96th Academy Awards: ‘Oppenheimer’ Named Best Picture Among 7 Oscar Wins, ‘Poor Things’ Takes Four

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Godzilla and Billie Eilish make history, Emma Stone upsets, Netflix and Apple flop

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Cillian Murphy and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. at the 96th Academy Awards among its seven wins in total and became the first Best Picture winner to have no festival presence since 2006’s The Departed.

The $950M summer blockbuster also earned wins for Original Score, Film Editing and Cinematography. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kal Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the career of J. Robert Oppenheimer, with the story predominantly focusing on his studies, his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing.

Nolan thanked the younger audience for seeing the film, and seeing it so many times, as well as highlight the state and stage of cinema and where it may go.

“And to the Academy. Just to say movies are just a little bit over 100 years old. Imagine being there into 100 years of painting or theater we don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think I had a meaningful part of it means the world to me. Thank you very much.”

In his speech, Best Actor winner Murphy said, “I’m a little overwhelmed. Thank you to the Academy, Chris Nolan, and Emma Thomas. It’s been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you’ve taken me on over the last 20 years. I owe you more than I can say. Thank you so much.”

Poor Things was the other big winner of the night with four, including a Best Actress win for Emma Stone in one of the night’s most contested categories. Stone had won the Golden Globe (comedy), Critics Choice and BAFTA ahead of the Oscars. Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) had won the Golden Globe for drama as well as the Screen Actors Guild award, one of Oscar’s best bellwethers.

Stone, visibly surprised by her win also made room to joke about her dress ripping before she got on stage.

“My dress is broken. I think it happened during ‘I’m Just Ken,'” Stone said. Before leaving she thanked her family and especially her daughter, who is turning three in three days.

Speaking of Killers of the Flower Moon, the film became the third Martin Scorsese-directed film to earn 10 Oscar nominations and lose them all after 2002’s Gangs of New York and 2019’s The Irishman.

Downey Jr. and Supporting Actress winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) closed their awards season with a full sweep, earning Golden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA and SAG awards before securing their Oscars. In her speech Randolph highlighted her mother and the women in her life.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different, and now I realize I just need to be myself. And I thank you. I thank you for seeing me,” she said.

In his acceptance speech for International Feature Film, The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer spoke up about the current crisis in Gaza, the only winner to directly acknowledge the war.

“Whether the victims of October — whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist? Alexandria, the girl who glows in the film as she did in life, chose to. I dedicate this to her memory and her resistance. Thank you.”

This year, the Academy brings back one of its more popular, if unsustainable, presentations with previous acting Oscar winners introducing the nominees in those respective categories.

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh – Sandra Hüller; Sally Field – Emma Stone; Jennifer Lawrence – Killers of the Flower Moon; Jessica Lange – Carey Mulligan; Charlize Theron – Annette Bening

Best Actor: Nicolas Cage – Paul Giamatti; Matthew McConaughey – Bradley Cooper; Jeffrey Wright – Brendan Fraser; Ben Kingsley – Cillian Murphy; Forest Whitaker – Colman Domingo

Supporting Actress: Mary Steenburgen – Emily Blunt; Jamie Lee Curtis – Jodie Foster; Lupita Nyong’o – Da’Vine Joy Randolph; Rita Moreno – America Ferrera; Regina King – Danielle Brooks

Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell – Robert Downey Jr.; Tim Robbins – Robert De Niro; Ke Huy Quan – Sterling K. Brown; Christoph Waltz – Ryan Gosling; Mahershala Ali – Mark Ruffalo

Upon winning Original Screenplay for Anatomy of a Fall, co-writer and director Justine Triet explained the origins of the story, which began during lockdown.

“We were stuck in the house with two kids. It was a lockdown. And we hook them up to cartoons for peace. And, yeah, there was no line, I think, between work and diapers.”

Her partner and co-writer Arthur Harari followed up, saying, “And then along came two other people, a woman and a man, the producers, Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion. And — yeah. And they — actually, that’s when things got a little crazy. It was like a mix of ping-pong played by Marie — French or something.”

After winning for Adapted Screenplay, American Fiction writer and director Cord Jefferson took his speech time to plead for Hollywood to take less risks with massively budgeted films and more on modestly budgeted ones.

Jefferson also become just the second Black debut solo writer to win the category, following Geoffrey Fletcher’s upset for 2009’s Precious. He’s only the third Black debut solo writer along with Jordan Peele for 2017’s Get Out, who won in original.

Ryan Gosling brought the house down with the first live performance of “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, which opened with him in the audience and then onstage with inspiration from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Gosling in a shimmery pink suits surrounded by male suiters.

Winning Original Song for “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie, Billie Eilish, 22, and Finneas, 26, mad Oscar history as the youngest people to win two Oscars before the age of 30.

The Boy and the Heron won for Best Animated Feature, marking the first ever as a company for GKIDS after 13 nominations in the Best Animated Feature category. The visual effect win for Godzilla Minus was historic as the first Godzilla film ever to be nominated but it’s also the first time since 2016’s The Jungle Book that the win came from a film’s only nomination (and 1992’s Death Becomes Her before that) and the first and only time since 1969’s 2001: A Space Odyssey that a director was a recipient in the category.

The world’s two biggest streaming rivals, Apple and Netflix, were the night’s biggest losers. With a combined 32 nominations Netflix, which had 19 nominations across 12 films, managed a single win – Wes Anderson’s first in eight nominations – for Live Action Short, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Here is the full list of winners of the 96th Academy Awards.

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

Achievement in directing

• Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet
• Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
• Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan – WINNER
• Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
• The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

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 – WINNER
• 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 – WINNER
• 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 – WINNER

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 – WINNER

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

Original screenplay

• Anatomy of a Fall – Screenplay – 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

Achievement in 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

Achievement in cinematography

• El Conde – Edward Lachman
• Killers of the Flower Moon – Rodrigo Prieto
• Maestro – Matthew Libatique
• Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema – WINNER
• 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 – WINNER

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 – WINNER

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 – WINNER
• 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 – WINNER
  Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

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 – WINNER

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 – WINNER
• Society of the Snow – Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé

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 – 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

Best animated feature film of the year

• 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 – 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 – WINNER

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 – 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 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 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