https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/10/oscars-best-picture-oppenheimer
Oppenheimer wins best picture Oscar as Emma Stone pulls surprise win
Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster picked up seven awards while Poor Things star won over Lily Gladstone for best actress
by Benjamin Lee, published Sun 10 Mar 2024 22.25 EDTShare
Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer has triumphed at this year’s Oscars taking home seven awards including best picture, best actor and best director.
The drama, telling the story of the “father of the atomic bomb”, lost the box office battle to Barbie during last summer’s Barbenheimer showdown but has now won the awards war with Greta Gerwig’s Mattel comedy winning just one Oscar for best original song.
Cillian Murphy was named best actor for his performance, beating out Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright, and Robert Downey Jr was named best supporting actor, up against Robert De Niro and Ryan Gosling.
Murphy, winning his first Oscar from his first nomination, is also the first ever Irish-born winner in his category. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” he said before dedicating his award “to the peacemakers everywhere”.
Downey Jr won his first Oscar after being nominated twice before for Chaplin and Tropic Thunder. “I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy in that order,” he said before later adding: “I needed this job more than it needed me.”
Nolan picked up his first best director Oscar, after being nominated previously for Dunkirk, beating out Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Glazer. When speaking about cinema in his speech he said: “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here but to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”
The film also won for editing, cinematography and score.
Emma Stone pulled a surprise, beating out favourite Lily Gladstone to be named best actress for her role in Yorgos Lanthimos’s offbeat period comedy Poor Things. It’s the actor’s second best actress Oscar after previously winning for La La Land. “It’s not about me, it’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts,” she said during an emotional speech.
The film also picked up awards for production design, hairstyling and makeup and costume design.
Jonathan Glazer’s German and Polish-language Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest was named best international feature, the first ever British film to win in this category. The film also won for sound.
The writer-director’s speech addressed the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling out the “dehumanisation” shown both in his film and in reality. “Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has lead to conflict for so many innocent people,” he said, “whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack in Gaza.”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in 70s-set drama The Holdovers after winning every major precursor award on her way to the stage. “For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different and now I realise I just need to be myself,” a tearful Randolph said in her speech. It’s the first year that two women of colour have won acting awards in the same night.
Barbie won just one award from its eight nominations, taking home the best original song Oscar for Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For?. Eilish, winning with brother and collaborator Finneas, received a standing ovation earlier in the evening after performing the song on stage. The pair previously won for No Time to Die.
Ryan Gosling also performed his nominated song I’m Just Ken in a diamond-studded pink suit surrounded by dancing Kens, including stars from the film, as well as a guitar cameo from Slash.
Justine Triet and partner Arthur Harari also won best original screenplay for marital drama Anatomy of a Fall. Triet is the first French woman to win in this category. “It will help me in my midlife crisis, I think,” she joked in her speech.
Best adapted screenplay went to Cord Jefferson for American Fiction, his first big screen script. The literary comedy is an adaptation of Percival Everett’s novel Erasure.
20 Days in Mauripol, which tells of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was named best documentary feature, the country’s first ever Oscar. “I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities,” war reporter turned director Mstyslav Chernov said. He added: “Cinema forms memories and memories form history.”
It was also a strong night for Japanese cinema with The Boy and the Heron named best animated feature and Godzilla Minus One beating out big-budget blockbusters to win best visual effects.
Wes Anderson also won his first ever Oscar for his Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which was named best live-action short. He wasn’t in attendance to accept the award.
The ceremony was briefly delayed with reports of security issues for attendees as a result of a pro-Palestine protest disrupting traffic with hundreds of protesters marching with signs reading “No Awards for Genocide”.
Various celebrities, including Billie Eilish and Ramy Youssef, also wore red pins in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. “We really want lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people,” the Poor Things star said on the red carpet.
Host Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the show by welcoming “these beautiful human actors” in attendance after a hard year of strikes. He called out Academy members for not nominating Greta Gerwig for best director, made a joke about Downey Jr’s troubled history, calling the night “one of his highest points”, the length of Killers of the Flower Moon and Bradley Cooper’s habit of taking his mother to awards shows.
After paying tribute to the writers and actors on strike in the last year, he then brought out teamsters and below-the-line members on stage. “In your upcoming negotiations, we will stand with you,” he said. Discussions are currently underway between union IATSE and AMPTP, the alliance representing studios, with threats of a possible strike looming.
Later in the night, Kimmel read a Truth Social post from Donald Trump attacking his role as host and asking ABC to replace him. “Isn’t it past your jail time,” he joked.
The ceremony brought back an old practice where a group of previous winners present acting Oscars which allowed for actors such as Lupita Nyong’o, Sam Rockwell, Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Lawrence to pay tribute to friends and co-workers.
Before the annual in memoriam segment, featuring stars such as Tom Wilkinson, Tuna Turner, Matthew Perry and Glenda Jackson, a clip was played of the late Alexei Navalny from Oscar-winning documentary Navalny. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing,” he said in the clip.
Oppenheimer has become the highest-grossing best picture winner since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2004. It is also the first film to win best picture, actor and supporting actor since Ben Hur in 1960.
Nominated films that ended up empty-handed included Killers of the Flower Moon, Past Lives, Maestro, Nyad and Society of the Snow.
Last year saw Everything Everywhere All at Once win seven major awards, including best picture.
Read more about the 2024 Oscars:
- The 2024 Oscars ceremony – as it happened
- The winners list in full: Cillian Murphy and Emma Stone took home best acting awards, while Christopher Nolan won his first ever Oscar for directing Oppenheimer.
- Jimmy Kimmel’s opening Oscar monologue skewered Greta Gerwig’s snub and praised Messi the dog
- Billie Eilish and Ramy Youssef were among stars wearing red Gaza ceasefire pins
- Before the ceremony, pro-Palestine protesters delayed the arrivals of some stars
FULL LIST
Oscars 2024: the full list of winners
All this year’s winners and nominees
Guardian FilmSun 10 Mar 2024 18.17 EDTShare
Best picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best actor in a leading role
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer – WINNER
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Best actor in a supporting role
Sterling K Brown – American Fiction
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer – WINNER
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Best 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 – WINNER
Best 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 – WINNER
Best 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
Best animated feature film
The Boy and the Heron – WINNER
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best adapted screenplay
American Fiction – WINNER
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best original screenplay
News: Anatomy of a Fall wins best original screenplay Oscar
Anatomy of a Fall – WINNER
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
Best cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer- WINNER
Poor Things
Best costume design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Best documentary feature film
News: Ukraine war film 20 Days in Mariupol wins Oscar for best documentary
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER
Best documentary short film
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop – WINNER
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó
Best film editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things
Best international feature film
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest – WINNER
Best makeup and hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Society of the Snow
Best original score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things
Best original song
The Fire Inside – Flamin’ Hot
I’m Just Ken – Barbie
It Never Went Away – American Symphony
Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon
What Was I Made For? – Barbie – WINNER
Best production design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Best animated short film
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko – WINNER
The 2024 Oscar shorts review – intense drama, enticing animation and essential documentaryRead more
Best live action short film
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER
Best sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest – WINNER
Best visual effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One – WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
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