Oscars 2025: Anora Bags BIGGEST Honor of the Night With Best Picture; Closes Award Season With a Bang

Anora unexpectedly won the Best Picture title at the Oscars 2025. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Mar 03, 2025 | 12:18 PM IST | 15.4K

Anora Bags BIGGEST Honor of the Night With Best Picture CC: Getty Images

Anora claims the Best Picture award at the Oscars 2025 after clinching the same category at this year's Critics Choice Awards as well.

Sean Baker, the director of Anora, had a tough competition in the category, as his movie was up against Wicked, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, and Emilia Pérez among others.

Anora stars Mikey Madison as Ani, Yuriy Borisov as Igor, and Lindsey Normington as Diamond with the supporting ensemble including Karren Karagulian, Aleksei Serebryakov, and Vache Tovmasyan. The film reportedly grossed 41 million USD on a budget of 6 million USD.

Baker stressed the importance of independent films in his acceptance speech urging other filmmakers to dive into that direction. He said, "We made this movie for $6 million shooting on location in New York City with about 40 crew members. They’re all back in New York. This is for you guys. If you’re trying to make independent films, please keep doing it. We need more. This is proof."

Producer Samantha Quan added, "We made this with very little money, but all of our hearts. To all of the dreamers and the young filmmakers, tell the stories you want to tell. Tell the story that moves you. I promise you, you will never regret it."

At the 97th Academy Awards, the film bagged Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. Anora revolves around the journey of a young stripper who gets her Cinderella story after marrying the son of a Russian oligarch.