Christopher Nolan can hear the music: Oppenheimer had a huge night at the 2024 Oscars, earning seven awards at the ceremony in Hollywood – including Best Picture, Directing for filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Actor In A Leading Role for Cillian Murphy, and Actor In A Supporting Role for Robert Downey Jr. It marks Nolan’s first Oscar win, for a three-hour bomb-based biopic that swept multiplexes through last summer.
Speaking on stage for his Directing win, Nolan noted how young an artform cinema remains, with so much potential for the future. “Movies are just over 100 years old. Imagine being 100 years into painting,” he said. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here.” He also hailed Emma Thomas, “producer of all our films, and all our children. I love you.” Shortly after, Thomas repaid the favour as Oppenheimer won Best Picture. “The reason this movie was the movie it was, was Chris Nolan,” she said. “He is singular, he is brilliant, and I’m so grateful for you.”
Cillian Murphy called himself “a very proud Irish man standing here tonight”, as he won Leading Actor. He closed his speech by saying: “We made a film bout the man who created the atomic bomb. For better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world. I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.” Downey Jr. noted how impactful Oppenheimer has already been on his career. “I needed this job, more than it needed me. Chris knew it,” he said of his director. “I stand here before you a better man because of it.” Oppenheimer also bagged awards for Original Score for Ludwig Goransson, Cinematography for Hoyte Van Hoytema, and Film Editing for Jennifer Lame.
The other big winner of the night was Poor Things, which received four awards – including Actress In A Leading Role for Emma Stone, who was overwhelmed as she took to the stage. She called the role of Bella Baxter “the gift of a lifetime”, and spoke to the collaborative nature of filmmaking. “It’s not about me,” she said. “It’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. That’s the best part of making movies.” The film also won Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup And Hairstyling.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph won Actress In A Supporting Role for her performance in The Holdovers, delivering a hugely emotional speech as she collected the award. “For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different,” she says, looking back on the experiences that brought her to acting. “And now I realised, I just need to be myself.”
Adapted Screenplay went to Cord Jefferson for American Fiction – his feature debut, no less – while Original Screenplay went to Justine Triet and Arthur Harari for Anatomy Of A Fall. Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest won two awards on the night: International Feature Film, and Sound. In his speech for the former, Glazer spoke to the situation currently playing out in Gaza. “Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst,” he noted.
While Barbie largely missed out on awards, it did bag Original Song – not for ‘I’m Just Ken’, but for Billie Eilish’s heartfelt ballad, ‘What Was I Made For?’ But the film seemed to dominate proceedings anyway – particularly when Ryan Gosling, as reported, delivered an all-out rendition of Ken’s signature song, complete with support from fellow Kens, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa. The performance was rapturously received by the crowd, with Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie singing along, and guitarist Slash popping up for a squealing solo.
Elsewhere, there were notable wins for Wes Anderson, earning his first ever Oscar for Live Action Short with The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar (even if he wasn’t there to pick up the trophy); Hayao Miyazaki, whose The Boy And The Heron came out on top in Animated Feature (though Miyazaki, too, was absent); Sean Ono Lennon was on hand to accept Animated Short Film for War Is Over! Inspired By The Music Of John & Yoko; and, best of all for kaiju fans, Takashi Yamazaki brought a gold Godzilla figure on stage as he accepted the Visual Effects award for Godzilla Minus One.
It, in all, proved a strong ceremony – no slaps, no slips, and no slights from host Jimmy Kimmel. Oh, and John Cena actually stripped naked. For real. For a full rundown of the night, read back through the Empire Oscars 2024 live blog – and find the complete list of winners below.
Oscar Winners 2024
BEST PICTURE
American Fiction
Anatomy Of A Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone Of Interest
DIRECTING
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
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone Of Interest
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anatomy Of A Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Boy And The Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society Of The Snow
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone Of Interest
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
FILM EDITING
Anatomy Of A Fall
The Holdovers
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society Of The Snow
ORIGINAL SONG
‘The Fire Inside’ – Flamin’ Hot – Diane Warren
‘I’m Just Ken’ – Barbie – Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
‘It Never Went Away’ – American Symphony – Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)’ – Killers Of The Flower Moon – Scott George
‘What Was I Made For’ – Barbie – Billie Eilish And Finneas
ORIGINAL SCORE
American Fiction
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
SOUND
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone Of Interest
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
CINEMATOGRAPHY
El Conde – Edward Lachman
Killers Of The Flower Moon – Rodrigo Prieto
Maestro – Matthew Libatique
Oppenheimer – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Poor Things – Robbie Ryan
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill A Tiger
20 Days In Mariupol
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
The ABCs Of Book Banning
The Barber Of Little Rock
Island In Between
The Last Repair Shop
Nai Nai & Wai Po
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
The After
Invincible
Knight Of Fortune
Red, White And Blue
The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Letter To A Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
War Is Over! Inspired By The Music Of John & Yoko