Sean Baker’s independent film Anora was the big winner at the 2025 Academy Awards, taking home five Oscar accolades, including best picture.
Though many expected Demi Moore to win best actress for her performance in sci-fi horror The Substance, Anora’s lead, Mikey Madison, secured the nod. Baker won best director, while the romantic comedy thriller also swept best original screenplay and best editing. Winning all four awards he was up for, Baker is now tied with Walt Disney’s record for the most Oscar wins by a single person in a single night.
Anora’s win announced the curtain call on a largely unpredictable award season. A week on from winning best actor at the SAGs for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, Timothée Chalamet was pipped at the post by Adrien Brody forThe Brutalist at the Oscars. Meanwhile, Anora beat front runners including the papal thriller Conclave (best picture at the BAFTAs) and the historical epic The Brutalist, which won big at the Golden Globes, to secure best picture.
Other wins were more predictable, with Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana winning best supporting actor and best supporting actress for their respective roles in A Real Pain and Emilia Pérez.
After accepting the award for best picture, Baker ended his speech with: “Long live independent film!” The screwball film was made on a budget of $6 million (fellow nominees Wicked and Dune: Part Two had budgets that exceeded more than $150 million) and was critically acclaimed across the board. Anora follows an exotic dancer who marries a Russian oligarch’s son, and both Madison and Baker thanked sex workers who consulted on the film, saying they could never have made it without them.
“I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience,” Madison said in her speech.
Here’s where to watch the Oscar winner Anora at home, plus everything you need to know about the movie.
Where to watch ‘Anora’
Anora landed in UK cinemas in November last year, which means it’s available for streaming at home now. You can rent the Oscar winner for £4.99 (rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started) or buy the movie for £11.99 on Prime Video.
What is ‘Anora’ about?
A subversion of Hollywood romantic comedies (think of it as an anti-Pretty Woman), Sean Baker’s film follows a young sex worker from Brooklyn called Anora, or Ani for short. English speaking but also fluent in Russian, she dances at a strip club while moonlighting as a sex worker. Smart and tough, Ani meets the spoilt but sweet son of a Russian oligarch in the club, accepting an offer to be his girlfriend for the week.
What follows is a whirlwind but ultimately doomed romance, as the two impulsively marry in a Las Vegas wedding. Once news reaches Russia of their nuptials, her Cinderella fairytale is threatened. Part thriller, romance and comedy caper, it’s three movies in one and Madison steals the show as the flawed, gritty heroine.
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