Last night I watched the 52nd Saturn Awards show live from the Hilton Universal City in Los Angeles. The Saturn Awards is “the official ceremony of The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The Academy annually recognizes film and television artists who’ve created some of the best genre entertainment in the world.” So yeah, my kind of show.
There had been some concern about even holding the show given the devastating fires in the area. But apparently the decision was made to go ahead and many of the hosts and winners commented on what a wonderful experience it turned out to be. Lots of positivity, some jokes that hit and missed from main host Joel McHale (Animal Control).
The streaming show was on the Roku Channel (which I guess is only available through the Roku devices) and a free streaming service called Electric Now. It appears that the channel specializes in science fiction and action series (cancelled but in syndication) and movies. Picture quality was good, although production (cameras, sound, and stage management) was just below that of a Worldcon-level convention.
In general, the show was a fun watch, and the nearly 4 hours of broadcast went by quickly. The variety of award types was perhaps the broadest in any similar fannish awards event. There was no band to overplay recipients who were in danger of overstaying their welcome and a few went on a bit long. But overall presenters were great, and the recipients uniformly good. Language was definitely adult, as a number of F-bombs were dropped and some of the audio was dropped out (so “worse than an F-Bomb” or maybe something legally actionable?).
There was a lot of love in the house for the first responders who fought the four fires in the last few weeks. And one recipient (I missed the name and haven’t been able to find it on the net) had a great line about (and I’m summarizing) “yes, you should make donations to the recovery efforts, but especially for the people in this room right now if you want to help you should base your next project in Los Angeles.”
The other memorable line from host McHale, as the show went into its 3rd hour, went something like “well, we’re down to the last few awards and if you’re planning on attending the next Saturn Awards show just stay in your seats as we’ll be starting that up next.”
Anyway, here are the winners. You can see the whole list of nominees here.
Saturn Awards 2025 winners
Film Awards
Science Fiction Film – Dune: Part Two
Fantasy Film – Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Horror Film – Alien: Romulus
Action / Adventure Film – Deadpool & Wolverine
Thriller Film – Strange Darling
Animated Film – The Wild Robot
Independent Film – Late Night With The Devil
International Film – Godzilla Minus One
Film Direction – Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two
Film Screenwriting – Osgood Perkins, Longlegs
Actor in a Film – Nicolas Cage, Dream Scenario as Paul Matthews
Actress In A Film – Demi Moore, The Substance as Elisabeth Sparkle
Supporting Actor in a Film – Hugh Jackman, Deadpool & Wolverine as Logan / Wolverine
Supporting Actress in a Film – Rebecca Ferguson, Dune: Part Two as Lady Jessica
Younger Performer in a Film – Jenna Ortega, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as Astrid Deetz
Editing – Deadpool & Wolverine, Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid
Film Music – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Danny Elfman
Film Production Design – Dune: Part Two, Patrice Vermette
Film Costume Design – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Colleen Atwood
Film Make Up – The Substance, Pierre-Olivier Persin
Film Visual / Special Effects – Dune: Part Two, Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefze
Television Awards
Science Fiction Series – Fallout
Fantasy Television Series – House Of The Dragon
Horror Television Series – From
Action / Thriller Television Series – Cobra Kai
Animated Television Series or Special – Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Superhero Television Series – Agatha All Along
Television Presentation – The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Actor In A Television Series – Colin Farrell, The Penguin as Oswald “Oz” Cobb / The Penguin
Actress In A Television Series – Rosario Dawson – Ahsoka as Ahsoka Tano
Supporting Actor in a Television Series – Antony Starr, The Boys as Homelander
Supporting Actress in a Television Series – Cristin Milioti, The Penguin as Sofia Falcone
Young Performer in a Television Series – Xolo Maridueña, Cobra Kai as Miguel Diaz
Guest Star In A Television Series – Mark Hamill, The Fall Of The House of Usher as Arthur Gordon Pym
Home Entertainment Awards
4K Home Media Release – Saw X
Classic Film Home Media Release – Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Film Home Media Collection Release – Batman: 85th Anniversary Collection
Special Achievement Awards
Spotlight Award – Fallout
Dan Curtis Legacy Award – Superman & Lois
Lifetime Achievement Award – William Shatner
George Pal Memorial Award – Back To The Future
Robert Forster Artist’s Award – Hiroyuki Sanada
Lance Reddick Legacy Award – Laurence Fishburne