Oscar nominees 2024: Who is nominated, where to watch

It’s the cinema’s night of nights and the hotly anticipated awards ceremony is nearly upon us. Movie writer Leigh Paatsch gives his verdict on who will win and who will miss out.

This year’s Academy Awards ceremony looks set to be dominated by the movie most pundits agreed was the best of its year.

The explosive atomic age historical blockbuster Oppenheimer has earned 13 Oscar nominations in total for Hollywood’s fabled ‘Night of Nights,’ and looks a certain winner in at least 9 categories.

Though Barbie is often mentioned in the same breath as Oppenheimer due to their famous dual release on the same day in July 2023, Australian Margot Robbie’s culture-up-ending hit (nominated in 8 contests) won’t be going home with many gold statuettes.

Other movies to the fore in what was a decidedly strong year for cinema include the freaky cult hit Poor Things, Bradley Cooper’s acclaimed music biopic Maestro, and Martin Scorsese’s marathon adaptation of the book Killers of the Flower Moon.

Movie writer Leigh Paatsch gives his verdict.

Best Performance by an Actor In a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper – Maestro

Colman Domingo – Rustin

Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Rehearse that fake smile: A stirring performance as a famed civil rights activist drew the widely respected Domingo his first Oscar nod. Hasn’t won elsewhere on the circuit this season, however, so no chance here. Wright is another with a reputation as “an actor’s actor”. While he is an imposing and memorably agitated presence in American Fiction, the film itself doesn’t return the favours it should.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: In any other year, Giamatti would be the victor. There is no better-spoken actor in the business. The bloke can do more with one line than most can hope for with a whole page of dialogue. The Holdovers showcases his genius superbly. Strangely, Cooper has been maligned in some circles for his work as American conductor Leonard Bernstein. The naysayers have it wrong. He is great.

And the Winner Is … Cillian Murphy. While never considered the most obvious choice to play the controversial nuclear pioneer Robert Oppenheimer, the ever-consistent Murphy had audiences under is command from his very first scene. The Irish star has won the Best Actor category at all the ceremonies that matter this season (with the exception of one shock loss to Giamatti).

Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy plays the controversial nuclear pioneer Robert Oppenheimer. Picture: Getty Images

Best Performance by an Actor In a Supporting Role

Sterling K Brown – American Fiction

Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling – Barbie

Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Hey, it’s a night out, isn’t it?: It is a soft year when an actor of De Niro’s calibre is making up the numbers. Flower Moon was far from the veteran’s finest hour, even if he was trapped in a one-note role needing little effort. Brown is yet another Oscar debutant with no hope of getting called up to the stage. Nevertheless, the sometimes-dull American Fiction snapped back to life whenever he stepped into frame.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: With so much love still in the room for all things Barbie, a win for Gosling (a key player in the movie’s success) would certainly liven up the evening. The Gozz will still get to steal the show on Oscars night when he gets to sing the insanely catchy anthem ‘I’m Just Ken’. Speaking of amusing scene-stealers, Ruffalo was just that in Poor Things, as a sleazy playboy gradually losing his powers of persuasion.

And the Winner Is … Robert Downey Jr. Hollywood loves a comeback narrative. Downey Jr. arrested a steep decline as an actor – largely due to all those Marvel Iron Man appearances – with a spectacularly precise performance that knocked everybody out. Remarkably, he has been nominated in this category before … for his controversial role in the now-forgotten comedy Tropic Thunder!

US actor Robert Downey Jr. won an award for his role in "Oppenheimer" during the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild awards. Picture: AFP

US actor Robert Downey Jr. Picture: AFP

Best Performance by an Actress In a Leading Role

Annette Bening – Nyad

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan – Maestro

Emma Stone – Poor Things

Tell the seatwarmer to go home early: Netflix spent big and campaigned hard to get Bening’s so-so portrayal of a flinty marathon swimmer into this line-up. So if you’re still up in arms about Margot Robbie missing out for Barbie, here’s the reason why. Almost inconceivable that third-time nominee Mulligan’s flawlessly calibrated portrayal of a thwarted wife stands no chance, but it is that kind of year.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: Just as Cate Blanchett was robbed last year in this category, the same fate looks almost certain to befall Emma Stone. Her fearless, groundbreaking work in Poor Things is arguably the best performance of all genders in the past year. And yet, those in the know (US pollsters and, tellingly, the Vegas bookies) are saying voters won’t be endorsing her brilliance. A travesty if it turns out to be true.

And the Winner Is … Lily Gladstone. A likely victory, sure, but a difficult one to truly endorse. Only the foolish would go knocking the deeply soulful quality of Gladstone’s work as an indigenous heiress slowly poisoned by her husband. However, hers really should be classified as a supporting performance. Gladstone is only on screen for 50 minutes (less than half the length of Stone) and spends much of that time barely saying a thing.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in "Killers of the Flower Moon”.

Lily Gladstone attends the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Picture: Getty Images

Best Performance by an Actress In a Supporting Role

Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple

America Ferrera – Barbie

Jodie Foster – Nyad

Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Take a selfie to remember the night by: Brooks was a dominant force in the musical reimagining of The Color Purple. Not her fault the movie was a bum-numbing bore. Can seek solace in the Tony she won for the same role on Broadway. Two-time Oscar-winner Foster has not been nominated in 29 years. She offered a welcome contrast to star Annette Bening in Nyad, but not a showy enough role for Oscar voters.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: Next time you watch Barbie, pay special attention to that inspirational speech delivered by Ferrara at a key juncture in the movie. It’s the kind of moment an actor waits a lifetime for, and she nails it with aplomb. A shame she’ll miss the boat here. Blunt did not have a lot to work with in Oppenheimer, but she made the most of every scene with genuine insight and intensity.

And the Winner Is … Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The hottest non-Oppenheimer favourite of the night is the unheralded Randolph. Better known for her stage work, Randolph took a minor role as a grieving school cook and transformed it into something major. Going toe-to-toe with co-star Paul Giamatti can be tough going, but she made it look easy. Has won everything on the circuit. Unbeatable.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph stars in The Holdovers. Picture: Getty Images

Best Achievement in Directing

Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Man

Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer

Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things

Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest

Forget that speech you memorised: Scorsese is here purely on the strength of past deeds, rather than any fertile new ground broken by the overlong and undercooked Flower Moon. Glazer’s work behind the camera in Zone of Interest borders on the miraculous, often conjuring moments every bit as powerful as anything in Oppenheimer. However, doubtful all voters made it through his confronting Holocaust picture.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: Lanthimos is the closest thing Hollywood has to a mad genius. Everything on his CV to date flouts a maverick weirdness that is as brave as it is original. Poor Things is his best work yet, and while it won’t win him an Oscar, his time is surely coming. Frenchwoman Triet has burst from nowhere with an undeniable masterpiece that marks her out as the most promising ‘new’ filmmaker to emerge in years.

And the Winner Is … Christopher Nolan. The British trailblazer that gave us the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk has long been regarded as close to the world’s best director. However, it is taken a while for Hollywood to take the hint (how has Nolan not won one of these until now?). His work on the epic Oppenheimer was not only an complex vision writ large, but also made crystal clear.

Emma Stone in Poor Things.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

The honour’s all yours, the spoils are all theirs: You can immediately put a pen right through Killers of the Flower Moon (way too long), American Fiction (way too obscure), Zone of Interest (way too challenging) and Anatomy of a Fall (way too French). Barbie has been close to friendless all awards season. Same goes for Maestro, which initially profiled like a big contender here. The Holdovers is strong, but not striking enough.

Deserves To Win, But Won’t: Have to feel for the Poor Things team, as theirs is the most flamboyantly original, strange and brave title of this bunch. It is everything that last year’s undeserving Best Picture victor (Everything Everywhere All at Once) was supposed to be, and more. As for the utterly beautiful (and close to perfect) Past Lives, simply being here is a triumph. However, its sheer excellence warrants wider recognition.

And the Winner Is … Oppenheimer. For the sake of the movie business, Oppenheimer simply must win. And not just because of last year’s inexplicable win for the hot mess that was Everything, Everywhere All at once. No, Hollywood needs to be encouraged to keep chasing big ideas, challenging concepts and the best talent with which to execute them. With AI threatening the future of storytelling in all mediums, the business needs all the Oppenheimers it can find. A victory for the shock, awe and magic that only the movies can deliver.

THE BEST OF THE REST

Best Screenplay – Original

And the Winner Is … Anatomy of a Fall. A writing masterclass delivers two great scripts in one: the first is a haunting murder mystery, the second is the best courtroom drama in many years.

Best Screenplay – Adapted

And the Winner Is … American Fiction. The Oppenheimer team will have to be content with a distant second to a ferocious satire supercharged by sharply perceptive writing (in the opening act at least).

Best Cinematography

And the Winner Is … Oppenheimer. Innovative camera placements and movements – combined with mesmerising lighting and colour choices – seals a dazzling deal for DOP Hoyte van Hoytema.

Best Animated Feature

And the Winner Is … Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Like its predecessor, this astonishing visual tour de force opened new frontiers in the animation field. Yep, it was that great.

Best Documentary Feature

And the Winner Is … 20 Days in Mariupol. A challenging, saddening and maddening documentary chronicle of the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As one onlooker says, this is a time where “good people become better, and bad people, worse.”

Best International Film: The Zone of Interest

Best Original Score: Oppenheimer

Best Original Song: ‘What I Was Made For’ from Barbie

Best Production Design: Poor Things

Best Costume Design: Poor Things

Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Maestro

Best Sound: Oppenheimer

Best Visual Effects: Godzilla Minus One
Best Film Editing: Oppenheimer

AUSSIES UP FOR AWARDS

Nicky Bentham: Short Film (Live action) — The After
Sara McFarlane: Short Film (Live action) — Red, White and Blue

Tony McNamara: Adapted Screenplay — Poor Things

Margot Robbie: Best Picture — Barbie. Despite starring in the film, Robbie isn’t nominated for her acting in Barbie, but for her work as a producer.

HOW TO WATCH

Channel Seven will broadcast the Oscars on free-to-air TV and its streaming platform, 7Plus, in Australia.

It’ll kick off with televised coverage of the red carpet arrivals at 9.30am AEDT, before the ceremony starts at 10am AEDT.
Over on 7Bravo, E! Live From The Red Carpet: The 2024 Oscars is live and exclusive from 7am AEDT, followed by the Red Carpet Rundown at 9.30am.

Originally published as Oscar nominees 2024: Who is nominated, where to watch