Let’s break down the 2024 Oscar nominations

The Oscar nominations have finally been released for the upcoming award ceremony, happening on March 10, 2024. So let’s break down and reveal the nominations for the most anticipated categories, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director.

For Best Actor, the nominations are, Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction). While Jeffrey Wright is the favourite, and both Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamatti have received high praise from various voting bodies this season, Oppenheimer’s influence in other categories may give Cillian Murphy an advantage. Especially given Oppenheimer’s impact on the film industry last summer (2023), which earned $926 million at the worldwide box office, 10 weeks after its release. Murphy recently received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture for his portrayal in Oppenheimer. 

Moving on to the nominations for Best Actress. This particular category sparked controversy online for excluding one noteworthy actress, Margot Robbie, for her role in Barbie. The following actresses were instead nominated, Annette Bening (Nyad), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Carey Mulligan (Maestro), and Emma Stone (Poor Things). Critics currently predict it will be a race between Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone. Gladstone is making history as the first Native American woman to be nominated for Best Actress, saying she’s “not going to be the last, not by a long shot”.

The Best Picture category, recognised for being the ceremony’s most important award, brought forward many of our screen favourites. American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest are this year’s nominations. Whilst The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall is making much more revenue than expected, both critics and the public are focused on two films – you’ve guessed it, Barbie and Oppenheimer. The overwhelming success of the two films last summer, following their simultaneous release on July 21, makes them the two front-runners. This follows Oppenheimer Best Picture win at the recent Golden Globes Awards.

Best Original Song nominations include ‘The Fire Inside’ from Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren), ‘I’m Just Ken’ from Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt), ‘It Never Went Away’ from American Symphony (Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson), ‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)’ from Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George), and ‘What Was I Made For?’ also from the Barbie soundtrack (Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell). Outlets, including Forbes, have dubbed this category as a “battle against ‘Barbie’ for Best Original Song”.

This award has been amongst the most competitive categories at the Academy Awards as it’s one of the only ways musicians can win the prestigious Oscar. Since Barbie‘s release, ‘What Was I Made For?’ became instantly popular particularly with women and girls, ensuring it a strong nomination, especially after winning Best Song at the 2024 Golden Globes. That being said, ‘I’m Just Ken’ did win Best Song at the recent Critics Choice Awards, to everybody’s surprise – even Ryan Gosling’s.

Again, people online have been criticising the choice to nominate ‘I’m Just Ken’, and snubbing ‘Can’t Catch Me Now’ by Olivia Rodrigo, which featured in the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Whilst it was shortlisted for Best Original Song, it did not make the cut.

Best Supporting Actor nominees include Sterling K Brown (American Fiction), Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer), Ryan Gosling (Barbie), and Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things). Currently, all the “odds are favouring Robert Downey Jr” for his portrayal in Oppenheimer. If these predictions become true, this would become Robert Downey Jr.’s first-ever Oscar.

Meanwhile, the nominations for Best Supporting Actress include Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), America Ferrera (Barbie), Jodie Foster (Nyad), and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers). After her memorable monologue in Barbie, which mentioned how it is “literally impossible to be a woman,” many online fans are rooting for America Ferrera to win. Yet, Da’Vine Joy Randolph has topped this category at critics’ groups and award shows, including the Golden Globes, proving her as a strong nominee.

Last but certainly not least, we have the Best Director category. The nominees are, Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall),  Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), and Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest). Due to Oppenheimer‘s success last summer, many believe Nolan has a fair chance of winning. This is likely a shot at redemption for Nolan’s loss to Guillermo del Toro in this category for The Shape of Water at the 2018 awards.

The Best Director nominations have received online criticism for failing to include Greta Gerwig in the nominations for Barbie. Gerwig’s exclusion is surprising since she became the first female solo director to surpass $1 billion at the box office. Justine Triet is the only woman nominated in this category in a year where Emerald Fennell, Sofia Coppola, and Celine Song among many other female directors released popular films. Even in the 2023 ceremony, female directors were “severely overlooked” as there was not a single woman nominated in this category.

The Oscars will be broadcasted on ITV1 and ITVX, from 11pm, on March 10, 2024.