Kieran Culkin among early winners at Oscars 2025

US actor Kieran Culkin was among the early winners at the Oscars, which are taking place in Los Angeles.

The Succession star was named best supporting actor for his performance in A Real Pain, about two cousins who travel across Poland in remembrance of their grandmother.

In his acceptance speech, Culkin said: “I have no idea how I got here, I’ve just been acting my whole life, it’s just been a part of what I do.”

He thanked the film’s writer and director Jesse Eisenberg, telling him: “Thank you for this movie, you’re a genius. I’d never say that to your face, I’ll never say it again, so soak it up.”

Culkin also paid tribute to his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong, who was nominated in the same category.

Meanwhile, Anora and Conclave, the two frontrunners for the best picture prize, both got off to a strong start, winning in the two screenplay categories.

Accepting the original screenplay prize, Anora’s director Sean Baker said: “Thank you so much for this honour”. He paid tribute to the film’s “incredible cast, who elevated everything I wrote”.

“I want to thank the sex worker community,” he continued. “They have shared their stories and life experience with me over the years. My deepest respect, thank you, I share this with you.”

Anora also won best editing, a category which often overlaps with the Academy’s top prize.

Accepting the best adapted screenplay trophy, Conclave’s British screenwriter Peter Straughan paid tribute to the writer of the novel the film is based on, saying: “Thank you Robert Harris for your beautiful book, we’re all standing on your shoulders.”

The Oscars come two months after wildfires devastated Los Angeles. The ceremony opened with a montage of film clips featuring shots of the city, concluding with the slogan: “We love LA.”

Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande then gave the first performance of the show, which is taking place at the Dolby Theatre, hosted by US comic Conan O’Brien.

Wicked received best costume design, with Paul Tazewell becoming the first black man ever to receive the award.

“I’m so proud of this,” he said in his acceptance speech. He thanked “everyone in the UK [where Wicked was filmed] for all of your beautiful work, I could not have done this without you”.

Other early winners include The Substance, for best make-up and hairstyling, and Flow, which won best animated film.

The dialogue-free Latvian film tells the story of a cat who works with other animals to survive a flood.

Its director Gints Zilbalodis said: “I’m really moved by the warm reception our film has had, and I hope it will open doors to independent animation film-makers around the world.”

Meanwhile, In The Shadow of the Cypress was named best animated short.

Its Iranian directors Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi accepted the prize just three hours after their plane landed in Los Angeles.

“Until yesterday, we hadn’t even obtained our visa, and we were totally disappointed, and now we are standing here with this statuette in our hands,” Molayemi said.

He added it was a “miracle” that they had been able to make the film given the “extraordinary circumstances of our country”.