A new wave of Hollywood royalty was crowned on Sunday as the 96th Academy Awards honored the most emotional, exhilarating, and innovative films of 2023.
It was a strange year in Tinseltown. Productions were shut down for months, due to the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes that dragged on due to discrepancies over pay and artificial intelligence. That meant we went through a long stretch without any new releases, but the movies that did hit theaters included the culture-shifting blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer, which made a killing at the box office and got audiences thinking differently about what an “event movie” can look like. But those weren’t the only highlights: films like Poor Things, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives and more dazzled us, made us think, and moved us in ways we’ll remember for a long time.
There were serious political undertones too. Writer and director Jonathan Glazer used his win for best international feature film for The Zone of Interest to speak out against the war in Gaza. “Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst,” he said. And accepting the award for best documentary for 20 Days in Mariupol, Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov stressed: “I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine.” The evening’s In Memorium segment honored the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing,” a quote of Navalny’s on the screen read.
Even with so many spectacular nominees, someone has to come out on top in each category. So without further ado, here’s a look at the winners that will forever be remembered as the cream of the crop for this year in cinema.
The Complete List of Oscar Winners 2024
Best Picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best Director
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer – WINNER
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer – WINNER
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Best Actress
Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things – WINNER
Best Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer – WINNER
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers – WINNER
Best Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall – WINNER
The Holdovers
May December
Maestro
Past Lives
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction – WINNER
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron – WINNER
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Robot Dreams
Best Production Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Best Costume Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Best Cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things
Best Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Society of the Snow
Best Sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest – WINNER
Best Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One – WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Best Original Score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things
Best Original Song
“The Fire Inside,” Flamin’ Hot
“I’m Just Ken,” Barbie
“It Never Went Away,” American Symphony
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Killers of the Flower Moon
“What Was I Made For?” Barbie – WINNER
Best Documentary Feature
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER
Best International Feature
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest – WINNER
Best Animated Short
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko – WINNER
Best Documentary Short
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop – WINNER
Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó
Best Live-Action Short
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER
