Oppenheimer leads Oscar nominations; Gerwig, Robbie, DiCaprio snubbed
BEVERLY HILLS, California — Oppenheimer, the epic film about the World War II race to build the first atomic bomb, dominated the Oscar nominations on Tuesday, receiving a leading 13 nods and solidifying its position as the frontrunner for the coveted Best Picture award.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, the three-hour drama surpassed gothic comedy Poor Things, another contender for Best Picture, which earned 11 nominations.
It’s a great year for movies, and it’s a real honor to be included, Nolan expressed in an interview.
Although acclaimed in Hollywood, Nolan has yet to see one of his films win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Oppenheimer is the favorite to win the top prize this year, based on its early wins during the awards season and the predictions of experts polled by the Gold Derby website. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures, a subsidiary of Comcast Corp.
In addition to Oppenheimer and Poor Things, the other films nominated for Best Picture include 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 a supporting actress nod for America Ferrera and a supporting actor nomination for Ryan Gosling. However, lead actress Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig were both snubbed.
Oppenheimer secured nominations for lead actor Cillian Murphy, who portrayed scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, as well as supporting cast members Emily Blunt and Robert Downey, Jr.
With both Barbie and Oppenheimer in contention, the upcoming Oscars telecast on March 10 promises to be a showcase of two blockbuster films. Together, these movies grossed nearly $2.4 billion in a box office battle called Barbenheimer during the summer.
Among the nominees, ten of the twenty acting contenders are first-time nominees. This includes Lily Gladstone, star of Killers of the Flower Moon, and Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction, which tells the story of a Black writer challenging stereotypes in the industry.
Notable snubs this year include director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie, who were instrumental in the success of Barbie in 2023. Leonardo DiCaprio, the lead actor in Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon, was also overlooked for a nomination.
Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon did manage to secure two of the ten Best Picture nominations. However, they face tough competition from Oppenheimer, the definite frontrunner with its impressive thirteen nominations.
Gerwig did receive a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Barbie, which she shares with her husband Noah Baumbach. The film, which grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide, scored a total of eight nominations. Robbie is credited as a producer for the movie’s Best Picture nomination.
Ryan Gosling, who played Ken opposite Robbie’s Barbie, expressed his disappointment with the snubs and praised Gerwig and Robbie’s talent and contribution to the film’s success.
The Oscar nominations also overlooked Greta Lee for her role in Past Lives, where she competed for a Best Actress nomination. Furthermore, Penelope Cruz did not receive a nomination for her supporting role in Ferrari, despite favorable reviews.
Bradley Cooper was not included in the Best Director category for Maestro, although he did receive a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Cooper was similarly snubbed in the directing category for his 2018 Best Picture nominee A Star is Born.
The Color Purple, a musical adaptation of the beloved book and 1985 film, received only one nomination, leaving it largely excluded from the 2024 Oscars race. Danielle Brooks was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, while American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino was overlooked for Best Actress.
The winners of the prestigious Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the approximately 11,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including actors, producers, directors, and other professionals in the film industry. The Academy has made efforts to diversify its membership in recent years, both in terms of gender and racial representation.
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will return for the fourth time as the host of the Oscars ceremony, which will be broadcast live on ABC, owned by Walt Disney.
