- Oscar nominations announcement overview
- Key film contenders highlighted
- Notable performances and predictions
Tuesday, the 2024 Academy Award nominees will be announced, following a monumental year in film that saw Barbie and Oppenheimer dominate the box office.
In addition, Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, and The Holdovers are anticipated to feature prominently when the nominations are revealed at 13:30 GMT.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, and Robert Downey Jr. will probably receive acting nominations.
On March 10, Jimmy Kimmel will moderate the ceremony from Los Angeles this year.
A viral trend in which thousands of fans purchased tickets to see both films on the same day last summer, the Barbenheimer phenomenon makes this year’s Oscars considerably more accessible than usual.
Although several Academy Award ceremonies in recent years have honoured films that failed to impact the general public significantly, producers anticipate an increase in interest and viewership due to the probable inclusion of Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Which films are vying for the award for best picture?
A rule change a few years ago guaranteed ten slots for the best picture category, broadening the field.
The films Oppenheimer, Barbie, Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Holdovers are expected to be nominated.
Additionally, American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro, The Zone of Interest, and Past Lives are considered strong contenders and are highly probable to contend for the Academy’s preeminent award.
However, Society of the Snow, May December, The Colour Purple, and All of Us Strangers might easily score top nominations.
Recently, Origin has been the focus of a last-minute effort after numerous precursor ceremonies failed to recognise it. This effort is comparable to the one that earned Andrea Riseborough an unexpected acting nomination last year. This campaign aims to have Origin recognised at the Oscars.
Who is competing for the role of an actor?
After a marginally weaker field in 2023, the category for best actor is exceedingly crowded and competitive this year.
The leading candidate for the role of a grumpy teacher in The Holdovers is Paul Giamatti. He monitors kids who stay in his residential school over the holidays.
Cillian Murphy, who portrays theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, is another candidate in the contest, whereas Bradley Cooper’s performance as composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro could earn him recognition.
Since it portrays civil rights icon Bayard Rustin, Rustin’s Colman Domingo is a strong possibility. Additionally, Jeffrey Wright’s character as an exasperated author in American Fiction merits recognition.
Although marginally less probable, additional potential candidates include Leonardo DiCaprio of Killers of the Flower Moon, Barry Keoghan of Saltburn, Zac Efron of The Iron Claw, and Andrew Scott of All of Us Strangers.
Equally occupied is the category of finest actress. Lily Gladstone is expected to receive recognition for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon as an Osage woman residing in 1920s Oklahoma who must contend with white settlers’ attempts to exploit their land for oil.
Outstanding Performances in Contention
Emma Stone’s portrayal of a newborn whose brain is transplanted into an adult woman will likely get her a nomination. She subsequently embarks on a global adventure.
Sandra Hüller’s performance as a mother accused of murdering her husband in Anatomy of a Fall may garner recognition. In contrast, Carey Mulligan’s depiction of Leonard Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre, in Maestro is likely to place her among the few British nominees.
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The Academy may award Margot Robbie for her production of the blockbuster success Barbie, Greta Lee for her portrayal of a woman who reunites with her childhood sweetheart in Past Lives, or Annette Bening for her performance as record-setting swimmer Diana Nyad in Nyad.
Priscilla: The Colour Purple actress Cailee Spaeny and The Colour Purple actress Fantasia Barrino are still candidates.
How do the subsidiary categories fare?
Da’Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers is the most reliable candidate among all the acting categories. She has dominated all the precursor ceremonies and is a strong contender for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
In the same category, Danielle Brooks of The Colour Purple, Emily Blunt of Oppenheimer, Jodie Foster of Nyad, and Penélope Cruz of Ferrari could join her.
Julianne Moore of May-December, Rosamund Pike of Saltburn, and America Ferrera of Barbie are potential nominees.
Oppenheimer’s Robert Downey Jr. will almost certainly lead the race for the supporting actor nomination. Still, Barbie’s Ryan Gosling, American Fiction’s Sterling K. Brown, and May December’s Charles Melton also have a chance.
In the interim, two actors from Poor Things—Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe—could be recognisable. Robert De Niro, who appeared in Killers of the Flower Moon, is never an unsafe risk.
How do the directors fare?
Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan, both for Killers of the Flower Moon, are two Oscar-winning directors. Their films debuted this year and are almost certain to be nominated in this category.
Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest, Greta Gerwig for Barbie, and Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things may qualify.
Conversely, Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Alexander Payne for The Holdovers, and Celine Song for her accomplished directorial debut Past Lives could all contend for positions.
Although the nominees for best director were exclusively male, two of the last three champions have been female.
Just why is the original best melody so crowded?
But, Barbie. Last summer, the film’s soundtrack was nearly as ubiquitous as the film itself.
This year, three tracks from the film are vying for the musical prize: What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish, Dance the Night by Dua Lipa, and I’m Just Ken, which Ryan Gosling performs.
However, Oscar regulations limit nominations to two compositions from the same film; therefore, at least one of those above will be overlooked.
The vacant positions could be occupied by compositions such as Road to Freedom from Rustin by Lenny Kravitz and It Never Went Away from American Symphony, composed by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson of the American rock band Semisonic.
However, compositions lifted from the soundtracks of The Colour Purple, Flora and Son, Flamin’ Hot, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes may present competition; Olivia Rodrigo may receive a nomination for Can’t Catch Me Now for the latter.
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