovered.
Netflix went so far as to stop covering Gascón’s travel for awards shows, but she did appear at the Oscars.
The award show started out in fine form as Kieran Culkin took home the first award of the night.
It kicked off with the 42-year-old actor taking home Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in A Real Pain.
He beat out an impressive field including: Yura Borisov — Anora, Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown, Guy Pearce — The Brutalist, and his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice.
Blockbuster Wicked did not come away empty handed as Paul Tazewell became the first Black male winner of Achievement in Costume Design.
Oscar winners 2025 full list – see who received honors for this year’s Academy Awards
Best Picture
Anora – WINNER
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Anora was the biggest winner of the night as Mikey Madison earned Best Actress
Best Director
Jacques Audiard — Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker — Anora – WINNER
Brady Corbet — The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat — The Substance
James Mangold — A Complete Unknown
Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo — Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison — Anora – WINNER
Demi Moore — The Substance
Fernanda Torres — I’m Still Here
Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody — The Brutalist – WINNER
Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes — Conclave
Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande — Wicked
Felicity Jones — The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini — Conclave
Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez – WINNER
Zoe Saldana was recognized in the Best Supporting Actress category for Emilia Perez
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov — Anora
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain – WINNER
Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce — The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice
Animated Feature Film
Flow – WINNER
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Cinematography
The Brutalist — Lol Crawley – WINNER
Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez — Paul Guilhaume
Maria — Ed Lachman
Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke
Original Screenplay
Anora — Sean Baker – WINNER
The Brutalist — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain — Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 — Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; co-Written by Alex David
The Substance — Coralie Fargeat
Sean Baker earned three individual honors for Anora in addition to Best Picture
Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown — James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave — Peter Straughan – WINNER
Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys — RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing — Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
Achievement in Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked – Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales – WINNER
Achievement in Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two – WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Dune: Part Two won Best Achievement in Sound as Gareth John, Richard King, and Ron Bartlett are seen left to right
Original Song
El Mal – Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard – WINNER
The Journey – The Six Triple Eight
Like A Bird – Sing Sing
Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez
Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late
Original Score
The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg – WINNER
Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers
Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot – WINNER
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress – WINNER
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land – WINNER
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
No Other Land took home Documentary Feature Film as Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham are seen left to right
Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra – WINNER
International Feature Film
I’m Still Here (Brazil) – WINNER
The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance – Pierre Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli – WINNER
Wicked
Achievement in Costume Design
A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips
Conclave — Lisy Christl
Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu — Linda Muir
Wicked — Paul Tazewell – WINNER
Blockbuster Wicked did not come away empty handed as Paul Tazewell became the first Black male winner of Achievement in Costume Design
Achievement in Film Editing
Anora — Sean Baker – WINNER
The Brutalist — David Jancso
Conclave — Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling
Wicked — Myron Kerstein
Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two – WINNER
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
