Critics Choice Awards 2025: Sean Baker's Anora Starring Mikey Madison Takes Home Best Picture Honor

Anora unexpectedly wins the Best Picture title at the Critics Choice Awards 2025, director Sean Baker reflects on making the 'micro-budget' film. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Feb 08, 2025 | 12:33 PM IST | 8.9K

Anora director Sean Baker and actress Mickey Madison (PC: Instagram)

Sean Baker's Anora stunned everyone by claiming Best Picture at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, beating major competition A Complete Unknown, Brutalist, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, Substance, and Wicked.

Baker was astonished that his film won an award. Baker elaborated on the difficulties and success of making Anora, which he referred to as a micro-budget project with a cost of only $6 million. Shot on film in New York City, it was a cast and crew-driven project that required a lot of hard work and dedication to bringing the story alive.

"When those who dedicate their lives to their love of film and film criticism and film journalism, when they see something positive in your work, just a little, it means everything in the world. So thank you guys so much," Baker said while accepting the Critics Choice Award for Best Picture.

Baker added, "We made this little film — it was $6 million. That's micro-budget these days. We shot on film. We shot in New York City. That all happened because of my incredible cast and crew who roughed it up. We put every dollar up on that screen."

Anora stood out as the comedy/romance drama about the tumultuous marriage of a New York City sex worker (Mikey Madison) to a Russian billionaire's son (Mark Eydelshteyn). It has seven Critics Choice nominations, including Best Actress for Madison and Best Supporting Actor for Yura Borisov.

After bagging the Palme d'Or at Cannes and subsequent Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA nominations, Anora is set to cement its place as one of the most lauded films of the year. Its cast includes Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Aleksei Serebryakov.

Anora is available to stream on Prime Video and Apple TV.