Anora director Sean Baker was stunned to see his independent film beat out mᴀssive blockbusters for the coveted Best Picture award at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards.

The film beat out Wicked, The Substance, A Complete Unknown, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, Conclave, The Brutalist, and Sing Sing for the night’s biggest honor.

While Wicked was sH๏τ on a reported $145 million budget and Dune: Part Two on a reported $190M, Anora was made on just a fraction of it’s most costly compeтιтors at just $6M.

An incredulous Baker, 53, accepted the award with his Anora team, including star Mikey Madison, 25, and said they scraped by to make the film.

Baker said the film was sH๏τ on a ‘micro budget’ of $6 million and was made possible by a team who ‘roughed it up’ for the sake of their ‘little film.’

‘So unexpected,’ Baker began. ‘So unexpected. Thank you. Critics’ Choice, thank you so much. When those who dedicate their lives to their love of film and film criticism and film journalism, they see something positive in your work, it means everything in the world.

Anora director Sean Baker was stunned to see his independent film beat out mᴀssive blockbusters for the coveted Best Picture award at the 2025 Critics’ Choice Awards

‘Thank you guys so, so much. We made this little film. It was $6 million. That’s micro budget these days. We sH๏τ on film. We sH๏τ in New York City. And that all happened because of my incredible cast and crew who roughed it up and we put every dollar up on that screen.

‘And it’s because, you know, independent film, we have to go for it. We have to go for it to stay on the big screen. And that’s what I want to say. We made this film for the big screen. We thank everybody who saw it on the big screen. We want to thank Neon because they supported our theatrical run, a long theatrical window.

Read More 2025 Critics Choice Awards winners: Demi Moore, Adrien Brody and Anora win

‘And we have to think about the theaters. That’s where we all fell in love with the movies, at the movie theater. They’re going through hard times.

‘We lost a thousand theaters during COVID. We lose them almost daily. There’s where we love to see films. Let’s see films in our local theaters.’

The verité-style comedy stars Mikey Madison as an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have his handlers go to shocking ends to annul the marriage. 

Anora fans rejoiced in the victory on X, with one writing: ‘ANORA BEST PICTURE OSCAR NEXT IDGAF,’ along with a video of Oprah Winfrey running across coals with the encouragement of Tony Robbins.

‘Anora randomly winning best picture,’ another posted with a video of Beyonce looking shocked following her Grammy win.

Anora beat out nominees Wicked, The Substance, A Complete Unknown, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, Conclave, The Brutalist, and Sing Sing for the night’s biggest honor

Baker said the film was made on a meager $6M budget – a fraction of what Wicked and Dune Part: Two were sH๏τ on 

He was joined on stage by Anora star Mike Madison, among others

Critics Choice Awards 2025 winners: AT A GLANCE

MOVIES

BEST PICTURE: Anora

BEST ACTOR: Adrien Brody — The Brutalist

BEST ACTRESS: Demi Moore — The Substance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Maisy Stella — My Old ᴀss

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE: Conclave — WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR: Jon M. Chu — Wicked  

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Coralie Fargeat — The Substance  

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Peter Straughan — Conclave

 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jarin Blaschke — Nosferatu

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales — Wicked  

BEST EDITING: Marco Costa — Challengers  

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Paul Tazewell — Wicked

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP: The Substance  

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer — Dune: Part Two  

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: The Wild Robot  

BEST COMEDY: A Real Pain and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine (TIE)  

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Emilia Pérez  

BEST SONG: “El Mal” – Emilia Pérez — Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille  

BEST SCORE: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross — Challengers

 TELEVISION

BEST DRAMA SERIES: Shōgun

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Hiroyuki Sanada — Shōgun

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Kathy Bates — Matlock

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Tadanobu Asano — Shōgun  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Moeka Hoshi — Shōgun  

BEST COMEDY SERIES: Hacks  

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Adam Brody — Nobody Wants This  

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Jean Smart — Hacks  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Michael Urie — Shrinking  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Hannah Einbinder – Hacks  

BEST LIMITED SERIES: Baby Reindeer

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Rebel Ridge

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Colin Farrell — The Penguin  

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Cristin Milioti — The Penguin  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Liev Schreiber — The Perfect Couple  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer  

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES: Squid Game  

BEST ANIMATED SERIES: X-Men ’97  

BEST TALK SHOW: John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.  

BEST COMEDY SPECIAL: Ali Wong: Single Lady

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‘ANORA HIVE WE F**KING WON,’ another posted. 

The Critics Choice Awards both shook up and solidified the awards season race ahead of the Academy Awards.

Anora was the upset winner of Best Picture, despite failing to win any of the other six awards it was nominated for, while Demi Moore and Adrien Brody emerged triumphant in the lead acting categories at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on Friday.

Demi, 62, brought down the house when her name was announced for Best Actress.

She stars in the satirical body-horror film The Substance, about an aging actress who resorts to an untested therapy to allow her to temporarily inhabit the body of a younger woman (Margaret Qualley).

But both are affected by stomach-churning physical side effects when they overstay their welcomes in the younger body. 

Adrien praised critics for making his ‘very small, epic film very visible and accessible to people’ after winning Best Actor for The Brutalist, which cemented his status as the Oscar frontrunner in the category.

Anora fans rejoiced in the victory on X

In the Brady Corbet–directed historical epic, he plays a Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who ʙuттs heads with a wealthy benefactor (Guy Pearce) after emigrating to the US.

The ceremony, which was hosted by Chelsea Handler, finally took place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, after it was first slated to take place on Sunday, January 12, before being pushed to Sunday, January 26.

But due to the venue’s close proximity to the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades, ceremony officials decided to push the show to February.

Zoe Saldaña was a surprise Best Supporting Actress winner for Emilia Pérez. The film was swept up in controversy after tweets containing racist and Islamophobic sentiments from its star Karla Sofía Gascón — some of them fairly recent — were discovered.

However, the Critics Choice Award ballots were turned in before the controversy came into the public eye, whereas voting for the Oscars isn’t yet over.

The controversial Netflix film also won for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song.

The verité-style comedy stars Mikey Madison as an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have his handlers go to shocking ends to annul the marriage

Notably, Gascón was among those credited for the Best Song win, but she did not attend after Netflix stopped paying for Gascón’s travel and accommodations for the awards season due to her tweets and subsequent half-hearted apologies that didn’t improve the film’s outlook.

Keiran Culkin also won for Best Supporting Actor, while Jon M. Chu won for directing Wicked, setting him up as the Oscars frontrunner, despite positive reviews that sometimes dismissed his contributions.

The Oscar hopes of Ralph Fiennes and Conclave were kept alive, as the film won the acting ensemble award — with Fiennes accepting — and the Best Adapted Screenplay prize. 

Among the TV winners, Shōgun emerged triumphant with wins for Best Drama Series, Best Actor (Hiroyuki Sanada) and both supporting categories (for Tadanobu Asano and Moeka Hoshi).

Hacks was the top comedy, win in the Best Comedy Series category and nabbing honors for Best Actress (Jean Smart) and Best Supporting Actress (Hannah Einbinder). 

The Limited Series categories were split between Baby Reindeer, which won Best Limited Series and Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Gunning, and The Penguin, which won Best Actor and Actress for stars Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti.

Critics Choice Awards 2025 winners

MOVIES

BEST PICTURE

A Complete Unknown

Anora — WINNER

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Nickel Boys

Sing Sing

The Substance

Wicked

Wicked leads the way with 11 nominations

 

BEST ACTOR

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist — WINNER

Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Daniel Craig – Queer

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Hugh Grant – Heretic

Ralph Fiennes is nominated in the Best Actor category for his work in Conclave, which also earned 11 nods

 

BEST ACTRESS

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez

Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths

Angelina Jolie – Maria

Mikey Madison – Anora

Demi Moore – The Substance — WINNER

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Yura Borisov – Anora

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain — WINNER

Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing

Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Danielle ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler – The Piano Lesson

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys

Ariana Grande – Wicked

Margaret Qualley – The Substance

Isabella Rossellini – Conclave

Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez — WINNER

Ariana Grande earned a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Glinda in Wicked

 

BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS

Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Elliott Heffernan – Blitz

Maisy Stella – My Old ᴀss — WINNER

Izaac Wang – Didi

Alisha Weir – Abigail

Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet

 

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Anora

Conclave — WINNER

Emilia Pérez

Saturday Night

Sing Sing

Wicked

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

Sean Baker – Anora

Edward Berger – Conclave

Brady Corbet – The Brutalist

Jon M. Chu – Wicked — WINNER

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Sean Baker – Anora

Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David – September 5

Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance — WINNER

Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox – Wicked

Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley – Sing Sing

RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys

Peter Straughan – Conclave — WINNER

Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu — WINNER

Alice Brooks – Wicked

Lol Crawley – The Brutalist

Stéphane Fontaine – Conclave

Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two

Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys

Dune: Part Two earned 10 nominations, including a Best Cinematography nod for Greig Fraser

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia – The Brutalist

Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked — WINNER

Suzie Davies – Conclave

Craig Lathrop – Nosferatu

Arthur Max, Jille Azis, Elli Griff – Gladiator II

Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau – Dune: Part Two

 

BEST EDITING

Sean Baker – Anora

Marco Costa – Challengers — WINNER

Nick Emerson – Conclave

David Jancso – The Brutalist

Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two

Hansjörg Weißbrich – September 5

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Lisy Christl – Conclave

Linda Muir – Nosferatu

Mᴀssimo Cantini Parrini – Maria

Paul Tazewell – Wicked — WINNER

Jacqueline West – Dune: Part Two

Janty Yates, Dave Crossman – Gladiator II

 

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP

Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, Neal Scanlan – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Hair and Makeup Team – Dune: Part Two

Hair and Makeup Team – The Substance — WINNER

Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – Wicked

Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White – Nosferatu

Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, Aaron Saucier – A Different Man

 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Mark Bakowski, Pietro Ponti, Nikki Penny, Neil Corbould – Gladiator II

Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould, David Shirk – Wicked

Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two — WINNER

Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs – Better Man

Visual Effects Team – The Substance

Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, Rodney Burke – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Flow

Inside Out 2

Memoir of a Snail

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot — WINNER

 

BEST COMEDY

A Real Pain — WINNER (TIE)

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine — WINNER (TIE)

Hit Man

My Old ᴀss

Saturday Night

Thelma

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine earned a Best Comedy nod

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

All We Imagine as Light

Emilia Pérez — WINNER

Flow

I’m Still Here

Kneecap

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

 

BEST SONG

“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl – Miley Cyrus

“Compress / Repress” – Challengers – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

“El Mal” – Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille — WINNER

“Harper and Will Go West” – Will & Harper – Kristen Wiig

“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot – Maren Morris

“Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez – Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez earned a nod in the Best Song category for Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez

 

BEST SCORE

Volker Bertelmann – Conclave

Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

Clément Ducol & Camille – Emilia Pérez

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers — WINNER

Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two

 TELEVISION

BEST DRAMA SERIES

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)

The Diplomat (Netflix)

Evil (Paramount+)

Industry (HBO | Max)

Interview with the Vampire (AMC)

The Old Man (FX)

Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER

Slow Horses (Apple TV+)

FX series Shōgun leads the way with six nominations, including top honor Best Drama Series

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)

Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who (Disney+)

Eddie Redmayne – The Day of the Jackal (Peacock) 

Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER

Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat (Netflix)

Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video) 

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)

Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS) — WINNER

Shanola Hampton – Found (NBC)

Keira Knightley – Black Doves (Netflix) 

Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)

Anna Sawai – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) 

Anna Sawai was recognized in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category for her work in Shogun

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Tadanobu Asano – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER

Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)

Mark-Paul Gosselaar – Found (NBC)

Takehiro Hira – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)

John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)

Sam Reid – Interview with the Vampire (AMC)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Moeka Hoshi – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER

Allison Janney – The Diplomat (Netflix)

Nicole Kidman – Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)

Skye P. Marshall – Matlock (CBS)

Anna Sawai – Pachinko (Apple TV+)

Fiona Shaw – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)

 

BEST COMEDY SERIES

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

English Teacher (FX)

Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER

Nobody Wants This (Netflix)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)

St. Denis Medical (NBC)

What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Abbott Elementary is nominated for Best Comedy Series

 

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Brian Jordan Alvarez – English Teacher (FX)

Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix) — WINNER

David Alan Grier – St. Denis Medical (NBC)

Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)

Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)

Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER

Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Paul W. Downs – Hacks (HBO | Max)

Asher Grodman – Ghosts (CBS)

Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)

Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+) — WINNER

Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear (FX / Hulu)

Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER

Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Stephanie Koenig – English Teacher (FX)

Patti LuPone – Agatha All Along (Disney+)

Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)

 

BEST LIMITED SERIES

Baby Reindeer (Netflix) — WINNER

Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)

Mr Bates vs the Post Office (PBS)

The Penguin (HBO | Max)

Ripley (Netflix)

True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)

We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)

Baby Reindeer is up for Best Limited Series

 

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)

It’s What’s Inside (Netflix)

Música (Prime Video)

Out of My Mind (Disney+)

Rebel Ridge (Netflix) — WINNER

V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder)

 

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO | Max) — WINNER

Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

Tom Hollander – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

Kevin Kline – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Ewan McGregor – A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+)

Andrew Scott – Ripley (Netflix)

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Cate Blanchett – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)

Jessica Lange – The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)

Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO | Max) — WINNER

Phoebe-Rae Taylor – Out of My Mind (Disney+)

Naomi Watts – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Robert Downey Jr. – The Sympathizer (HBO | Max)

Hugh Grant – The Regime (HBO | Max)

Ron Cephas Jones – Genius: MLK/X (National Geographic)

Logan Lerman – We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)

Liev Schreiber – The Perfect Couple (Netflix) — WINNER

Treat Williams – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Dakota Fanning – Ripley (Netflix)

Leila George – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)

Betty Gilpin – Three Women (Starz)

Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix) — WINNER

Deirdre O’Connell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)

Kali Reis – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)

Jessica Gunning is up for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Baby Reindeer

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES

Acapulco (Apple TV+)

Citadel: Honey Bunny (Prime Video)

La Máquina (Hulu)

The Law According to Lidia Poët (Netflix)

My Brilliant Friend (HBO | Max)

Pachinko (Apple TV+)

Senna (Netflix)

Squid Game (Netflix) — WINNER

 

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video)

Bluey (Disney+)

Bob’s Burgers (Fox)

Invincible (Prime Video)

The Simpsons (Fox)

X-Men ’97 (Disney+) — WINNER

 

BEST TALK SHOW

H๏τ Ones (YouTube)

The Daily Show (Comedy Central)

The Graham Norton Show (BBC America)

John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. (Netflix) — WINNER

The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated)

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)

 

BEST COMEDY SPECIAL

Ali Wong: Single Lady (Netflix) — WINNER

Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny (Hulu)

Kevin James: Irregardless (Prime Video)

Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die (HBO | Max)

Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special (Netflix)

Ramy Youssef: More Feelings (HBO | Max)