The highs, lows, and the 2025 Oscars moments that defied gravity
Raise a glass to Oscars producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, who followed their Emmy Award-winning production of the 96th annual Academy Awards last year with an even better ceremony this year. The 2025 Oscars celebrated movies and the industry in the truest sense of the word, with deft hosting from first-time emcee Conan O’Brien and several emotional tributes to the creative community. Ahead are the highs (and just a few lows) from the 97th Oscars.
High: Wicked wasn’t eligible for Best Song (more on that category later), but the Oscars found a way to include its music by letting stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo perform an Oz-themed medley as part of the show-opening tribute to Los Angeles. Grande sang “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, Erivo sang “Home” from The Wiz, and together they sang Wicked’s show-stopper “Defying Gravity.” It was odd that the camera didn’t show Erivo’s platform lifting up but it’s OK because she hit her famed note (“ahAHahAHHAHHH”), and that’s what matters. She made Michelle Yeoh cry.
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High: Can you believe it took O’Brien this long to host the Oscars? It’s like he was born for it. From his opening bit looking for his lost shoe inside of Demi Moore’s back as part of a spoof of The Substance, to his playful monologue through his “Monorail”-esque “I Won’t Waste Your Time” musical number, O’Brien’s whole opening sequence was everything his fans could have hoped for. The highlight of his monologue was his joke about the Karla Sofia Gascón controversy: “Anora uses the F-word 479 times. That's three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón's publicist. ‘She tweeted WHAT?!?!’” It crushed so hard that he did his string dance for about 15 seconds while he waited for the audience to stop laughing. “Karla Sofia Gascón is here tonight,” he continued as Gascón did a gracious little bow. “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars tonight, my name is Jimmy Kimmel.” Other good jokes included a shout-out to Bob Dylan (“Bob Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly”), John Lithgow playing off long speeches with a disappointed look, and a sandworm from Dune playing “Chopsticks” during the musical number. He even got Adam Sandler to do an extended bit about Sandler’s famously casual clothes. Bring Conan back next year, too!
High: Kieran Culkin went very long in his Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech — after he got bleeped for saying the F-word while praising his Succession costar and fellow nominee Jeremy Strong — because he had something he needed to say to his wife, Jazz Charton. He brought up using his Emmy acceptance speech last year to say that she had promised to have a third kid with him if he won an Emmy. Turns out there’s even more to it than that: “After the show, we’re walking through a parking lot … and she goes, ‘Oh, God, I did say that!'” Culkin said. “‘I guess I owe you a third kid.’ And I turned to her, and I said, ‘Really, I want four.’ And she turned to me — I swear to God, this happened just over a year ago — she said, ‘I will give you four when you win an Oscar.'” In the audience, Charton confirmed that this did happen. “And I have not brought it up once until just now,” Culkin continued. “I just have this to say to you, Jazz — love of my life, ye of little faith — no pressure. I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again, and let’s get cracking on those kids. What do you say?” Charton laughed and mouthed, “No!” It was a perfectly Kieran Culkin moment.
High: With his win for Wicked, Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. He mentioned this fact in his speech to thunderous applause from the audience. He’s the second Black person to win in the category – Ruth Carter was the first for Black Panther.
Low: The Academy paid tribute to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the producers who just sold the rights to their family-owned James Bond franchise to Amazon, with an ill-conceived celebration of the films’ iconic music. After a Bond clip package, Margaret Qualley, who has no connection to the franchise, did an interpretive dance for no obvious reason. Then Lisa from Blackpink (and The White Lotus) listlessly sang Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die.” Doja Cat’s villainous and theatrical interpretation of Shirley Bassey’s (not-nominated) “Diamonds Are Forever” was better, but then it kept going with Raye’s karaoke-esque take on Adele’s Oscar-winning “Skyfall.” The whole thing was confusing, unnecessary, and interminable.
Low: It’s not unprecedented for the Oscars to forgo musical performances for nominated songs — the last time it happened was in 2012 — but there’s a reason why they’re almost always included: they’re essential. The songs break up the show’s flow, create memorable moments, and are usually entertaining. So the Oscar-nominated performances were sorely missed this year, especially after last year’s show-stopping “I’m Still Ken” performance. Still, the Best Song award presentation wasn’t a total loss. Before Mick Jagger announced the winner (Clément Ducol and Camille and Jacques filmmaker Jacques Audiard for “El Mal” from Emilia Perez), a package spotlighted the nominated songwriters (if the purpose of the package was to pay tribute to now-16-time loser Diane Warren, yikes). But the segment itself was lovely, even if it was no replacement for getting the chance to see Zoe Salda?a win an Oscar and sing an Oscar-winning song on the same night.
High: The Los Angeles wildfires hung over the show, with tributes to the city’s resilience and calls to aid the relief efforts sprinkled throughout. The most memorable was an appearance by the firefighters who battled the Palisades and Eaton fires. O’Brien, mock-hiding behind their heroism, had them deliver mean jokes. The bit was inspired. “All of our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes... including the producers of Joker 2.” What else can you say but… burn?
High: The Oscars brought back a version of the much-loved “Fab Five” format for Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography. Actors from the nominated films gushed over their craftspeople and directors, which was the perfect way to acknowledge the costume designers' and cinematographers’ contributions.
Low: Hulu, which was streaming the Oscars for the first time, crashed right before Mikey Madison won Best Actress and never came back. Everyone streaming the show suddenly got a message that the broadcast had ended, which it very much had not. It’s an absolutely disastrous technical snafu for Hulu. Yikes.
High: So let's end on a high. While accepting Best Director, Sean Baker — who went an unprecedented 4-for-4 on his individual nominations — used his acceptance speech to make an impassioned plea for the theatrical experience over streaming services. “It’s a communal experience that you don’t get at home, and now the moviegoing experience is under threat,” he said. He called upon filmmakers to “keep making films for the big screen,” film distributors to “please focus on the theatrical release for the films,” and parents to “take your children to the theater,” like his mother did. She watched her son win four Oscars on her birthday. That’s a nice gift.
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