The best and worst moments from the 2025 Oscars We're still not over that opening number. By Samantha Highfill Samantha Highfill Samantha is a writer based in Los Angeles. Television is her one true love, and she tweets about it. A lot. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on March 2, 2025 11:13PM EST Comments Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande perform at the 2025 Oscars. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty There's no other night in Hollywood quite like the Oscars: the red carpet looks, the acceptance speeches, the unexpected reunions. Okay, to be fair, there are plenty of nights like that in what Schitt's Creek's Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) once deemed her favorite season — awards. But the Oscars always bring a little something extra special to close out the season, and this year was no different. We've rounded up the very best (and worst) moments from the 2025 broadcast, hosted by Conan O'Brien. 2025 Oscars winners announced: See the full list, from Mikey Madison's huge Best Actress win to Anora domination 01 of 08 BEST: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande defy gravity Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande perform at the Oscars. Kevin Winter/Getty It's almost as if the Wizard of Oz had granted us our heart's desire with that opening number! If Ariana Grande singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in a ruby red (slipper) dress wasn't enough, Cynthia Erivo then took the stage to perform "Home." But because things could only get better, the Wicked costars then joined hands to sing the best part of "Defying Gravity" (the end of the song), when Glinda steps to the side as Elphaba takes to the sky and delivers the greatest riff of all time. Now that's how you open the Oscars! Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo open 2025 Oscars with gravity-defying Wizard of Oz medley 02 of 08 BEST: Adam Sandler is... Adam Sandler Adam Sandler at the Oscars. Photo by Rob Latour/Shutterstock Adam Sandler will always be known, first and foremost, for his comedic skills. But let's be honest: His wardrobe isn't far behind. Sandler combined both of those things for a bit during host Conan O'Brien's opening monologue when he showed up in the crowd wearing basketball shorts and a hoodie. "You're dressed like a guy playing video poker at 2 a.m.," O'Brien cracked. Sandler was so offended he stormed out of the Dolby Theatre, but not before inviting everyone to join him for a game of 5-on-5 basketball and giving Timothée a quick "Chalameeeetttt!" Whoopi Goldberg, Demi Moore embrace during sweet Ghost reunion on Oscars red carpet 03 of 08 BEST: Kieran Culkin reveals he wants four kids Kieran Culkin at the Oscars. Kevin Winter/Getty Kieran Culkin might've won more than an Oscar tonight. The A Real Pain star took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and while accepting the award, he had a very specific story he wanted to tell involving his wife, Jazz Charton. "About a year ago, I was on a stage like this and I very stupidly publicly said that I want a third kid from her because she said if I won the award, she would give me the kid," Culkin said. "Turns out she said that because she didn't think I was going to win." But apparently, after that awards show — which was where he won an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series — Culkin revealed to his wife that he really wanted four kids, to which his wife said, "I will give you four when you win an Oscar." So, as he reminded her tonight, "Love of my life, ye of little faith, no pressure, I love you, I'm really sorry I did this again, and let's get cracking on those kids. What do you say?" 04 of 08 WORST: That confusing Bond tribute Margaret Qualley dances at the 2025 Oscars. Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Listen, we all love James Bond! And we can absolutely get behind a James Bond tribute, particularly given the recent news that the Broccoli family has given creative control of the franchise to Amazon MGM. But what...was that? The video montage made sense, but why did it then segue into Margaret Qualley dancing on stage, followed by Blackpink's Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye singing three Bond theme songs — especially after the Oscars decided to cut musical performances of all the Best Original Song nominees. Truly, the only question we're left with is: Why? James Bond Oscars tribute brings out Doja Cat, Raye, and Lisa of Blackpink for theme song medley 05 of 08 BEST: LAFD tells jokes Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department on stage at the Oscars. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty At this point, we've seen just about every awards show this year honor the courageous members of the Los Angeles Fire Department and rightfully so. The Oscars decided to take things to the next level. First, O'Brien brought members of the LAFD out on stage, at which point they received a standing ovation from the crowd. But then, O'Brien decided to involve the firefighters a bit more by having them read jokes from the teleprompter — jokes that Conan wasn't brave enough to tell himself like, "Our hearts go out to all of those who have lost their homes — and I'm talking about the producers of Joker 2." They seemed to have fun, and we were happy to see them do more than wave from their seats. 06 of 08 WORST: Hulu outage Hulu. Hulu Here's the thing about broadcasting the Oscars: You need to be prepared for a lot of people tuning in. And Hulu dropped the ball early on in the show when some users found themselves unable to watch. According to DownDetector.com, the outage affected more than 30,000 people. Cut to the end of the show, and for some users, the livestream cut off during Sean Baker's Best Director acceptance speech, with two categories to go! Guess they didn't prepare for the show to run over? Get it together, Hulu! 07 of 08 BEST: June Squibb is always the best June Squibb and Scarlett Johannson at the 2025 Oscars. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty This could also be filed under "WORST: No standing ovation for June Squibb," because truly, why wasn't everyone in that room on their feet the second that the legendary June Squibb walked onto that stage?! Even when she's just there to present, Squibb leaves a mark, and this time, it was with a silly little bit about how incredible makeup artists are. "I'm actually being played by Bill Skarsgård right now," the 95-year-old actress told fellow presenter Scarlett Johansson. "Half the time you see me in public, it's Bill Skarsgård. The real June Squibb is at home with a book right now." It was a small bit, but one that made the night just that much better. 08 of 08 BEST: A legend pays tribute to a legend Morgan Freeman pays tribute to Gene Hackman at the 2025 Oscars. Kevin Winter/Getty The recent death of two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman shook Hollywood, so it was only fitting that the ceremony found a way to pay tribute to the French Connection actor. To do so, they brought out Hackman's Unforgiven and Under Suspicion costar Morgan Freeman to start off the In Memoriam. "Gene always said, 'I don't think about legacy, I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work,'" Freeman said. "So I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you'll be remembered for that and for so much more. Rest in peace, my friend." Close Read More: The Awardist Oscars