On March 10, the annual ceremony for the highest achievements in film came on, and the ceremony was certainly one to remember, with all of the great and legendary winners and nominees. As usual, the ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, in 23 categories honoring the films released in 2023. The nominations were announced on January 23, 2024. The biggest contender was Christopher Nolan’s biopic, Oppenheimer, telling the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, leading the race with 13 nominations. Previously, it was a massive critical and commercial hit, alongside Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film, and it became a cultural phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. This was also because they were critical and box-office hits, and were both released on the same day: July 21, 2023. With all of the crazy events, such as John Cena walking onstage naked, and all of the infamous snubs, this ceremony was one for the ages.

The ceremony began with the announcement of Best Supporting Actress nominees. A promising contender was Emily Blunt, who portrayed Kitty Oppenheimer, J. Robert Oppenheimer’s wife in the titular biopic. The award went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. The Best Animated Feature award went to the Japanese animated fantasy film, The Boy and the Heron. The Best Screenplay awards went to the films Anatomy of a Fall and American Fiction, respectively. The English historical drama Holocaust film, The Zone of Interest, claimed the Best International Feature Film Award, also taking Best Sound. 

Another major winner at the ceremony was Poor Things, directed by legendary Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone. It won Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Legendary actress Emma Stone, who previously won an Oscar for the 2016 musical romance film, La La Land, won a second Oscar for her role. The winner of Best Documentary Feature Film was 20 Days in Mariupol, which analyzes the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Other awards included Best Documentary Short Film, which went to The Last Repair Shop, Best Animated Short Film, which went to War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko!, and Best Live Action Short Film, which went to The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. A notable award included Best Original Song. The biggest contender included two songs from Barbie. It included “I’m Just Ken,” and “What Was I Made For?” The latter song ended up taking home the prize, and the winners included famous singers Billie Ellish and Finneas O’Connell.

The biggest winner of the 96th Academy Awards was Oppenheimer. In addition to having the biggest number of nominations (13), it also won the most awards, a grand total of 7. The film won Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. For their performances, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. won their first Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. Robert Downey Jr., who had been nominated twice before, got to celebrate his win. Cillian Murphy, meanwhile, became the first Irish male actor to win, as this was his first ever win and nomination. Famous filmmaker Christopher Nolan, known for his blockbuster films, such as The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012), and Inception (2010), won his first-ever Oscar for Best Director. Oppenheimer came out on top until the end, when it claimed the ceremony’s most important award: Best Picture.

However, another important part of the ceremony, and even for any awards ceremony, is the snubs. The people who seemed likely to win didn’t get their opportunities. A promising contender for Best Actress, was rising Native American actress Lily Gladstone, for her critically acclaimed Golden-Globe winning role as Mollie Burkart in the great Martin Scorsese’s Western crime drama film Killers of the Flower Moon, which easily became the most snubbed film of the ceremony. Since she had won at other ceremonies, it seemed she would win, but this was not the case. In addition, Robert De Niro, who received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as corrupt political boss William Hale, would have made Oscar history for having the longest gap between Oscar wins, as his last win was for the 1980 boxing drama Raging Bull, a film Scorsese also directed. However, he also didn’t win, not that Robert Downey Jr’s performance in Oppenheimer also wasn’t worthy. Legendary Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio, who along with De Niro, is Scorsese’s biggest star, didn’t even manage to secure a nomination for Best Actor for his legendary performance as murderer and criminal Ernest Burkhart in Killers of The Flower Moon. However, the person that was snubbed the most was Scorsese himself. Scorsese is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, creating legendary films that have changed cinema since the 1960s. Most of his movies are considered classics, and some of the greatest of all time. 10 of his films, Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), Hugo (2011), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), The Irishman (2019), and now Killers of The Flower Moon, all failed to earn him Best Director and Best Picture. Scorsese only won once, for Best Director for The Departed (2006), which today, remains his only film to win Best Picture. Killers of the Flower Moon is Scorsese’s 3rd film to go for 0-10 at the Oscars.

In addition to the results and the snubs, the ceremony was also memorable for other reasons. Most notable was John Cena. In an attempt to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of a certain incident that occurred at the Oscars in 1974, he appeared on stage mostly naked while presenting his assigned category. It caused many people to laugh, and viewers at home also enjoyed the humor. In addition, what also caught people’s attention was the Best Picture announcement, by legendary Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino, who presented the Best Picture Award but failed to actually address the 10 nominees. He announced Oppenhimer as the winner before quickly leaving, causing viewers to worry about his well-being.  In addition, songs from Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon were performed at the ceremony to honor the films. Stars were seen with red pins on their clothes and discussing the Israel-Hamas war, further drawing attention to world issues.

Regardless of the results and hiccups, the 96th Academy Awards received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, which was a huge contrast to previous ones. With this ceremony, a sense of humor and enjoyment was brought back to the Oscars, giving many people a night they won’t forget.