Surprising movies and their makers who won a Critics' Choice Award in 2025

The Critics' Choice Awards gala was delayed several times due to the Los Angeles wildfires but finally took place on February 7, 2025. Despite its unusual date, the ceremony was as festive and well-attended as ever. See which movies and their stars have won awards this year.

Winner:
'Anora'

Even though it had won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered in May 2024, 'Anora' was a dark horse at the Critics' Choice Awards. Other favorites on the road for the Oscars had also been nominated there, such as 'The Brutalist,' 'Emilia Pérez', and 'Conclave'.

List of nominated films:
'A Complete Unknown'
'The Brutalist'
'Conclave'
'Dune: Part Two'
'Emilia Pérez'
'Nickel Boys'
'Sing Sing'
'The Substance'
'Wicked'

Winner:
Adrien Brody – 'The Brutalist'

The award for this actor was less surprising, as he had also won the Golden Globe and is in the running for an Academy Award.

Nominees:
Timothée Chalamet – 'A Complete Unknown'
Daniel Craig – 'Queer'
Colman Domingo – 'Sing Sing'
Ralph Fiennes – 'Conclave'
Hugh Grant – 'Heretic'

Winner:
Demi Moore – 'The Substance'

Another big gesture of recognition for Demi Moore after her iconic Golden Globe win.

Nominees:
Cynthia Erivo – 'Wicked'
Karla Sofía Gascón – 'Emilia Pérez'
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – 'Hard Truths'
Angelina Jolie – 'Maria'
Mikey Madison – 'Anora'

Winner:
Kieran Culkin – 'A Real Pain'

Nominees:
Yura Borisov – 'Anora'
Clarence Maclin – 'Sing Sing'
Edward Norton – 'A Complete Unknown'
Guy Pearce – 'The Brutalist'
Denzel Washington – 'Gladiator II'

Winner:
Zoe Saldaña – 'Emilia Pérez'

Nominees:
Danielle Deadwyler – 'The Piano Lesson'
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – 'Nickel Boys'
Ariana Grande – 'Wicked'
Margaret Qualley – 'The Substance'
Isabella Rossellini – 'Conclave'

Winner:
Maisy Stella – 'My Old A**'

Nominees:
Alyla Browne – 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'
Elliott Heffernan – 'Blitz'
Izaac Wang – 'Didi'
Alisha Weir – 'Abigail'
Zoe Ziegler – 'Janet Planet'

Winner:
'Conclave' (image, Focus Features)

Nominated:
'Anora'
'Emilia Pérez'
'Saturday Night'
'Sing Sing'
'Wicked'

Winner:
Jon M. Chu – 'Wicked'

Nominees:
Jacques Audiard – “Emilia Pérez”
Sean Baker – “Anora”
Edward Berger – “Conclave”
Brady Corbet – “The Brutalist”
Coralie Fargeat – “The Substance”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Denis Villeneuve – “Dune: Part Two”

Two winners, tied:
'A Real Pain'
'Deadpool & Wolverine' (image)

Other nominated films:
'Hit Man'
'My Old A**'
'Saturday Night'
'Thelma'

Winner:
'The Wild Robot' (image, with voice actress Lupita Nyong'o)

'Flow'
'Inside Out 2'
'Memoir of a Snail'
'Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl'

Winner:
'Emilia Pérez'

'All We Imagine as Light'
'Flow'
'I’m Still Here'
'Kneecap'
'The Seed of the Sacred Fig'

Winner:
Coralie Fargeat – 'The Substance' (image, middle)

Nominated
Sean Baker – 'Anora'
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David – 'September 5'
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – 'The Brutalist'
Jesse Eisenberg – 'A Real Pain'
Justin Kuritzkes – 'Challengers'

Winner:
Hair and Makeup Team – 'The Substance' (image, Mubi)

Nominated:
Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, Neal Scanlan – 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'
Hair and Makeup Team – 'Dune: Part Two'
Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – 'Wicked'
Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White – 'Nosferatu'
Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, Aaron Saucier – 'A Different Man'

Winner:
Peter Straughan – 'Conclave' (image, second left)

Nominated:
Jacques Audiard – 'Emilia Pérez'
Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox – 'Wicked'
Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley – 'Sing Sing'
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – 'Nickel Boys'
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – 'Dune: Part Two'

Winner:
Jarin Blaschke – 'Nosferatu' (image, Focus Features)

Nominees:
Alice Brooks – 'Wicked'
Lol Crawley – 'The Brutalist'
Stéphane Fontaine – 'Conclave'
Greig Fraser – 'Dune: Part Two'
Jomo Fray – 'Nickel Boys'

Winner:
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – 'Wicked' (image, Universal Pictures)

Nominees:
Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia – 'The Brutalist'
Suzie Davies – 'Conclave'
Craig Lathrop – 'Nosferatu'
Arthur Max, Jille Azis, Elli Griff – 'Gladiator II'
Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau – 'Dune: Part Two'

Winner:
Paul Tazewell – 'Wicked'

Nominees:
Lisy Christl – 'Conclave'
Linda Muir – 'Nosferatu'
Massimo Cantini Parrini – 'Maria'
Jacqueline West – 'Dune: Part Two'
Janty Yates, Dave Crossman – 'Gladiator II'

Winner:
'Dune: Part Two' (image, Warner media )

Nominated:
'Gladiator II'
'Wicked'
'Better Man'
'The Substance'
'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'

Winner:
'El Mal' – 'Emilia Pérez' – by Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille

Nominated:
'Beautiful That Way' – 'The Last Showgirl' – by Miley Cyrus
'Compress/ Repress' – 'Challengers' – by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
'Harper and Will Go West' – 'Will & Harper' – by Kristen Wiig
'Kiss the Sky' – 'The Wild Robot' – by Maren Morris
'Mi Camino' – 'Emilia Pérez' – by Selena Gomez

Winners:
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – 'Challengers'

This duo of talented musicians also won a Critics' Choice Award in 2011 for 'The Social Network' and one in 2021 for 'Soul'. In 2025, they won a Golden Globe (image) for the score of 'Challengers'.

Nominees:
Volker Bertelmann – 'Conclave'
Daniel Blumberg – 'The Brutalist'
Kris Bowers – 'The Wild Robot'
Clément Ducol & Camille – 'Emilia Pérez'
Hans Zimmer – 'Dune: Part Two'

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