When a film sneaks into the Academy discussions ahead of schedule, it is the industry’s not-so-subtle way of declaring a smash hit. And this year, before the Oscars curtain lifts, a few names have already taken center stage but none louder than the critically acclaimed Anora, led by Mikey Madison. Award season may be a rat race where stars and creatives claw their way to the top, but Anora waltzed in, prompting Hollywood’s biggest directors, who had nothing to do with it, to applaud. While the Oscars are still on the horizon, Anora made waves with a hat-trick in the meantime.

Not one, not two, but with three wins over the award season weekend, Anora just sent shivers down the spines of its competition.

After being delayed twice due to Los Angeles wildfires, the 30th Critics Choice Awards became the first pit stop during the award season weekend. Outpacing 10 nominations single-handedly, including The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, The Substance, and Wicked, Sean Baker’s Anora starring Mikey Madison clinched the top award at the ceremony with the Best Picture win. 

This is reportedly the first time in Critics Choice history that a film bagged the top award and nothing else. However, Baker was far from done. At the 2025 Producers Guild Awards on Saturday in LA’s Fairmont Century Plaza, Anora took home the top prize for the director. To secure a spine-chilling hat-trick, Baker also was awarded the Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film at Beverly Hilton, leaving his team with reasons for thrice the celebration this weekend.

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While Sean Baker reveled in the fruits of success Anora brought with the award season picking up pace, the director also seized the opportunity to highlight the star of the show, Mikey Madison.

As Sean Baker took home the third win over the weekend, despite the controversy that followed Anora and Mikey Madison, the director made the most of the opportunity to endorse the stars who made it all possible. He showered gratitude to his directorial team, cast and crew, alongside the producers of Anora. “Working with [Madison] has changed the way I will be directing actors in the future,” Baker said.

Baker took a trip down memory lane when Anora was just a fragment of his imagination, recounting the “incredible ideas” Madison brought with her skills as complementary. The filmmaker recalled what she wanted to bring to the plate for this production, and eventually what she brought to make the award season buzz with Anora through and through. While Baker is super confident about the highlights that lie ahead for Madison, whether Oscar could be one of them is the burning question on every mind.

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What do you think of Mikey Madison's award-season hat-trick with Anora? Let us know in the comments below!