Zoe Saldana praised her fellow nominees as she accepted the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress on Friday (02.07.25). The ceremony marked the 29th annual Critics Choice Awards celebration, drawing an audience of over 1,500 industry professionals.
The 46-year-old actress beat off strong competition from Danielle Deadwyler, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Ariana Grande, Margaret Qualley and Isabella Rossellini to take home the award for her work in ‘Emilia Pérez’ at the ceremony at the Barker Hanger in Los Angeles. The historic venue has hosted numerous prestigious award ceremonies over the past decade.
She said: “To my fellow nominees, the films this year and the work you’ve all done. It’s breathtaking. I will forever be proud to be among you. Thank you to all of you. I can’t see you, but you f****** rock.”
She also shared that she tries not to pay too much attention to movie critics but added “I will listen to you all tonight and I will accept this with pride”. This marks her first major award win of the season.
“Whenever you receive a negative criticism for a role or a film, everyone says, ‘Don’t read the reviews.’ Then when you get the positive feedback, everyone says, ‘Did you read the reviews?’ But I appreciate the role of a critic. I do sometimes. I sometimes read the reviews and I internalize it, especially the really insightful and helpful feedback, like, ‘Her crying is really distracting. She’s in too many franchises,’ or my personal favorite, ‘She’s too blue.’ So I will listen to you all tonight, and I will accept this with pride. Thank you.”
“To think that ‘Emilia Pérez’ has been the little movie that could and has resonated with so many people has been an experience worth having. Thank you to my family, especially my incredible husband and my nephew, who is with me tonight. You made me, me. So thank you, and to my boys, my greatest adventure and my toughest critics. I love you. My wish for the impact of this film on audiences in our world is that I hope we can all be curious and open hearted towards each other, because you never know when you’ll have the opportunity to be a hero, and someone else’s story. So, our world is too big and too beautiful to be any other way so stay curious, stay kind and stay blue, not too blue.”
“To the entire cast and crew, the talented artists and designers and musicians, I share this with you.” The film has already grossed over $200 million worldwide, becoming one of the year’s surprise box office hits.
‘Emilia Pérez‘ also won Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song for ‘El Mal’ for Zoe, Karla Sofía Gascón and Camille. The film was shot across three continents with a diverse international cast and crew.
At the ceremony, hosted by Chelsea Handler, ‘Conclave’ and ‘Wicked’ were up for 11 awards each, while ‘Dune: Part Two’ and ‘Emilia Pérez’ had 10 nominations each. This year’s ceremony saw a record number of first-time nominees across all categories.
Critics Choice Awards 2025 winners:
MOVIES
BEST PICTURE: ‘Anora’
BEST ACTOR: Adrien Brody — ‘The Brutalist’
BEST ACTRESS: Demi Moore — ‘The Substance’
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kieran Culkin — ‘A Real Pain’
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Zoe Saldaña — ‘Emilia Pérez’
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Maisy Stella — ‘My Old Ass’
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE: ‘Conclave’
BEST DIRECTOR: Jon M. Chu — ‘Wicked’
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Coralie Fargeat — ‘The Substance’
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Peter Straughan — ‘Conclave’
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jarin Blaschke — ‘Nosferatu’
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales — ‘Wicked’
BEST EDITING: Marco Costa — ‘Challengers’
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Paul Tazewell — ‘Wicked’
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP: ‘The Substance’
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer — ‘Dune: Part Two’
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: ‘The Wild Robot’
BEST COMEDY: ‘A Real Pain’ and ‘Deadpool Wolverine’ (TIE)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: ‘Emilia Pérez’
BEST SONG: ‘El Mal’ – ‘Emilia Pérez’ — Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille
BEST SCORE: Trent Reznor Atticus Ross — ‘Challengers’
The 2025 Critics Choice Awards ceremony made history as the most-watched in the event’s history, with streaming numbers surpassing all previous records. The event also featured groundbreaking sustainable practices, including zero-waste catering and carbon-neutral production methods.
