Best Documentary Film: The Salt of the Earth
- 1st nomination and win for Wim Wenders & Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

Best Directorial Debut Film: Nightcrawler
- 1st nomination and win for Dan Gilroy.

Best Animated Film: The LEGO Movie
- 1st nomination and win for Phil Lord & Christopher Miller.
- 1st CG non-motion-capture film to win in this category.

Best Visual Effects: Interstellar
- 1st nomination & win for Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter & Scott R. Fisher.
- 1st win for Double Negative, following Weta, MPC & Framestore.

Best Song: "Everything is AWESOME!!!" (The LEGO Movie)
- 2d win for an animated film in this category.
- 2d win for "The LEGO Movie", 1st time that the film awarded for Best Song has several wins.

Best Score: Under the Skin
- 1st nomination and win for Mica Levi, for her 1st original soundtrack !
- For the 3rd time in a row, the award goes to newbie composers (following "Beasts of the Southern Wild" & "Her").

Best Sound Design: Whiplash
- 1st nomination & win for Thomas Curley, Craig Mann & Ben Wilkins.

Best Hair & Make-Up: Guardians of the Galaxy
- 1st win for David White & Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou.
- David White was previously nominated in 2011 for "Captain America: The First Avenger".
- 16th nomination & 1st win for a Marvel film.

Best Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
- 1st nomination & win for Milena Canonero.

Best Cinematography: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- 3rd nomination & win for Emmanuel Lubezki!
- He won last year for "Gravity", and in 2011 for "The Tree of Life".

Best Editing: Whiplash
- 1st nomination & win for Tom Cross.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Gone Girl
- 1st nomination & win for Gillian Flynn, for her screenwriting debut.
- This is the first time the winner adapted his/her own material.

Best Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
- 1st nomination & win for Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness.

Breakthrough Actress: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle)
- Mbatha-Raw (21) also starred this year in "Beyond the Lights".

Breakthrough Actor: Jack O'Connell (Starred Up)
- O'Connell (24) also starred this year in "Unbroken" & "'71".
- Only the 3rd time that an acting win is for a film's only nomination (ditto Mbatha-Raw).

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)
- 1st nomination & win.
- This year, she starred in three nominated films: "Snowpiercer", "Only Lovers Left Alive" & "The Grand Budapest Hotel".

Best Supporting Actor: Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
- 1st nomination & win.

Best Actress: Julianne Moore (Maps to the Stars)
- 1st nomination & win.
- Won Best Actress in Cannes.

Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
- 1st nomination & win.

Best Director: Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
- 1st nomination & win.
- For the first time, a film wins directing, acting & writing awards.

Best Film: Boyhood
- 1st nomination & win for Cathleen Sutherland.
- 1st win for Richard Linklater: he was also nominated for writing & directing "Boyhood".
- For the 4th time in a row, a one-word-titled movie wins the big prize!