“Oppenheimer,” a film about the creation of the atomic bomb, kicked off the race for the Oscars, “Oppenheimer” stands as the most nominated film of the year – and ever- with 13 nominations. The film was closely followed behind “Poor Things,” a Frankenstein-style film with feminist themes throughout, earning 11 nominations.
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” a historical crime drama about the Osage murders in 1920’s Oklahoma, received ten nominations. One of these nominations was for Best Director, making history with the film director Martin Scorsese now having the most nominations ever for a living director, dethroning Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately, Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as Ernest Burkhart was snubbed for a Best Actor nomination.
“Barbie,” the biggest film of the year at the 2023 box office, earned eight nominations. However, film director, Greta Gerwig and, lead actress, Margot Robbie were snubbed from major categories. However, actor Ryan Gosling received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for playing Ken, and actress America Ferrera got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
The Best Actor nominees this year included Paul Giamatti, who plays a boarding school teacher in “The Holdovers”; Cillian Murphy, who played J. Robert Oppenheimer in “Oppenheimer”; Bradley Cooper, who directed himself in a biopic about the composer Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro”; Colman Domingo, who played the Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin in “Rustin”; and Jeffrey Wright, who plays an underappreciated novelist in “American Fiction.”
The Best Actress nominees this year include “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone, who became the first-ever Native American actress in history to receive an Oscar nomination. Other actresses include Emma Stone, who played a Frankenstein-like character in “Poor Things”; Annette Bening, who played a competitive swimmer in “Nyad”; Sandra Hüller, who played a woman on trial for a potential murder in “Anatomy of a Fall”; and Carey Mulligan, who played Felicia Montealegre, the wife of Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro.”
“Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” all scored Best Picture nominations, with other films being “Barbie,” “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Maestro,” “The Holdovers,” “Past Lives” and “The Zone of Interest.” For the first time in Oscar history, three of the ten Best Picture nominees, “Barbie,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Past Lives,” were all directed by women. Of those three, only one scored a Best Director nomination: Justine Triet for “Anatomy of a Fall.” The Best Picture category will also see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” face off once again, continuing the massively popular “Barbenheimer” trend from July 2023.
As for other films nominated, Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” starring Joaquin Phoenix earned 3 nominations, including Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects. Another film to be nominated for Best Visual Effects was Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” starring John David Washington, which was also nominated for Best Sound.
Also nominated for Best Visual Effects, the massively successful Japanese film “Godzilla Minus One” was nominated for the category.
For Best Animated Feature Film, the nominees included “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Elemental,” “Robot Dreams,” “Nimona” and “The Boy and the Heron.” Unfortunately, with a roster of critically acclaimed animated films, Seth Rogan’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” was snubbed for the category.
The 2024 Oscars will be hosted by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, making this year his fourth time hosting the award show. Kimmel previously hosted the show in 2023, 2018 and 2017.
