Just a week ago, the 2025 SAG Awards, which took place after voting for the 2025 Oscars ended, had pundits wondering if precursor wins by Anora, Mikey Madison and Adrien Brody meant that they might not be bound for Oscars glory. SAG Awards wins by Conclave (best cast), Demi Moore (best actress) and Timothée Chalamet (best actor) led to speculation that Conclave, Moore and Chalamet could win big at the Academy Awards.
But it turns out the Oscars were on board with Anora, Madison and Brody. Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner was named best picture; Madison, in a surprise, nabbed 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 Brody defeated Chalamet.
Additionally, all three films — Conclave, The Substance and A Complete Unknown — seemingly underperformed Sunday night. Conclave, which pundits had speculated could win best picture and some even forecasted possible wins by Ralph Fiennes (best actor) and Isabella Rossellini (best supporting actress), went home with just one award, for best adapted screenplay. The Substance, similarly, also won only one award, for best makeup and hairstyling. A Complete Unknown, despite its eight nominations, was completely shut out, not winning a single award for which it was nominated. Perhaps subject Bob Dylan made the right move in skipping the ceremony in which his biopic went award-less.
A Complete Unknown had the worst performance of this year’s most-nominated films, but 10-time nominees The Brutalist and Wicked each won just two awards, with the latter only taking home prizes in craft categories, though it had a big moment at the top of the show with stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performing a medley of songs, including Wicked‘s iconic “Defying Gravity.”
After surprising Oscar observers with its four nominations this year, Nosferatu also went winless at this year’s ceremony in an unexpected shutout after its strong performance on nominations morning.
Other surprises included indie animated film Flow triumphing over studio hits Universal’s The Wild Robot (which won the studio Annie Award and Critics Choice prize) and Disney’s Inside Out 2. Flow previously won the best animated feature Golden Globe and indie Annie Award.
And after Emilia Pérez‘s Oscars campaign was thrown off course when controversial posts on X (formerly Twitter) from star Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced, some pundits wondered if the Netflix musical, which landed a leading 13 nominations, could fail to win a single Oscar — or if its only win would go to supporting actress hopeful Zoe Saldaña, who had swept this season’s precursor awards. Instead, Emilia Pérez performed slightly better than expected, with Saldaña winning and the film taking best original song for “El Mal,” which Saldaña performs in the movie.
Other films up for multiple Oscars that went winless Sunday night include three-time nominee Sing Sing and double nominees Nickel Boys and The Apprentice.
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