Christopher Nolan

“Oppenheimer,” a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan. After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, including best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan.

  Tarn Willers, Johnnie Burn, left, and  Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell.

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

  Jennifer Lame,  Holly Waddington.

Awards for the documentary winner, “20 Days in Mariupol,” and best international film, “The Zone of Interest,” brought geopolitics into the Oscar spotlight.

The most closely watched contest went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

  Mstyslav Chernov (centre), Raney Aronson-Rath and Michelle Mizner (right).

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2017 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation.  The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katharine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis. Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker. Addressing the crowd, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

 Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers. 

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, ultimately won just one award: best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

  Christopher Nolan and  Ludwig Göransson.

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design. “Poor Things” fared second best to “Oppenheimer,” with a total of four awards.

  Hoyte van Hoytema. 

Winners of the 2024 Oscars

Best picture

Oppenheimer

Best Actress

Emma Stone (Poor Things)

Best Actor

Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)Best Director

Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

Original song

What Was I Made For? Barbie — Music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’ConnellOriginal score

Oppenheimer — Ludwig GöranssonSound

The Zone of Interest — Tarn Willers and Johnnie BurnLive-action short film

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar — Wes Anderson and Steven Rales

Cinematography

Oppenheimer — Hoyte van HoytemaDocumentary feature

20 Days in Mariupol — Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath

Documentary short subject

The Last Repair Shop — Ben Proudfoot and Kris BowersFilm editing

Oppenheimer — Jennifer LameVisual effects

Godzilla Minus One — Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

International feature

The Zone of Interest, United KingdomCostume design

Poor Things — Holly WaddingtonProduction design

Poor Things — Production design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek

Make-up and hairstyling

Poor Things — Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh WestonWriting (Adapted screenplay)

American Fiction — Cord JeffersonOriginal screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall —JustineTriet, Arthur Harar

Animated feature film

The Boy and the Heron — Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio SuzukiAnimated short film

War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko — Dave Mullins and Brad BookerBest Supporting Actress

Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Associated Press