The 2024 Academy Awards have finally come and gone, and the one thing we can all appreciate is that this time around, it was actually fun to watch. Why, you ask? Well, because Ryan Gosling made what would have possibly been a routine evening so much better with a fantastic performance of “I’m Just Ken,” alongside Guns N’ Roses legend Slash.
Going back to the main event, the 96th edition of the film awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel stepping in as host once more (apparently, Ricky Gervais left such a lasting impression on award show producers that Jimmy Kimmel has become the go-to choice when you need to play it safe).
Regardless, the night did have some lively moments, like John Cena presenting the Best Costume Design award wearing literally no costume and Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling having it out over the Barbie and Oppenheimer rivalry. Ultimately, the latter film proved the victor of the night after winning seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Check out the full list of winners:
Best Picture Winner
- Oppenheimer – Universal Pictures
Best Director Winner
- Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Best Actor Winner
- Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer as J. Robert Oppenheimer
Best Actress Winner
- Emma Stone – Poor Things as Bella Baxter
Best Supporting Actor Winner
- Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer as Lewis Strauss
Best Supporting Actress Winner
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers as Mary Lamb
Best International Feature Film Winner
- The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) – Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Best Original Screenplay Winner
- Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
Best Adapted Screenplay Winner
- American Fiction – Based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett
Best Documentary Feature Winner
- 20 Days in Mariupol – Associated Press/PBS
Best Documentary Short Film Winner
- The Last Repair Shop
Best Animated Short Film Winner
- War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko
Best Live Action Short Film Winner
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – Netflix
Best Original Score Winner
- Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
Best Animated Feature Film Winner
- The Boy and the Heron – Studio Ghibli
Best Original Song Winner
- “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie – Music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Best Sound Winner
- The Zone of Interest
Best Production Design Winner
- Poor Things
Best Cinematography Winner
- Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema
Best Makeup and Hairstyling Winner
- Poor Things
Best Costume Design Winner
- Poor Things – Holly Waddington
Best Film Editing Winner
- Oppenheimer – Jennifer Lame
Best Visual Effects Winner
- Godzilla Minus One
This year’s awards turned out to be rather predictable, with the only surprises coming from the Best Actress and Best Animated Feature categories. Emma Stone triumphed over her fellow nominees in the former, stunning many in the crowd who expected Lily Gladstone to win her first Academy Award for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon.
For Stone, this will be a monumental achievement, given that this is her second Academy Award (her first coming from her role in 2016’s La La Land). As for the Best Animated Feature category, Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the clear favorite going into the awards, but Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron proved that Studio Ghibli is still a force to be reckoned with.
We’d be remiss not to mention that Christopher Nolan finally got his long-overdue recognition from the Academy. His compelling biopic Oppenheimer saw the British filmmaker clinch the Best Picture and Best Director awards, alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy, who won Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively.
Putting on a show like the Academy Awards during such a turbulent and difficult time in the movie industry without really touching on it came both – or either – as refreshing and awkward for fans. On the one hand, for one glamorous evening the storm clouds were ignored, but on the other it also seemed like an exercise in denial.
We’re definitely curious how the next Academy Awards will play out considering the absolute havoc being wreaked on release schedules. Could the reckoning sweeping through Hollywood at long last give a better chance to indie productions, removing the omnipresent predictability from the Oscars?
We’ll have to wait and see how the year shapes up at the cinemas.
