“Oppenheimer,” a sprawling examination of the dawn of the Atomic Age, kicked off the race for the 96th Academy Awards on Tuesday, earning 13 nominations. It was followed closely behind by “Poor Things,” a feminist fantasy set in a steampunk world of mutants and male chauvinist pigs, which earned 11 nominations.
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” a historical crime drama about a vast conspiracy to rob the Osage Nation of its oil wealth, received 10 nominations. Both “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” drawn from painful chapters of American history, were recognized at a moment of political unrest and division in the country, which seemed to give their dark subject matter an added resonance.
“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box office hit, earned eight nominations — even as Greta Gerwig, the film’s director, and Margot Robbie, its star and producer, were both shut out. Released on the same weekend as “Oppenheimer,” the twin blockbusters became a viral phenomenon, inspiring people to book double features and leading to the creation of the “Barbenheimer” meme. Together, the movies earned more than $2 billion globally, a massive number at a time when movie theaters are still struggling to rebound from the pandemic.
“Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” all scored best picture nominations. They were joined by “Poor Things,” “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Holdovers,” “Maestro,” “Past Lives,” and “The Zone of Interest.” For the first time, three best picture contenders — “Barbie,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Past Lives” — were directed by women. However, only one of those filmmakers, Justine Triet, earned a best director nomination.
At 81, Martin Scorsese made history by becoming the oldest directing nominee. Triet and Scorsese will face off against Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”) and Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”).
Best actor will be a race between Paul Giamatti, playing a prickly boarding school teacher in “The Holdovers”; Cillian Murphy, who portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan Project in “Oppenheimer”; Bradley Cooper, who directed himself as composer Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro”; Colman Domingo, who embodies Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin in “Rustin”; and Jeffrey Wright, recognized for his performance as an underappreciated novelist engaged in an elaborate ruse in “American Fiction.”
Best actress is a contest between “Killers of the Flower Moon’s” Lily Gladstone, who is the first Native American performer to be nominated for the prize; Emma Stone, who plays the child-like protagonist in “Poor Things”; Annette Bening for her performance as a competitive swimmer, defying the odds (and time) in “Nyad”; Sandra Hüller, playing a woman on trial for murder in “Anatomy of a Fall”; and Carey Mulligan for her turn as Felicia Montealegre, the loyal wife of Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro.”
As with any Oscar season, some performers and artists who had been mainstays at the Golden Globes and other critics associations awards shows failed to land a nomination. “May December’s” Charles Melton, acclaimed for his work as a man whose life becomes tabloid fodder, and Leonardo DiCaprio, whose work as a dim-witted criminal in “Killers of the Flower Moon” scored him critical raves, were overlooked. But other stars will be fielding congratulatory calls that they may not have anticipated receiving. “Barbie’s” America Ferrera, whose monologue about the unfair expectations society places on women drew cheers in screenings, scored a surprise best supporting actress nod; and “American Fiction’s” Sterling K. Brown nabbed an unexpected best supporting actor nomination.
The Oscars come at a challenging time for the movie business, which has struggled to adjust to changes in the way audiences view films. Wall Street, which once gave digital disruptors like Netflix sky-high valuations, has soured on the economics of streaming, believing they are not profitable enough. That’s been devastating for media companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney and Paramount Global, which have spent lavishly to build their own streaming services. At the same time, actors and writers, arguing that the streaming boom has robbed them of the royalties they once earned when their movies were rebroadcast on cable or other platforms, went on months-long strikes. The labor unrest, which wrapped up in November, led to sustained production shutdowns that could mean that next year’s Oscars will have a lot fewer contenders vying for top honors.
The Walt Disney Company earned 20 nominations across its various brands, which include its main studio arm, as well as other divisions such as Marvel and Searchlight Pictures. Netflix, which has upended Hollywood over the last decade, scrambling old paradigms for making and releasing movies, and Comcast, a cable giant whose 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal sparked a fresh wave of consolidation, both picked up 18 nominations. The haul comes a day after Netflix’s film chief Scott Stuber, the man who oversaw the production of many of the streamer’s Oscar contenders, announced he was stepping down to launch his own media venture.
Late-night star Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars for the fourth time. The broadcast, like most awards shows, has struggled in the ratings. Last year’s show was watched by 18.7 million viewers, up 13% from the 2022 telecast, but significantly down from the audience of 33 million that the 2017 Oscars attracted.
Actors Zazie Beetz (“Atlanta,” “Joker: Folie à Deux”) and Jack Quaid (“The Boys,” “Oppenheimer”) were on hand to announce the nominees live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The 2024 Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, at 4 p.m. PT at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.
See the full list of nominees below.
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
“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”
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”
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”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Sterling K. Brown — “American Fiction”
Robert De Niro – “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Robert Downey Jr. — “Oppenheimer”
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”
Adapted Screenplay
“American Fiction,” written for the screen by Cord Jefferson
“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
“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
“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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
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
“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)
Animated Feature Film
“The Boy and the Heron,” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
“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
“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
Film Editing
“Anatomy of a Fall” – Laurent Sénéchal
“The Holdovers” – Kevin Tent
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“Oppenheimer” – Jennifer Lame
“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
“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
From Variety US