‘Oppenheimer’ dominates 2024 Oscars with seven awards; ‘Poor Things’ takes home four prizes

Oppenheimer dominated the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday (March 10), winning seven Oscars, including best picture, after going into the ceremony with 13 nominations.

The epic biographical drama from British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, already winner of the Bafta and Producers Guild of America best film awards as well as the Golden Globe for drama feature, also brought Nolan (himself winner of the Bafta and Directors Guild of America directing awards) his first directing Oscar.

Oppenheimer delivered other statuettes to Nolan’s producing partners Emma Thomas and Charles Roven, Ireland’s Cillian Murphy as lead actor and Robert Downey Jr as supporting actor.

Nolan’s blockbuster was stopped from taking an even bigger Oscar haul by Poor Things, which ended the night with four wins from its 11 nominations, including a lead actress win for Emma Stone, and The Zone Of Interest, which won two awards from its five nominations. 

Killers Of The Flower Moon, whose Lily Gladstone was thought to be in a close contest with Stone for lead actress, had garnered ten nominations and Maestro seven, but both came out of the ceremony empty handed. Barbie, which together with Oppenheimer boosted last year’s summer box office, ended the evening with a single win.

Distributor totals

Among companies, Oppenheimer distributor Universal had the biggest tally, with seven wins from 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things distributor Searchlight, with five Oscars, also from 13 nominations and A24 with two wins. Netflix had scored the biggest nomination haul with 18 nods, but ended up with a single win

Other Oppenheimer wins brought recognition for cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, with his first Oscar win, editor Jennifer Lame and original score composer Ludwig Goransson. 

The Zone Of Interest, backed by Film4, A24, Access Entertainment and the Polish Film Institute and also nominated for best picture, became the first UK entry to win the international film Oscar, adding to its Baftas for British film and non-English language film.

Writer-director Jonathan Glazer gave the ceremony’s only acceptance speech to mention the war in Gaza, calling himself and producer James Wilson “men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza”.

The Zone Of Interest also produced an achievement in sound Oscar win for British talents Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn, who previously won the Bafta for their work on the film. 

Ukraine war chronicle 20 Days In Mariupol followed up its Bafta win with the documentary feature Oscar. Director Mysyslav Chernov said this was the first Oscar in Ukrainian history but that if he could he would exchange it for “Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities.” Chernov ended his speech with the “slava Ukraini” motto usually translated as “glory to Ukraine.

Hayao Miyazaki’s possible swan song The Boy And The Heron followed its Bafta and Golden Globe wins to take the animated feature Oscar, beating Annie- and PGA award winner Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

Screenplay winners

The closely contested screenplay categories produced honours for two films that were not on the big winners list.

France’s Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won best original screenplay for Anatomy Of A Fall, adding the Oscar to their Bafta and Golden Globe awards and the film’s Palme d’Or.

The adapted screenplay award went to Bafta and Independent Spirit winner Cord Jefferson for American Fiction.

After winning awards in the category from Bafta, SAG and the Independent Spirits, Da’Vine Joy Randolph confirmed her sure-thing status by taking the supporting actress Oscar for The Holdovers, that film’s only win of the night.

Behind-the-camera categories produced three wins for UK artists who contributed to Poor Things and had previously won Baftas for their work on the film.

The production design Oscar went to James Price and Shona Heath and Hungarian set decorator Zsuza Mihalekwon for Yorgos Lanthimos’ comedy. Holly Waddington took the statuette for costume design. And Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston won for makeup and hairstyling.

Japan’s Godzilla Minus One team of Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tasuji Nojima beat out other American nominees for the visual effects Oscar. 

The original song award went to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for ’What Was I Made For?’ from Barbie.

The Oscar for live action short went Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar, the honour for animated short to War Is Over! Inspired By The Music Of John & Yoko and the statuette for documentary short to The Last Repair Shop.