After a tumultuous movie year marred by strikes and work stoppages, the Academy Awards showered nominations Tuesday on Christopher Nolan's blockbuster biopic, "Oppenheimer," which came away with a leading 13 nominations.
Nolan's three-hour opus, viewed as the best picture frontrunner, received nods for best picture; Nolan's direction; acting nominations for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt; and multiple honors for the sweeping craft of the J. Robert Oppenheimer drama. Though Nolan is regarded as the big-canvas auteur of his era, he's never won an Academy Award, nor have any of his films won best picture. This, though, could be his year.
The year's biggest hit, "Barbie," came away with a nominations haul slightly less than its partner in Barbenheimer mania. Greta Gerwig's feminist comedy, with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, was nominated for eight awards, including best picture; Ryan Gosling for best supporting actor; and two best-song candidates in "What Was I Made For" and "I'm Just Ken."
Gerwig was surprisingly left out of the best director field. She was nominated for best director in 2018 for her solo directorial debut, "Lady Bird." At the time, Gerwig was just the fifth woman nominated for the award. Since then, Chloé Zhao ("Nomadland") and Jane Campion ("The Power of the Dog") have won best director. Before those wins, Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker," in 2010) was the only woman to win the Oscar's top filmmaking honor.
Both Martin Scorsese's Osage epic "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Yorgos Lanthimos' Frankenstein riff "Poor Things" were also widely celebrated. "Poor Things" landed 11 nods, while "Killers of the Moon" was nominated for 10 Oscars.
Lily Gladstone, star of "Killers of the Flower Moon," became the first Native American nominated for best actress. For the 10th time, Scorsese was nominated for best director. Leonardo DiCaprio, though, was left out of best actor. The late Robbie Robertson, who died in August, also became the first Indigenous person nominated for best score.
"Poor Things," a dark Victorian era fantasy about Bella Baxter's sexual awakening, received nominations for Lanthimos' direction, Emma Stone's leading performance, Mark Ruffalo's supporting performance and widespread nods for the old-school craft of its fantastical design.
The 10 films nominated for best picture were: "Oppenheimer," "Barbie," "Poor Things," "Killers of the Flower Moon," "The Holdovers," "Maestro," "American Fiction," "Past Lives," "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Zone of Interest."
That group, which mirrored the Producers Guild Awards nominees, went much as expected and, as critics noted, a remarkably strong collection of films. For the first time, three of the best picture nominees were directed by women: "Past Lives" by Celine Song; "Anatomy of a Fall" by Justine Triet, who was also nominated for best director; and Gerwig's "Barbie."
But surprises abounded in other categories.
The best actor category had been seen one of the most competitive. In the end, the nominees were Murphy, Paul Giamatti ("The Holdovers"), Jeffrey Wright ("American Fiction"), Bradley Cooper ("Maestro") and Colman Domingo ("Rustin"). Domingo's nomination, for his performance as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, made him just the second openly gay man to be nominated for playing a gay character, following Ian McKellen for the 1998 film "Gods and Monsters."
"American Fiction," Cord Jefferson's insightful drama about a frustrated novelist, had an especially good day, collecting five nominations. That included a nod for Sterling K. Brown for best supporting actor. Robert De Niro ("Killers of the Flower Moon") rounded out that category with Downey Jr. and Gosling.
Best actress was also closely contested. Along with Gladstone and Stone, the nominees were Carey Mulligan ("Maestro"), Annette Bening ("Nyad") and Sandra Hüller ("Anatomy of a Fall"). That left out Margot Robbie, the star of "Barbie," and Fantasia Barrino from "The Color Purple."
In supporting actress, the frontrunner Da'Vine Joy Randolph of "The Holdovers" continued her march to her first Oscar. She was joined by Blunt, Danielle Brooks ("The Color Purple"), Jodie Foster ("Nyad") and America Ferrera ("Barbie").
Lead nominees "Oppenheimer," "Barbie," "Poor Things" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" made for a maximalist quartet of Oscar heavyweights. Nolan's sprawling biopic. Gerwig's near-musical. Scorsese's pitch-black Western. Lanthimos' sumptuously designed fantasy. Each utilized a wide spectrum of cinematic tools to tell big, often disturbing big-screen stories. And each — even Apple's biggest-budgeted movie yet, "Killers of the Flower Moon" — had robust theatrical releases that saved streaming for months later.
The Associated Press notched its first Oscar nomination in the news organization's 178-year history with "20 Days in Mariupol," Mstyslav Chernov's harrowing chronicle of the besieged Ukrainian city and of the last international journalists left there after the Russia invasion. It was nominated for best documentary, along with "Four Daughters," "Bobi Wine: The People's President," "The Eternal Memory" and "To Kill a Tiger."
"20 Days" is a joint production between The Associated Press and PBS' "Frontline."
The nominees for best international film are: "Society of the Snow," (Spain); "The Zone of Interest," (United Kingdom); "The Teachers' Lounge" (Germany); "Io Capitano" (Italy) ; "Perfect Days" (Japan).
The nominees for best animated film are: "The Boy and the Heron"; "Elemental"; "Nimona"; "Robot Dreams"; "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."
The best-picture collection of films — all of which played in theaters for at least a month, including Netflix's "Maestro" — reflected the industry's rebalancing after years of experimentation during the pandemic. Netflix came away with the most nominations of any studio with 18, but industry consensus has, for now, turned back to believing cinemas play a vital role in the rollout of most movies. Apple and Amazon, which in 2022 acquired MGM, have each made theatrical a priority.
In heaping nominations on "Oppenheimer," Oscar voters are poised to do something they haven't done in a long time: Hand its top award to a big-budget blockbuster. Granted "Oppenheimer" isn't your average big-screen spectacle, but the academy has for years favored smaller films for best picture, movies like "CODA," "Nomadland" and last year's winner, "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Ben Affleck's 2012 film "Argo" was the last best picture winner to surpass $100 million domestically. "Oppenheimer" grossed $326.8 million in the U.S. and Canada, and nearly $1 billion globally.
Historically, blockbusters have helped fueled Oscar ratings. Through 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. EST.
Nominations for the 96th Academy Awards
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Bradley Cooper in “Maestro”
- Colman Domingo in “Rustin”
- Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers”
- Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer”
- Jeffrey Wright in “American Fiction”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction”
- Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer”
- Ryan Gosling in “Barbie”
- Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Annette Bening in “Nyad”
Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Sandra Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall”
Carey Mulligan in “Maestro”
Emma Stone in “Poor Things”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Emily Blunt in “Oppenheimer”
- Danielle Brooks in “The Color Purple”
- America Ferrera in “Barbie”
- Jodie Foster in “Nyad”
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers”
Best animated feature film of the year
- “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
Achievement in cinematography
- “El Conde” Edward Lachman
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Rodrigo Prieto
- “Maestro” Matthew Libatique
- “Oppenheimer” Hoyte van Hoytema
- “Poor Things” Robbie Ryan
Achievement in 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
Achievement in directing
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Justine Triet
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Martin Scorsese
- “Oppenheimer” Christopher Nolan
- “Poor Things” Yorgos Lanthimos
- “The Zone of Interest” Jonathan Glazer
Best documentary feature film
- “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek
- “The Eternal Memory” Nominees to be determined
- “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
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
- “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” Sean Wang and Sam Davis
Achievement in 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
Best international feature film of the year
- “Io Capitano” Italy
- “Perfect Days” Japan
- “Society of the Snow” Spain
- “The Teachers’ Lounge” Germany
- “The Zone of Interest” United Kingdom
Achievement in 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
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (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
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (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
Best motion picture of the year
- “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
Achievement in 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
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
Best 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
Achievement in 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
Achievement in 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
Adapted screenplay
- “American Fiction” Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson
- “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
Original screenplay
- “Anatomy of a Fall”Screenplay – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
- “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
