Christopher Nolan’s brooding atomic drama “Oppenheimer” was the big winner at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday night, dominating the ceremony with a commanding 7 victories including the most prestigious categories of Best Picture and Best Director.
Nolan finally claimed Oscar glory after years of puzzling snubs, paying tribute to cinema’s rich 100+ year history and expressing gratitude that the Academy considers him “meaningful” to that journey.
Lead actor Cillian Murphy also earned his first Oscar playing the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer, the enigmatic physicist grappling with the moral consequences of developing the nuclear bomb.
In an emotional speech, Murphy called for honouring “the peacemakers everywhere” while praising Nolan and the ensemble cast. Supporting Actor went to Robert Downey Jr. for his vengeful bureaucrat Lewis Strauss, with Downey joking about his “terrible childhood” and thanking his wife for loving him “back to life.”
Complex historical dramas tackling sobering themes dominated across categories, with Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust psychodrama “The Zone of Interest” winning International Feature. Glazer condemned the Gaza occupation and Middle East unrest, asking “how do we resist” the “dehumanization” still occurring globally.
Meanwhile the Ukrainian documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” scored Best Documentary with an urgent plea for continued support against Russian aggression.
On the acting front, Emma Stone claimed Best Actress for the second time in 7 years for her feral yet philosophical performance in black comedy “Poor Things,” fighting back tears in a broken dress. She movingly thanked director Yorgos Lanthimos for gifting her such a “primordial” character in Bella Baxter. Supporting Actress went to newcomer Da’Vine Joy Randolph for raw grief drama “The Holdovers,” praising voters for “seeing me.”
The lengthy ceremony unfolded against the backdrop of a rocky period for Hollywood, as Kimmel’s hosting sought to spotlight the below-the-line crews who refused to cross picket lines during last year’s strikes over streaming residuals and safety standards.
Other winners included young phenom Billie Eilish for her “Barbie” song and animation legend Hayao Miyazaki for “The Boy and the Heron”, while Greta Gerwig’s directing snub sparked outrage.
With acclaimed prestiges contenders like “Oppenheimer” dominating the headlines rather than popular crowdpleasers, the Oscars hoped to reverse declining ratings which sank to a record low of 16 million last year.
But the night undoubtedly belonged to Nolan’s magnum opus finally receiving his due, even as weighty themes like nuclear apocalypse and regional unrest permeated the discussion of Hollywood’s streaming losses and strike-ridden labour unrest formed an undercurrent.
In the ceremony’s most bizarre moment, host Jimmy Kimmel closed out the 3.5 hour telecast by jokingly reading aloud a scathing social media review from controversial former President Donald Trump.
Kimmel clapped back alluding to Trump’s ongoing criminal probes and lawsuits, as the polarizing former White House resident slammed the Oscars as “less than average.”
After years of puzzling Academy snubs for critical and commercial hits, Nolan’s incumbent Oscar haul for “Oppenheimer” cements his reputation as an ambitious auteur willing to tackle complex ideas with blockbuster grandeur.
By dominating Hollywood’s biggest night with 7 trophies including the prestigious Best Picture and Directing awards, Nolan’s sprawling atomic epic etched itself as one of the most honored and socially relevant Best Picture winners of recent vintage.
The following is the complete list of nominees and the winners of the 2024 Academy Awards:
Best Picture
- “American Fiction,” Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, producers
- “Anatomy of a Fall,” Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, producers
- “Barbie,” David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, producers
- “The Holdovers,” Mark Johnson, producer
- “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, producers
- “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers
- “Oppenheimer,” Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, producers (WINNER)
- “Past Lives,” David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, producers
- “Poor Things,” Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, producers
- “The Zone of Interest,” James Wilson, producer
Best Director
- Justine Triet — “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Martin Scorsese — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Christopher Nolan — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)
- Yorgos Lanthimos — “Poor Things”
- Jonathan Glazer — “The Zone of Interest”
Actor in a Leading Role
- Bradley Cooper — “Maestro”
- Colman Domingo — “Rustin”
- Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers”
- Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)
- Jeffrey Wright — “American Fiction”
Actress in a Leading Role
- Annette Bening — “Nyad”
- Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Sandra Hüller — “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Carey Mulligan — “Maestro”
- Emma Stone — “Poor Things” (WINNER)
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Sterling K. Brown — “American Fiction”
- Robert De Niro – “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Robert Downey Jr. — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)
- Ryan Gosling — “Barbie”
- Mark Ruffalo — “Poor Things”
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Emily Blunt — “Oppenheimer”
- Danielle Brooks — “The Color Purple”
- America Ferrera – “Barbie”
- Jodie Foster — “Nyad”
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers” (WINNER)
Adapted Screenplay
- “American Fiction,” written for the screen by Cord Jefferson (WINNER)
- “Barbie,” written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
- “Oppenheimer,” written for the screen by Christopher Nolan
- “Poor Things,” screenplay by Tony McNamara
- “The Zone of Interest,” written by Jonathan Glazer
Original Screenplay
- “Anatomy of a Fall,” screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari (WINNER)
- “The Holdovers,” written by David Hemingson
- “Maestro,” written by Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer
- “May December,” screenplay by Samy Burch; story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik
- “Past Lives,” written by Celine Song
Cinematography
- “El Conde” – Edward Lachman
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Rodrigo Prieto
- “Maestro” – Matthew Libatique
- “Oppenheimer” – Hoyte van Hoytema (WINNER)
- “Poor Things” – Robbie Ryan
Original Song
- “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot,” music and lyric by Diane Warren
- “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
- “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” music and lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
- “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” music and lyric by Scott George
- “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (WINNER)
Costume Design
- “Barbie” – Jacqueline Durran
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Jacqueline West
- “Napoleon” – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
- “Oppenheimer” – Ellen Mirojnick
- “Poor Things” – Holly Waddington (WINNER)
Sound
- “The Creator,” Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
- “Maestro,” Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
- “Oppenheimer,” Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
- “The Zone of Interest,” Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn (WINNER)
Original Score
- “American Fiction” – Laura Karpman
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” John Williams
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Robbie Robertson
- “Oppenheimer” – Ludwig Göransson (WINNER)
- “Poor Things” – Jerskin Fendrix
Live Action Short Film
- “The After,” Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham
- “Invincible,” Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron
- “Knight of Fortune,” Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk
- “Red, White and Blue,” Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane
- “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” Wes Anderson and Steven Rales (WINNER)
Animated Short Film
- “Letter to a Pig,” Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter
- “Ninety-Five Senses,” Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess
- “Our Uniform,” Yegane Moghaddam
- “Pachyderme,” Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius
- “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko,” Dave Mullins and Brad Booker (WINNER)
Documentary Feature Film
- “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek
- “The Eternal Memory”
- “Four Daughters,” Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha
- “To Kill a Tiger,” Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim
- “20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath (WINNER)
Documentary Short Film
- “The ABCs of Book Banning,” Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic
- “The Barber of Little Rock,” John Hoffman and Christine Turner
- “Island in Between,” S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien
- “The Last Repair Shop,” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers (WINNER)
- “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” Sean Wang and Sam Davis
International Feature Film
- “Io Capitano” (Italy)
- “Perfect Days” (Japan)
- “Society of the Snow” (Spain)
- “The Teachers’ Lounge” (Germany)
- “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom) (WINNER)
Animated Feature Film
- “The Boy and the Heron,” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki (WINNER)
- “Elemental,” Peter Sohn and Denise Ream
- “Nimona,” Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary
- “Robot Dreams,” Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
Makeup and Hairstyling
- “Golda,” Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue
- “Maestro,” Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell
- “Oppenheimer,” Luisa Abel
- “Poor Things,” Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston (WINNER)
- “Society of the Snow,” Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
Production Design
- “Barbie,” production design: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer
- “Killers of the Flower Moon,” production design: Jack Fisk; set decoration: Adam Willis
- “Napoleon,” production design: Arthur Max; set decoration: Elli Griff
- “Oppenheimer,” production design: Ruth De Jong; set decoration: Claire Kaufman
- “Poor Things,” production design: James Price and Shona Heath; set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek (WINNER)
Film Editing
- “Anatomy of a Fall” – Laurent Sénéchal
- “The Holdovers” – Kevin Tent
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Thelma Schoonmaker
- “Oppenheimer” – Jennifer Lame (WINNER)
- “Poor Things” – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Visual Effects
- “The Creator,” Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
- “Godzilla Minus One,” Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima (WINNER)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
- “Napoleon,” Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
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