Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ Leads Oscars 2024 Nominees with 13 Nods, While Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Secures 8
Oscar Nominations 2024: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ Earns Best Picture Nominations, Recognitions for Nolan’s Direction, and Acting Nods for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt. Greta Gerwig, Director of ‘Barbie,’ Faces Unexpected Exclusion from the Best Director Category.
Following a challenging year in the film industry marked by strikes and work stoppages, the Academy Awards announced a plethora of nominations on Tuesday for Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, “Oppenheimer,” securing a remarkable 13 nods. Nolan’s three-hour epic, widely considered a frontrunner for Best Picture, garnered nominations across various categories, including Best Picture, Best Director for Nolan himself, and acting acknowledgments for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt. Additionally, the film received multiple accolades for its craftsmanship in portraying the J. Robert Oppenheimer drama.
Despite being the year’s biggest hit, “Barbie” received fewer nominations compared to its counterpart in Barbenheimer frenzy. Greta Gerwig’s feminist comedy, boasting over $1.4 billion in ticket sales, secured eight nominations, including Best Picture, a Best Supporting Actor nod for Ryan Gosling, and two contenders for Best Song with “What Was I Made For” and “I’m Just Ken.” However, Gerwig’s absence from the Best Director category came as a surprise.
In 2018, Gerwig earned a Best Director nomination for her directorial debut, “Lady Bird,” becoming the fifth woman to receive this recognition at that time. Subsequently, Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) claimed Best Director honors, while prior to their victories, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, 2010) stood as the sole woman to win the Oscar’s premier filmmaking accolade.
Martin Scorsese’s expansive tale “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ inventive take on “Poor Things” received widespread acclaim. “Poor Things” secured an impressive 11 nominations, while “Killers of the Flower Moon” earned recognition with 10 Oscar nods.
In a historic moment, Lily Gladstone, the lead in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” became the first Native American to receive a Best Actress nomination. Scorsese, for the tenth time, earned a nomination for Best Director. Notably, Leonardo DiCaprio did not secure a nomination for Best Actor.
The nominees for Best Picture at the Oscars included 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. Lead contenders like Oppenheimer, Barbie, Poor Things, and Killers of the Flower Moon formed a powerful group of Oscar heavyweights. These films, spanning genres from Nolan’s biopic to Gerwig’s almost-musical and Scorsese’s dark Western, utilized a diverse range of cinematic techniques to narrate compelling and often unsettling stories on the big screen. Notably, even the high-budget Killers of the Flower Moon opted for robust theatrical releases before later streaming.
Making history, The Associated Press received its first-ever Oscar nomination in its 178-year history with 20 Days in Mariupol. The film, a gripping account by Mstyslav Chernov, captures the plight of the besieged Ukrainian city and follows the last international journalists remaining there post the Russian invasion. Nominated for Best Documentary, it shares the category with Four Daughters, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, The Eternal Memory, and To Kill a Tiger. “20 Days” is a collaborative production between The Associated Press and PBS’ Frontline.
The contenders for the Best International Film category include Society of the Snow (Spain), The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom), The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany), Io Capitano (Italy), and Perfect Days (Japan). In the Best Animated Film category, the nominees are The Boy and the Heron, Elemental, Nimona, Robot Dreams, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
During the Oscar season, Oppenheimer and Barbie, which were previously successful at the summer box office, are once again in the spotlight. Traditionally, blockbuster films have played a role in boosting Oscar viewership. While the abundance of award shows, a result of last year’s strikes, might pose challenges for the Academy Awards, the presence of Barbenheimer could potentially enhance the telecast on ABC, scheduled for March 10. Jimmy Kimmel is set to return as the host, and the ceremony has been moved up to 7 p.m.
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