Lights, camera, action! The 96th annual Academy Awards unfolded in all its glitz and glamour at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood this Sunday, leaving audiences captivated by the outstanding cinematic achievements of the year. The coveted Best Picture award went to Oppenheimer, a film that not only dominated the night but also clinched seven prestigious awards.
In a thrilling turn of events, Christopher Nolan was crowned Best Director for his remarkable work on Oppenheimer, while the talented Cillian Murphy secured the title of Best Actor, and the charismatic Robert Downey Jr. triumphed as the Best Supporting Actor. The film’s excellence extended beyond performances, earning accolades for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing.
However, stealing the spotlight and surprising everyone was Emma Stone, who claimed the Best Actress award for her captivating role in Poor Things. Stone’s victory came alongside three crafts wins for Poor Things, showcasing excellence in costume design, production design, and makeup and hairstyling. The unexpected win left audiences buzzing, particularly as Stone edged out perceived frontrunner Lily Gladstone of Killers of the Flower Moon fame.
In another twist, Da’Vine Joy Randolph secured the title of Best Supporting Actress for her powerful performance in The Holdovers. Meanwhile, animation enthusiasts rejoiced as Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki’s The Boy and the Heron soared to victory as the Best Animated Feature. Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest claimed the Oscar for Best International Feature, and the gripping 20 Days in Mariupol was honored with the award for Best Documentary.
The musical talents of Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell resonated through the night as they clinched the Oscar for Best Original Song with “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie. The screenplay categories were not overlooked, with Justine Triet and Arthur Harari winning Best Original Screenplay for Anatomy of a Fall, while Cord Jefferson was recognized with the Best Adapted Screenplay award for American Fiction.
As the red carpet dazzled with stars and anticipation, Oppenheimer led the Oscar nominations with an impressive 13 nods, followed closely by Poor Things with 11, Killers of the Flower Moon with 10, and Barbie with eight.
The live broadcast on ABC, reaching over 200 territories worldwide, featured Jimmy Kimmel as the charismatic host for the fourth time. The ceremony’s earlier-than-usual start time added an extra layer of excitement, setting the stage for a night that celebrated the magic of cinema. Amid the glitz and glamour, the 2024 Oscars also saw a disruption in traffic as a Free Palestine march, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, took place in Los Angeles on the day of the ceremony.
A full list of winners follows.
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 Directing
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)
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) (WINNER)
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
American Fiction (Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson) (WINNER)
Barbie (Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach)
Oppenheimer (Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan)
Poor Things (Screenplay by Tony McNamara)
The Zone of Interest (Written by Jonathan Glazer)
Best Writing (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 & Josh Singer)
May December (Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)
Past Lives (Written by Celine Song)
Best Animated Feature
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)
Best Documentary Feature Film
Bobi Wine: The People’s President (Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek)
The Eternal Memory (Maite Alberdi)
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)
Best International Feature Film
Io Capitano (Italy)
Perfect Days (Japan)
Society of the Snow (Spain)
The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany)
The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) (WINNER)
Best 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)
Best Live-Action Short Film
The After (Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham)
Invincible (Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron)
Knight of Fortune (Lasse Lyskjaer 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)
Best 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)
Best Cinematography
El Conde (Edward Lachman)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Rodrigo Prieto)
Maestro (Matthew Libatique)
Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema) (WINNER)
Poor Things (Robbie Ryan)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
Best 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)
