“Anora” leads Oscars night with five wins, Conan O’Brien shines spotlight on unsung film heroes

The 97th Academy Awards were a night of celebration for Anora, which led all films with five wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Editing. But before the trophies were handed out, first-time Oscars host Conan O’Brien took a moment to recognize those whose contributions often go unnoticed.

“The Oscars also shines a light on an incredible community of people you will never see — craftspeople, artisans, technicians, costumers… I can’t name them all, there’re too many,” O’Brien said during his opening monologue. “Hardworking men and women behind the camera who have devoted their lives to making film, and yes many people we celebrate tonight are not famous, they’re not wealthy, but they are devoted to a craft that can in moments bring us all a little closer together,” he added.

Nine of the 23 Oscar categories highlight these below-the-line talents, from Costume Design to Sound, and this year, the winners reflected the artistry that powers cinema. Wicked claimed victories in Production Design and Costume Design, marking first-time Oscar wins for Nathan Crowley and Paul Tazewell. Tazewell also made history as the first Black man to win Best Costume Design. Dune: Part Two secured two craft Oscars, repeating its predecessor’s success in Sound and Visual Effects, though it fell short of the six wins Dune: Part One earned. The Brutalist matched that tally, winning for both Cinematography and Original Score.

In the Original Song category, Emilia Pérez earned an Oscar for “El Mal”, though the film’s awards momentum had been disrupted by resurfaced online posts from lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón. Meanwhile, The Substance took home the Oscar for Makeup and Hairstyling amid controversy over the exclusion of hair department head Frédérique Arguello from the nomination.

Best Picture winner Anora continued the long-standing tradition of top films excelling in craft categories, earning the Oscar for Best Editing in addition to its major wins for director-producer-screenwriter-editor Sean Baker and Best Actress Mikey Madison. Despite its dominance, it fell short in one category—Best Supporting Actor.

Among distributors, Neon emerged as the night’s biggest winner with five Oscars, while A24 and Netflix each secured three. Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures were the only other studios to earn multiple wins on Hollywood’s biggest night.

Check out the winners in all of the below the line categories, in order of presentation:

Costume Design
Wicked (Universal)
Paul Tazewell

Makeup and Hairstyling
The Substance (Mubi)
Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli

Film Editing
Anora (Neon) Sean Baker

Production Design
Wicked (Universal)
Production Design: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Original Song
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
Music by Clément Ducol and Camille
Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard

Sound
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill

Visual Effects
Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer

Cinematography
The Brutalist (A24)
Lol Crawley

Original Score
The Brutalist (A24)
Daniel Blumberg

Here the lists of winners by movie and studio in all 23 categories:

Film

Anora: 5
The Brutalist: 3
Dune: Part Two: 2
Emilia Pérez: 2
Wicked: 2
Conclave: 1
Flow: 1
I’m Not a Robot: 1
I’m Still Here: 1
In the Shadow of the Cypress: 1
No Other Land: 1
The Only Girl in the Orchestra: 1
A Real Pain: 1
The Substance: 1

Distributor

Neon: 5
A24: 3
Netflix: 3
Universal Pictures: 2
Warner Bros Pictures: 2
Focus Features: 1
The New Yorker: 1
Searchlight: 1
Self-distributed: 1
Sideshow/Janus Films: 1
No distributor: 3

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