2025 Critics Choice Awards winners: Demi Moore and Adrien Brody scoop top acting honors as Anora is named Best Picture

Anora was the upset victor of Best Picture astatine the 2025 Critics Choice Awards on Friday, and its astonishment triumph followed triumphs for Demi Moore for her body-horror movie The Substance and Adrien Brody for the humanities epic The Brutalist.

The verité-style drama Anora stars Mikey Madison arsenic an big dancer who impetuously marries the lad of a Russian oligarch, lone to person his handlers spell to shocking ends to annul the marriage.

Madison and writer, manager and exertion Sean Baker mislaid retired connected earlier awards earlier their movie was yet triumphant.

In his affectional acceptance speech, Baker pointed retired that his 'micro-budget' movie outgo lone $6 cardinal to make, and helium thanked everyone who saw it successful theaters aft the manufacture was decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Before Anora's win, presenter Sacha Baron Cohen joked that 1 of the Best Picture nominees' scripts landed connected his desk, but helium ne'er work it due to the fact that it 'sounded a spot boring.'

'I'm not gonna sanction it, due to the fact that that would beryllium unprofessional and truly disrespectful to Adrien Brody,' helium continued, which got a laughter retired Brody successful the audience. 

The star, who had conscionable won his acting award, could beryllium seen calling Cohen a 'motherf***er.'

Cohen acceptable up a bigger daze erstwhile helium continued the joke.

'And the victor for Best Picture... Adrien Brody is — not you!' helium shouted arsenic helium announced Anora. 

Demi emerged triumphant astatine the property of 62 erstwhile she won Best Actress for her satirical body-horror movie The Substance.

'This has been specified a chaotic ride,'she gushed arsenic she took to the stage.

Demi praised critics for giving her the award, which she said was a 'healing balm to the precise contented the movie brings forward.' 

She stars successful The Substance arsenic a erstwhile Oscar victor and present the big of a fashionable aerobics TV amusement who is unceremoniously fired erstwhile she turns 50 by a piggish web enforcement (Dennis Quaid).

She learns of the eponymous Substance, which allows her to stock the assemblage of a younger pistillate (Margaret Qualley) to regain her throne, but the concoction has immoderate stomach-churning effects connected some of their bodies erstwhile they commencement a tug of warfare implicit who volition basal successful the spotlight.

Adrien Brody besides cemented his Oscars-frontrunner presumption aft winning Best Actor for The Brutalist, and Zoe Saldaña shocked viewers and awards play observers earlier erstwhile she won Best Supporting Actress for her embattled Netflix movie Emilia Pérez.

Brody praised critics for making his 'very small, epic movie precise disposable and accessible to people.'

In The Brutalist, helium plays a Jewish designer and Holocaust subsister who butts heads with a affluent benefactor (Guy Pearce) aft emigrating to the US.

Saldaña's triumph was peculiarly astonishing arsenic it comes aft the find of racist and Islamophobic tweets from Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón threatened to derail the film's awards hopes.

Jon M. Chu besides won Best Director for Wicked, which importantly accrued his likelihood of winning astatine the Academy Awards. 

Saldaña, 46, was successful tears arsenic she delivered a moving speech. She shared acknowledgment for French manager Jacques Audiard and the 'cast and grew' generally, without breathing Gascón's name. 

Zoe jokingly referenced disapproval she has received successful the past, including that she is successful 'too galore franchises,' and that the Avatar and Guardians Of The Galaxy prima is 'too blue.' 

'Whenever you person a antagonistic disapproval for a relation oregon a film, everyone says, don't work the reviews,' she continued. 'Then erstwhile you get the affirmative feedback, everyone says, did you work the reviews?' 

The show got disconnected to a beardown start when Conclave earned the archetypal grant of the evening for Best Ensemble.

The film's star, Ralph Fiennes, accepted the grant for the film, which depicts the secretive and suspenseful enactment of a caller pope.

'We each enjoyed being successful our reddish skirts together,' Fiennes joked portion representing his costars, including Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow.

The triumph has helped cement the late-breaking Oscars momentum for Fiennes and Conclave. 

The Critics Choice Awards, hosted by Chelsea Handler, are yet taking spot astatine Barker Hangar successful Santa Monica, California, aft doubly being delayed owed to the devastating LA fires.

The amusement was archetypal slated to instrumentality spot connected Sunday, January 12, earlier being pushed to Sunday, January 26.

But owed to the venue's adjacent proximity to the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades, ceremonial officials decided to propulsion the amusement to February.

Following Conclave's win, the ceremonial switched to television. 

Hannah Einbinder and Michael Urie were the dual winners successful the champion supporting histrion and histrion successful a drama categories, for Hacks and Shrinking, respectively.

The 2 gave a hilarious acceptance code successful which they began delivering their speeches astatine the aforesaid time, speaking implicit each other. 

They were followed by the winners successful the supporting categories for constricted bid oregon movie made for television.

Liev Schreiber won successful the men's class for The Perfect Couple, portion Jessica Gunning was awarded for her acclaimed show successful the buzzy bid Baby Reindeer.

Shōgun scored 2 back-to-back wins with supporting histrion and supporting histrion successful a play bid for Tadanobu Asano and Moeka Hoshi.

Hoshi was tearful arsenic she accepted her grant aft traveling to the US from Japan, though Asano wasn't capable to beryllium astatine the ceremony.

She shared her thoughts for Los Angeles successful the aftermath of its devastating fires.

'I was truthful shocked to spot however overmuch this beauteous metropolis has changed due to the fact that of the fire,' she said emotionally. 'My bosom goes retired to those who person mislaid their homes and loved ones. Please retrieve that you are not alone. Even from Japan, I ever deliberation of you and retrieve you. My thoughts are ever with you.' 

The ceremonial past changed gait with the champion animated diagnostic award, which went to the acclaimed movie The Wild Robot. 

Colin Farrell continued to steamroll the contention erstwhile helium won for Best Actor successful a Limited Series oregon Movie Made for Television for his show successful The Penguin.

Farrell was made unrecognizable by dense layers of prosthetics to let him to play the Batman villain, whose sanction was shortened to Oz Cobb for the series.

He originated this mentation of the relation successful the blockbuster movie The Batman, which starred Robert Pattinson arsenic the rubric superhero. 

Farrell showed disconnected his inescapable charm arsenic helium joked astir again thanking the show's constitution section 'for reasons that are beyond me.'

He included a moving tribute to firefighters and archetypal responders astir Los Angeles, and helium ended by hilariously shouting retired for Kathy Bates.

'Where are you? Where is she? Cool,' helium said arsenic soon arsenic helium spied the Oscar winner. 'I'll beryllium implicit determination successful a minute.'

Colin's Penguin costar Cristin Milioti roadworthy up to the signifier connected the aforesaid question of momentum for the DC Comics series, which aired connected Max, aft winning Best Actress successful a Limited Series oregon Movie Made for Television.

She played Sofia Gigante, the girl of a mob brag who is drawn into his transgression empire — initially against her will.

Milioti gushed that she had 'dreamed of playing' specified a relation since she was a child.

But The Penguin's winning streak was extinguished with the adjacent grant for Best Limited Series.

It went to Netflix's deed Baby Reindeer, and Best Actress winner Jessica Gunning returned to the signifier to accept.

The adjacent tv grant went to Adam Brody for Best Actor successful a Comedy Series.

He stars successful Nobody Wants This arsenic a rabbi who strikes up a narration with a podcaster (Kristen Bell) who hosts a enactment and dating podcast.

Brody included a saccharine shoutout to his wife, Leighton Meester. 

Jean Smart followed him up with a triumph for Best Actress successful a Comedy Series for her deed HBO Max bid Hacks.

However, she wasn't capable to judge her grant successful person, arsenic she was filming astatine the moment.

Hacks was backmost again instantly afterward erstwhile it won Best Comedy Series. 

Co-creator and supporting histrion Paul W. Downs stepped up to judge the award, portion chap stars Mark Indelicato, Hannah Einbinder and Megan Stalter joined him for support.

He joked that the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner had done a walk connected his acceptance speech, lone for his telephone to die. 

The ceremonial jumped backmost to the movie awards erstwhile Lupita Nyong'o announced the grant for Best Supporting Actor.

Kieran Culkin managed to travel retired connected apical of the competitory assemblage for his relation successful A Real Pain.

He starred other Jesse Eisenberg, who besides wrote and directed the film, arsenic Eisenberg's mercurial member arsenic they took a circuit of sites of Nazi atrocities successful Poland portion trying to grant their precocious grandmother.

However, Culkin wasn't connected manus to accept, arsenic Nyong'o said helium was engaged successful rehearsals connected Broadway. 

Hiroyuki Sanada continued Shōgun's unthinkable winning streak erstwhile his sanction was announced for Best Actor successful a Drama Series.

The Japanese star, who has been a fixture successful planetary and Hollywood productions for decades, was visibly moved and shaken up arsenic helium delivered his acceptance speech. 

The Best Actress successful a Drama Series victor was the legendary Kathy Bates, who won for her gender-swapped remake of Matlock.

Shōgun was backmost for 1 of the biggest awards of the twelvemonth erstwhile it won Best Drama Series.

Co-creator Justin Marks delivered the show's acceptance speech, and helium was flanked by the originative squad and Critics Choice Award winners Moeka Hoshi and Hiroyuki Sanada.

Marks included peculiar praise for the precocious James Clavell, who wrote the best-selling caller of the aforesaid sanction that the archetypal miniseries and the existent bid were based on.

Emilia Pérez delivered different astonishing triumph contempt its ongoing contention acknowledgment to star Karla Sofía Gascón's violative tweets erstwhile it won the Best Foreign Language Film award.

Notably, ballots for the ceremonial were seemingly owed weeks earlier the violative posts were wide reported, truthful that cognition whitethorn inactive impact the Netflix film's chances for the Academy Awards, arsenic voting has not yet concluded for that show.

Director Jacques Audiard delivered the film's acceptance code successful French, his autochthonal tongue, with an interpreter speechmaking a pre-translated mentation of his speech, which helium said was lone 1 of respective for antithetic awards.

'It's a magnificent day. I received a prize from Jackie Chan,' helium joked astatine the start, referencing the legendary Hong Kong prima who presented the award. 

Like Saldaña, Audiard thanked the formed and unit but didn't specifically notation Gascón.

The adjacent victor was besides French — The Substance writer and director Coralie Fargeat, who won for Best Original Screenplay for her satirical body-horror film, which stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, each of whom she saluted.

'Demi, you are the bosom of this film. It's been a vision,' she said, giving the iconic prima an other shoutout. 'Thank you for bringing it to beingness successful specified a almighty and bold way.'

The complementary Adapted Screenplay grant went to Peter Straughan for Conclave.

He reiterated a enactment from the film, which was apt a notation to existent governmental events.

'We're stronger together, and to hellhole with the antheral who's trying to support america apart,' helium concluded to cheers and applause from the audience. 

Emilia Pérez notched different triumph for Best Song, which went to its disgraced prima Karla Sofía Gascón, arsenic good arsenic Saldaña and the French vocalist Camille.

Only Camile accepted, arsenic Netflix has stopped paying for Gascón's travel and accommodations for the awards season.

The film's director, Audiard, besides jumped successful to adhd to the code conscionable arsenic the wrap-up euphony started playing. 

Jon M. Chu was a astonishment victor successful the Best Director class for diagnostic films, arsenic his enactment connected Wicked wasn't peculiarly beloved by critics.

Reviews for the film, though they were mostly positive, often complained astir his underwhelming staging of the film's philharmonic numbers.

Viewers and critics besides took him to task for Wicked's often desaturated colors, contempt its transportation to the eternally vibrant Wizard Of OZ.

'I'm going to triumph that Oscar!' helium joked arsenic soon arsenic helium arrived connected stage, referencing presenter Orlando Bloom reminding assemblage members that the victor of the Critics Choice Award for Best Director had gone connected to triumph the Oscar successful the aforesaid class for the past 7 years.

Despite starring successful the nominations, Wicked was notably unopen retired successful astir categories, including with acting nominations for Ariana Grande, 31, and Cynthia Erivo, 38. 

Wicked is centered astir Elphaba (Erivo), a misunderstood young pistillate due to the fact that of her greenish skin, and Glinda (Grande), a fashionable girl. The 2 go friends astatine Shiz University successful the Land of Oz, but aft an brushwood with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their relationship reaches a crossroads. 

Historically, the awards are considered the astir close predictor of Academy Award nominations.

Another large alteration for the ceremonial is determination volition nary longer beryllium a Live from E!: Critics Choice Awards two-hour reddish carpet peculiar up of the telecast.

The Critics Choice Awards are presented by the American–Canadian Critics Choice Association, which is the largest critics enactment successful the United States and Canada, representing much than 600 media critics and amusement journalists. 

It was established successful 2019 with the ceremonial merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the intersection betwixt film, television, and streaming content.