One of this year’s most intensely debated moments at the 2025 Academy Awards was the five-win sweep of categories by independent film company Neon’s “Anora,” directed by Sean Baker, which walked away from the night with Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Actress. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in nominations, wins, and sweeps at the Academy Awards by independent film companies. Anora dominated the 2025 Awards, Neon’s “Parasite,” directed by Bong Joon Ho, took four Oscars home in 2020, and A24’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, won seven awards at the 2023 ceremony. It would appear that there has been a very recent surge of recognition for independent movies, and their growth has been exponential.
Independent film companies have been thriving in this decade. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many major studios experienced delays while in the midst of production for several high-budget blockbuster films. However, as most independent films feature small production teams, the turnarounds for them have been much shorter, and, with the monumental rise of streaming services, much more of them have been able to flood the market.
While an oversaturation of available film can be daunting, and fatigue can set in quickly, indie movies don’t face the same challenges major studios do when mass producing movies. Due to the expansive nature of arthouses like Neon and A24, multiple projects with differing directors and unique styles can be produced at the same time, while feeling nothing alike. For example, A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” a sports drama on the life of Mark Kerr starring Dwayne Johnson, was produced alongside their crime thriller “Highest 2 Lowest,” starring Denzel Washington. The vastness of these companies allow for these drastically different movies to be produced at the same time, without compromising any quality.
Even though independent film is experiencing a lot of acclaim at the Academy Awards, and has many quality benefits, it hasn’t yet reached the peak of audiences it has the potential to. Keri Putnam, the former CEO of Sundance Institute, published the “US Independent Film Audience & Landscape” study, which details how, while 36.7 million American viewers currently watch indie films and documentaries in theaters or at home, the market of interest goes as far as to reach 77 million viewers across the nation. “People are looking for alternatives,” Putnam said in an interview with IndieWire. “It doesn’t mean they’re dropping the mainstream ones, but maybe they’re looking for niche choices. They’re looking for choices that meet their interests in other ways.”
The critical acclaim and growth these arthouses have been experiencing is massive. “Anora”s sweep of the 2025 Academy Awards this year, has been a testament to the more-than favorable reception. Additionally, the slate of new movies planned for the rest of the year sets independent film up for a strong finish to the year; A24’s next highly anticipated film, titled “Marty Supreme,” stars Timothée Chalamet and Tyler, The Creator in a sports drama based around ping-pong, releasing the holiday season of this year
