Small-Budget Film Anora Shocks Hollywood With Big Wins At 97th Oscars, Director Sean Baker Matches Walt Disney's Record

In a night that celebrated the power of small-budget filmmaking, "Anora", a bold and unconventional drama, won big at the 97th Academy Awards.

Directed by Sean Baker, the film—about an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch took home five Oscars, including Best Picture, according to report by AP.

Despite costing only $6 million to make, Anora defeated major Hollywood blockbusters like "Wicked and Dune: Part Two". With just $16 million at the box office, it is one of the lowest-earning films ever to win Best Picture.

The victory follows a trend of the Academy honouring independent films, much like "Everything Everywhere All at Once", "CODA", and "Nomadland".

Sean Baker himself was the night’s biggest winner, claiming four Oscars—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Original Screenplay. This historic achievement ties him with Walt Disney, who won four Oscars in a single year in 1954.

Baker used his speech to advocate for the importance of cinemas, saying, “Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theatre. Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen.” He ended with a passionate call: “Long live independent film!”

Mikey Madison, the lead actress of Anora, won Best Actress, beating favourite Demi Moore (The Substance). Other major acting awards went to Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), and Zoë Saldaña (Emilia Pérez).

One of the night’s biggest surprises came in the Best Animated Feature category, where the Latvian film "Flow"—a dialogue-free environmental parable—beat DreamWorks’ "The Wild Robot". Director Gints Zilbalodis gave a lighthearted speech, thanking his “cats and dogs.”

Netflix’s highly nominated Emilia Pérez won only two awards—Best Original Song and Best Supporting Actress for "Zoë Saldaña". She became the first American of Dominican origin to win an Oscar, stating, “I know I will not be the last.”

Among other winners, "The Brutalist" took home awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, while "Dune: Part Two" won Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.

"Wicked" won Best Production Design and Best Costume Design, where designer Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win in the category. His historic achievement received a standing ovation.

Politics were mostly avoided during the ceremony, but the documentary "No Other Land", about Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

Conan O’Brien hosted the Oscars for the first time, winning over audiences with his humour.

However, the glitz and glamour couldn’t hide the fact that Hollywood is facing a difficult time. Box office revenues are still struggling post-pandemic, and last year’s strikes disrupted production schedules.