A replica of the Academy Awards statuette on display prior to the 96th Academy Awards nominations announcement on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. The 96th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK (AP) – The reading of the 2024 Oscar nominations has begun.
Actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid are announcing the nominees for the 96th Academy Awards from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. The presentation that’s being livestreamed on Oscars.com, Oscars.org and the academy’s social media platforms, and carried live on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“Oppenheimer,””Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” are expected to be the most dominant forces on Tuesday, with each poised to collect double-digit nominations. “Poor Things” could also rack up ten or more nods. Eligible voters from a record 93 countries submitted ballots to this year’s nominations, the academy said. And several international films ““ including “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest” – could make the best picture field of 10 movies, too.
The nominees for best supporting actress are: Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”; Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”; America Ferrera, “Barbie”; Jodie Foster, “Nyad”; Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers.”
The nominees for best supporting actor: Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”; Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”; Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”; Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”; Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things.”
The nominees for costume design are: “Barbie”; Killers of the Flower Moon; “Napoleon”; “Oppenheimer”; “Poor Things.”
Christopher Nolan’s three-hour opus “Oppenheimer” comes in the favorite for best picture, best director and a host of other awards. Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt are expected to land acting nods, while the film’s crafts should be richly rewarded in the technical categories. Though Nolan is regarded as the big-budget auteur of his era, he’s never won an Academy Award, nor have any of his films won best picture. This could be his year.
Oscar season has reunited “Oppenheimer” with its summer box-office partner, “Barbie.” Greta Gerwig’s feminist blockbuster, easily the biggest hit of the year with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, shouldn’t be far behind “Oppenheimer.” It stands to win nominations for best picture, best director, acting nods for Ryan Gosling and potentially Margot Robbie and likely two best-song candidates in “What Was I Made For” and “I’m Just Ken.” Though the script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach was campaigned for as original, the academy is counting it in the adapted category.
The academy’s best picture field may duplicate the 10 films nominated by the Producer Guild: “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Poor Things,” “The Holdovers,” “Maestro,” “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Past Lives” and “The Zone of Interest.”
If the Oscars’ top category feels locked, many of the other categories have plenty of wiggle room. In the competitive best actor field, several deserving candidates are bound to be snubbed. Murphy, Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”), Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”) and Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”) are narrowly favorites, but that leaves one spot for Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) and Andrew Scott (“All of Us Strangers”).
Lily Gladstone is widely expected to be the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Her stiffest competition is likely Emma Stone, whose performance in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” is expected to land her her fourth Oscar nod. Also in the mix: Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Margot Robbie (“Barbie”) and Annette Bening (“Nyad”).
One of the most prominent Barbenheimer battles is in the supporting actor race. There, Downey Jr. and Gosling will face off.
Historically, blockbusters have helped fueled Oscar ratings. Though the pile-up of award shows (an after-effect of last year’s strikes ) could be detrimental to the Academy Awards, the Barbenheimer presence could help lift the March 10 telecast on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host, with the ceremony moved up an hour, to 7 p.m. Eastern.
