The three-hour drama directed by Christopher Nolan outpaced gothic comedy “Poor Things,” another best picture contender that scored 11 nominations for the film industry’s highest honors.
Both movies will compete with feminist doll adventure “Barbie,” Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” about the 1920s murders of members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, among others.
Nolan, a best director nominee, said it was “a real thrill” to see “Oppenheimer” pile up so many nominations.
“I think it’s a great year for movies, and it’s a real honor to be included,” he said in an interview.
One of Hollywood’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Nolan has never had a film win best picture at the Academy Awards.
“Oppenheimer” is considered the favorite for the top prize this year, based on early awards season wins and polling of experts by the Gold Derby website. The movie was distributed by Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures.
The remaining best picture nominees were “American Fiction,” “The Holdovers,” “Past Lives,” “The Zone of Interest” and French film “Anatomy of a Fall.”
“Barbie,” last year’s highest-grossing movie, received eight nominations, including supporting actress for America Ferrera – who gave a memorable monologue about the challenges of womanhood – and supporting actor for Ryan Gosling. Voters passed over lead actress Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig.
“Oppenheimer” secured a lead actor nomination for Cillian Murphy, who played scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, and for supporting cast Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr.
With “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in the mix, the Oscars telecast on March 10 will showcase two big-screen blockbusters. The films collected nearly $2.4 billion combined in a summer box office battle dubbed “Barbenheimer.”
First-time nominees
Ten of the 20 acting contenders were first-time nominees. Among them were Native American “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone, and Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown for “American Fiction,” the story of a Black writer fed up with book publishers pushing stereotypes.
Wright said he did not watch the nominations live.
“I did not want to have to break a screen,” he joked. “So, I just let it all happen.”
Colman Domingo, nominated for playing gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin in “Rustin,” did tune in.
“I listened, watched my husband listen to my name being called, and then I watched him lay down on the floor and start crying,” Domingo said. “And then, of course, I picked him up and we both had a little cry together.”
In a surprise, voters snubbed “Flower Moon” actor and past Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio. Fellow Oscar winner Robert De Niro received a supporting actor nomination for the movie.
Emma Stone nabbed a best actress nod for her role in “Poor Things” as Bella, a woman who goes on a journey of self-discovery after being raised from the dead.
“I am forever thankful for the opportunity to play Bella and see the world through her eyes,” said Stone, another previous Oscar winner, who was also nominated for best picture as a “Poor Things” producer.
Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The organization added more women and people of color to its ranks after the #OscarsSoWhite uproars of 2015 and 2016, and it increased membership from outside the United States. This year, votes came in from a record 93 countries.
Late-night talk show’s Jimmy Kimmel will for the fourth time host the Oscars ceremony, which will be broadcast live on Walt Disney’s ABC.
For best original song, Gosling’s lament “I’m Just Ken” will compete with Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” also from “Barbie.”
The 2024 Oscars take place Sunday, March 10 (US time), at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Full list of nominations
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
Best actor
- Bradley Cooper – Maestro
- Colman Domingo – Rustin
- Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
- Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
- Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Best actress
- Annette Bening – Nyad
- Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
- Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall
- Carey Mulligan – Maestro
- Emma Stone – Poor Things
Best supporting actress
- Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
- Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
- America Ferrera – Barbie
- Jodie Foster – Nyad
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Best supporting actor
- Sterling K Brown – American Fiction
- Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
- Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer
- Ryan Gosling – Barbie
- Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Best director
- 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 adapted screenplay
- American Fiction
- Barbie
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
- The Zone of Interest
Best original screenplay
- Anatomy of a Fall
- The Holdovers
- Maestro
- May December
- Past Lives
Best original song
- The Fire Inside – Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren)
- I’m Just Ken – Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt)
- It Never Went Away – American Symphony (Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson)
- Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George)
- What Was I Made For? – Barbie (Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell)
Best original score
- American Fiction
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
Best international feature
- Io Capitano
- Perfect Days
- Society of the Snow
- The Teachers’ Lounge
- The Zone of Interest
Best animated feature
- The Boy and the Heron
- Elemental
- Nimona
- Robot Dreams
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best documentary feature
- Bobi Wine: The People’s President
- The Eternal Memory
- Four Daughters
- To Kill a Tiger
- 20 Days in Mariupol
Best costume design
- Barbie
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Napoleon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
Best make-up and hairstyling
- Golda
- Maestro
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
- Society of the Snow
Best production design
- Barbie
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Napoleon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
Best sound
- The Creator
- Maestro
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
- Oppenheimer
- The Zone of Interest
Best film editing
- Anatomy of a Fall
- The Holdovers
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
Best cinematography
- El Conde
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Maestro
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
Best visual effects
- The Creator
- Godzilla Minus One
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
- Napoleon
Best live action short
- The After
- Invincible
- Knight of Fortune
- Red, White and Blue
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Best animated short
- Letter to a Pig
- Ninety-Five Senses
- Our Uniform
- Pachyderme
- War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Best documentary short
- The ABCs of Book Banning
- The Barber of Little Rock
- Island In Between
- The Last Repair Shop
- Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó