'Anora' scores 5 Oscars including best picture

There were a lot of smiling faces at the Oscars but one had to stand out — Sean Baker saw his film “Anora” go home with the top film prize and he took four for himself. Its star Mikey Madison was crowned best actress.

Oscar voters, eschewing blockbuster contenders like “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two,” instead added “Anora” — which has one of the lowest box-office totals ever for a best picture winner with $16 million in ticket sales.

In personally winning four Oscars (picture, directing, editing, screenplay), Baker tied the mark held by Walt Disney, who won for four different films in 1954.

Eight of the 10 movies nominated for best picture came away with at least one award in a ceremony that favored song and dance over strong political statements.

Twenty-two years after winning best actor for “The Pianist,” Adrien Brody won the same Oscar again for his performance as another Holocaust survivor in Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.” 

On Sunday, firefighters who battled recent wildfires got applauded, Mick Jagger handed out the best original song Oscar and John Lithgow was tasked with looking “slightly disappointed” when speeches ran long. One highlight was Timothée Chalamet — literally. His yellow suit got more than one comment.

Zoe Saldaña was the favorite but that didn’t diminish her emotional win.

After accepting the Oscar for best supporting actress for her work in “Emilia Pérez,” Saldaña spoke emotionally about her family and her grandmother, tearing up during her speech.

The accolade comes after Saldaña swept awards season, taking home the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, BAFTA and SAG awards for playing lawyer Rita Mora Castro.

Host Conan O’Brien took a back seat at the Oscars’ opening number, ceding the floor to a “Wizard of Oz”-themed, 8-minute musical medley led by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Wildfire-battered Los Angeles, on this night, stood in for Oz, with the graphic “We Love LA” showing after the pair were finished. The show began with a medley of film moments that used Los Angeles as a backdrop, including “La La Land,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Iron Man 2” and “Mulholland Drive.”

Then it was O’Brien’s turn, comically pulling himself — and a missing shoe — from within the body of Demi Moore, in a take on her film “The Substance.”

While accepting an Emmy Award in January 2024, Kieran Culkin used his time onstage to plead with his wife for more kids. On Sunday, he said that he and Jazz Charton made a deal in the parking lot at the Emmys: If he won an Oscar, she’d not only give him a third, they could plan for a fourth. 

“I just have to say this to you, Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith,” he said as the crowd roared. “No pressure, I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again. Now let’s get cracking on those kids, what do you say?”

The moment got an echo later in the night when “I’m Not A Robot” director Victoria Warmerdam said, "to my producer and partner in life, Trent: I’m not having your babies because of this statue,” she said after winning best live action short.

The in memoriam section would honor such luminaries as Gene Hackman, Terri Garr, Donald Sutherland, Louis Gossett Jr, Shelley Duvall, David Lynch, Bob Newhart and James Earl Jones. A separate section in the telecast honored Quincy Jones.

“Flow” beat “The Wild Robot” for best animated feature film.




(Photo Jordan Strauss/Invision via AP)