Oscar Nominations 2024: Large and Small, Local and Abroad

(Courtesy ABC)

Academy members from a record 93 countries around the world were involved with this year's Oscar nominations (announced this morning by Academy president Janet Yang, and presenters Jack Quaid and Zazie Beetz). And a large majority of that diversity is collectively reflected in each category and genre--with a few snubs thrown in, as is common. 

First, let's talk about the films that we weren't surprised got recognized this year. As one of two blockbuster hits that did phenomenally well with both audiences and critics, Barbie picked up noms for its colorful and respectable costumes and production design, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's satirical screenplay (although some, like myself, would argue that it was more original than adapted), two of its songs (the tongue-in-cheek "I'm Just Ken" and the deeply emotional "What Was I Made For"), the supporting performances of Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera, and as Best Picture. 

The other record-breaking success it shared the screen with last summer, fellow Best Picture-nominee Oppenheimer, earned Christopher Nolan his second nomination as Best Director (after Dunkirk in 2018). Nolan also picked up nominations for his adapted screenplay and for co-producing the film, while the biopic's score, sound, production design, editing, and cinematography went off at the push of a button. And let's not forget the two standout performances by Robert Downey Jr. (supporting actor) and Cillian Murphy (lead actor). 

Other acclaimed films that made the cut included Martin Scorsese's western epic Killers of the Flower Moon (Best Picture, Director, Editing, the late Robbie Robertson's posthumous score, Original Song, Cinematography, and DeNiro's supporting role; I'm rooting for Native American actress Lily Gladstone's lead performance), Alexander Payne's seasonal dramedy The Holdovers (Best Picture, Editing, and performances from Paul Giamatti and Da'vine Joy Randolph; hats off for David Hemingson's original screenplay), Yorgos Lanthimos's dark comedy Poor Things (Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo's performances), Bradley Cooper's music drama Maestro (Best Picture, Makeup & Hairstyling, Original Screenplay, Sound, Cinematography), and Cord Jefferson's daring satire American Fiction (Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Score, and Jeffrey Wright's brilliant performance). 

Other inclusions that weren't surprising were Animated Feature nominees The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki's latest masterpiece from Japan), Elemental (Pixar's inventive and emotional romantic comedy about personified elements), and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Animation's genre- and medium-bending Marvel superhero sequel). While tentpole movies like Gareth Edward's sci-fi epic The Creator and Christopher McQuarrie's globe-trotting action-adventure sequel Mission: Impossible--Dead Reckoning Part One performed below expectations during their theatrical runs, the Academy recognized each of them for their respective visual effects and sound designs (and deservedly so). The same could be said for Ridley Scott's large-scale take on France conqueror Napoleon, which picked up nominations for its costume design, production design, and visual effects. Speaking of Napoleon (but on a different note), Napoleon Dynamite alum Jared Hess and wife Jerusha Hess scored their first Oscar nominations for their animated short film, Ninety-Five Senses. 

(L-R) Anatomy of a Fall (Neon) and Zone of Interest (A24)
(Courtesy Deadline) 

Other first-time nominees included Emily Blunt (for her supporting role as the wife of the titular Oppenheimer), Colman Dimongo (for his lead performance as March on Washington organizer Bayard Rustin, in George C. Wolff's historical biopic Rustin) and Sterling K. Brown (for his supporting role as a gay sibling, in American Fiction). Oscar veterans Annette Bening and Jodie Foster also picked up nominations (their first in 13 and 29 years, respectively) for their performances as real-life swimmer Diana Nyad and her friend-coach Bonnie Stoll, in Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's sports drama Nyad. 

Jonathan Glazer's Holocaust thriller Zone of Interest and Justin Triet's courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall both shared nominations as Best Picture, International Feature, Directing, and Screenplay (Zone's adapted, Fall's original). The only differences are Zone's sound design and Fall's Lead Actress Sandra Huller. Even so, I believe this is the first time in the Academy's history that two international features were also nominated for Best Picture in the same year! 

While Margot Robbie's absence as Best Actress for Barbie is a bit of a bummer (she was recognized as one of the film's producers, a credit she shares with fellow nominee Bradley Cooper), it's even more of a letdown that Greta Gerwig didn't get a Best Director acknowledgement. Other snubs included Cooper as Best Director for Maestro (although he was recognized as Lead Actor, along with lead actress Carey Mulligan, and as co-producer, along with Steven Spielberg), Leonardo DiCaprio's leading role in Killers of the Flower Moon (ditto Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth's masterful adapted screenplay), Alexander Payne as Best Director for The Holdovers, and the impressive visual effects for Oppenheimer. Another of the year's best films, Celine Song's thoughtful drama Past Lives, only received two nominations (Best Picture and Original Screenplay). Greta Lee not being recognized as a Lead Actress is another shame, because her performance was one of the best of 2023. I will say, Past Lives does count as an International Feature, alongside Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall. So that's a pretty remarkable achievement. 

The musical adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple received only one nomination, for Danielle Brooks' commanding supporting turn. (Lead actress Fantasia Barrino, a phenomenal performance, was left out.) Other films with sole nominations include Todd Haynes' dark comedy May December (Original Screenplay; nothing for actresses Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, nor acclaimed supporting actor Charles Melton), Wim Wender's character drama Perfect Days (International Feature from Japan), Matthew Heineman's engrossing documentary American Symphony (Original Song by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson; it arguably should've gotten a Best Documentary Feature nomination), James Mangold's adventure sequel Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (for John Williams' reportedly-final film score; both Williams and Scorsese are the oldest nominees this year), Takashi Yamazaki's monster movie update Godzilla Minus One (for its visual effects), and Wes Anderon's short film adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (his feature-length comedy Asteroid City wasn't recognized at all). 

If there's a common theme among this year's roster of films, I would say it includes box-office hits, comedies, epic stories (both large scale and small scale), and international darlings. Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen, for the televised broadcast (with host Jimmy Kimmel) on March 10th.