Viewers may tune in for the eye candy at the Academy Awards but the show is also known to make winners go down in history.
The 2025 award show was filled with all the glitz and glamor fans could ask for. “Wicked” co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the show with renditions of “Over The Rainbow” and “Home” from “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Wiz” respectively.
The two then launched into the last half of “Wicked” stand out “Defying Gravity” before host Conan O’Brien delivered a solid monologue lightly lampooning Hollywood.
Although all eyes seemed to be focused on a handful of movies including “Anora” and “The Brutalist,” the Academy managed to pull focus to films that were not in the conversation for one reason or another.
Paul Tazewell is the First Black man to Win for Costumes
“Wicked” costume designer Paul Tazewell becomes the first Black man to win for the category. Tazewell was previously nominated for Stephen Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” “I’m so proud of this,” he mused during his speech.
Tazewell previously worked on the Broadway phenomenon “Hamilton,” the Cynthia Erivo starring “Harriet,” and television concert special “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”
Zoe Saldana is the First Domincan-American to Win an Oscar
“Emilia Perez” may have been a hot topic before the Academy Awards due to the controversy with Karla Sofia Gascon but her woes did not sour Zoe Saldana’s chances at all. Hot off of winning her first BAFTA and a Screen Actor’s Guild award for Female Actor in a Supporting Role, the “Avatar” star picked up a win for Best Supporting Actress.
“I am the proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award,” she said tearfully during her acceptance speech. “And I know I will not be the last.
Brazil gets its First Ever Oscar Win
“I’m Still Here” may have received a good amount of attention at the Academy Awards – including winning Best International Feature – but it was not the first time Brazil has been up for a statue. 1962’s “Keeper of Promises,” 1995’s “O Quatrilho,” 1997’s “Four Days in September,” and 1998’s “Central Station” each had their moment in the spotlight.
Additionally, the Portuguese-language “I’m Still Here” featured Fernanda Torres who was also nominated for Best Actress but lost in the category.
“Flow” is Latvia’s First Film to Win an Oscar
Beating Disney and Dreamworks at their own game is one thing. Doing so on the biggest Hollywood award night of the year is another. The Latvian “Flow” won for Best Animated Feature, beating out the likes of Disney’s “Inside Out 2,” Dreamworks’s “The Wild Robot,” and Netflix’s “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.” This is Latvia’s first ever Academy Award win.
Additionally, Adrian Brody is the first actor to win Best Actor for his first two nominations. In the 2025 Oscars, Brody won for his role in “The Brutalist” while he also won in 2003 for “The Pianist.”
Director Sean Parker also won all four of his nominations in the night becoming the first person to do so. He won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editor.
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History Was Made At The 2025 Academy Awards