Paul Giamatti won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy at the 2024 Golden Globes for The Holdovers (2023). Photo courtesy of Variety.
The Academy Awards announced Jan. 23 the nominations for this year’s ceremony. Oppenheimer led with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things with 11, Killers of the Flower Moon with 10, and Barbie with 8. Popular blockbusters have been recently nominated over the past few years such as Barbie and Oppenheimer. Barbie amassed $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office last summer along with over $950 million for Oppenheimer, likely influenced by the films’ same release date — July 21, 2023 — trending “Barbenheimer” on social media. Although the latter is a biopic drama, the Academy favors this genre and director Christopher Nolan is claimed to be one of the best directors today.
The biggest snubs that shocked everyone undoubtedly were among 2023’s biggest film, Barbie. Director Greta Gerwig was snubbed from best director despite achieving a new box office record for highest grossing film directed by a woman, but she received a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film’s star Margot Robbie was also snubbed for the titular lead while her co-stars Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera received nods for Best Supporting Actor and Actress respectively; the latter of which came as a surprise for the scene stealer and her speech in the film. Gosling released a statement in response to this snub. He began with how honored he felt after receiving his nomination and continued, “but there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film. No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.” Margot Robbie broke the silence a week later and said, “There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed. Obviously, I think Greta should be nominated as a director. What she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing. What she pulled off, it really is. But it’s been an incredible year for all the films.” Despite the outrage, Robbie was nominated for producing the film, though the favored Oppenheimer seems it will take home the top prize this March. These two snubs drew away from the other surprises and diversity among the nominees achieved.
Lily Gladstone became the first Indigenous American nominated for Best Actress for Killers of the Flower Moon. Despite this breakthrough, experts predict that Emma Stone will achieve her second award for Poor Things as she retains a longer acting career of nearly two decades while Gladstone has only a decade of acting with Killers of the Flower Moon as her big break. Gladstone’s co-star Leonardo DiCaprio was snubbed while Robert De Niro garnered a nomination for supporting actor and director Martin Scorsese became the most-nominated living director with his 10th nomination. Despite Greta Gerwig’s snub for directing, Justine Triet was nominated for directing Anatomy of a Fall. While Triet competes with four male directors, only seven other women have been nominated for Best Director, and only three have won.
There were many films this year that received fewer nominations than expected, while many components of certain categories are underrepresented. Past Lives was only nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. May December received only a single nomination for Best Original Screenplay despite the Oscar buzz preceding the nominations announcement. While not every movie can be equally represented in nominations despite the prestigious categories, the Academy appears to frown upon animation and young male actors. Despite the critical acclaim and audience appeal of Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, both films were confined to Best Animated Film Category. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned over $1.3 billion and was 2023’s biggest year until Barbie surpassed it, did not receive recognition at all for consideration. Fans were also disappointed when the film’s song-turned-internet-sensation “Peaches” did not qualify for the Best Original Song category. In the 2000s, the Academy introduced the Best Animated Feature category and nominated animated films for other categories. However, since the start of the 2010s, animated films have been confined to that category and best original song. Animation is film, and it seems questionable why the Academy suddenly changed to suppress animation’s representation. It could be seen as just for kids even though there are more possibilities in this genre and can appeal to adults. Despite some representation for younger actresses, no male actors under 40 were nominated this year. Breakout stars like Charles Melton in May December and Dominic Sessa in The Holdovers seemed worthy contenders, but the Academy’s preference for older actors suggests they prefer professionals who have long been immersed in the industry.
For predictions made before the 96th Academy Awards, Oppenheimer seems likely to win most of its nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. From previous awards ceremonies and predictions, Robert Downey Jr. may garner his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Da’Vine Joy Randolph most likely will win Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers. As mentioned previously, a tight race for Best Actress narrows down to Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone. While Gladstone’s win would mark a historic first in the ceremony’s nearly centennial history, Emma Stone’s history of nominations, years of acting and critical acclaim make her likely to add another trophy to her case. The biggest tight race comes between Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamatti for Best Actor. This scenario reflects that of last year’s Best Actor winner Brendan Fraser and contender Austin Butler. Fraser returned to the public’s eye after seeming off the grid for his performance in The Whale, while Austin Butler earned recognition for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis. Butler also shifted his career after he had previously guest appeared on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon tween shows in the late 2000’s to a rising A-lister. However, Fraser maintained a more professional acting career, and his role focused more on drama. Many have viewed the film as depressing, the kind of genre the Academy acknowledges and favors. While Cillian Murphy is not a new name and has worked with Christopher Nolan previously, like when he portrayed Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in Batman Begins, it appears he has gained more recognition for his first major lead role in a film for portraying J. Robert Oppenheimer. In contrast, Paul Giamatti has continued his acting career over the years. However, his performance in The Holdovers marked a return to a more serious role and the father figure relationship from that film. While both may be considered equally great actors in their respective roles, Giamatti is sure to win the Oscar with this comeback. This is also largely suggested by his acquired acclaim from critics represented by his victories at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, and further expressed in his memorable acceptance speeches.