The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as the Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2004. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and was directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Chris Rock hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, California, held on February 12, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Scarlett Johansson.
Million Dollar Baby won four awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included The Aviator with five awards, The Incredibles and Ray with two, and Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Mighty Times: The Children's March, The Motorcycle Diaries, Ryan, The Sea Inside, Sideways, Spider-Man 2, and Wasp with one. The telecast garnered over 42 million viewers in the United States alone.
Winners and nominees[]
Best Picture[]
- Million Dollar Baby
- The Aviator
- Finding Neverland
- Ray
- Sideways
Best Director[]
- Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby
- Martin Scorsese – The Aviator
- Taylor Hackford – Ray
- Alexander Payne – Sideways
- Mike Leigh – Vera Drake
Best Actor[]
- Jamie Foxx – Ray as Ray Charles
- Don Cheadle – Hotel Rwanda as Paul Rusesabagina
- Johnny Depp – Finding Neverland as J. M. Barrie
- Leonardo DiCaprio – The Aviator as Howard Hughes
- Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby as Frankie Dunn
Best Actress[]
- Hilary Swank – Million Dollar Baby as Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald
- Annette Bening – Being Julia as Julia Lambert
- Catalina Sandino Moreno – Maria Full of Grace as María Álvarez
- Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake as Vera Rose Drake
- Kate Winslet – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Clementine Kruczynski
Best Supporting Actor[]
- Morgan Freeman – Million Dollar Baby as Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris
- Alan Alda – The Aviator as Owen Brewster
- Thomas Haden Church – Sideways as Jack Cole
- Jamie Foxx – Collateral as Max Durocher
- Clive Owen – Closer as Larry Gray
Best Supporting Actress[]
- Cate Blanchett – The Aviator as Katharine Hepburn
- Laura Linney – Kinsey as Clara McMillen
- Virginia Madsen – Sideways as Maya Randall
- Sophie Okonedo – Hotel Rwanda as Tatiana Rusesabagina
- Natalie Portman – Closer as Alice Ayres/Jane Jones