The 96th Academy Awards have been anticipated since blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer came out last summer.  Audiences around the country predicted these two movies to be the leading nominees.  This past Tuesday, the 23rd, the Oscar nominations were announced live.  We want to be one of the first to report them to you.  Out of the 23 categories, we will reveal five categories and their nominations.  After, we will voice our opinions and predictions (listen to Lily, she guessed almost every Golden Globe winner correctly.  Shannon’s just here for the shiny award, the Hollywood gossip, and the celebrities).  

This ceremony has a lot to live up to.  Last year, countless movies and actors made history.  Everything Everywhere All At Once actress Michelle Yeoh made history by becoming the first Asian actress to win an Oscar.  “Naatu Naatu” from RRR became the first Indian song to be nominated for an Oscar and win.  There has been a sizable difference in the list of nominated movies.  At last year’s ceremony, 54 movies, film shorts, and documentaries were nominated.  This year, there are only 38.

These are the nominees for some of the more notable categories:

Best Picture

• American Fiction
• Anatomy of a Fall
• Barbie
• The Holdovers
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Maestro
• Oppenheimer
• Past Lives
• Poor Things
• The Zone of Interest

Actor in a Leading Role

• Bradley Cooper – Maestro
• Colman Domingo – Rustin
• Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
• Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
• Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

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

Cinematography

• El Conde
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Maestro
• Oppenheimer
• Poor Things

Directing

• Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall
• Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
• Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
• Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
• Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest

Barbie is nominated for Writing (Adapted Screenplay).  Weeks ago, there was controversy over this choice.  Variety notes that Barbie intended for a nomination in Original Screenplay.  Valid, considering that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach wrote the screenplay themselves.  Yes, the movie is based on a product, but nowhere in the existence of the Barbie Doll did one have an identity crisis and travel to the human world.  And Ken never started a patriarchy!  

Oppenheimer sweeps the nominations with 13, Killers of the Flower Moon with 10, and Barbie is left in the dust with eight.  Notably, none of the nominations included director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie.  Last year, directing greats James Cameron and Joseph Kosinski were snubbed nominations.  Don’t worry, Greta,  you are not alone.  And neither is Celine Song, director of Past Lives.  Lead actress in Past Lives, Greta Lee, has also been left out of the running.  Billie Eilish and Ryan Gosling were nominated for their songs “What Was I Made For?” and “I’m Just Ken.”  Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” was skipped out on a nomination, despite being nominated for a Golden Globe.  

Boston Symphony Orchestra’s own John Williams is nominated for his score in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.  This is his 54th nomination!  He broke his own record of being the oldest person ever to receive an Oscar nomination.  Walt Disney currently holds the title for the most Oscar nominations with 59, but Williams is catching up!  Lily Gladstone makes history with her nomination as the first Native American nominated for actress in a leading role, for her part in Killers of the Flower Moon. Recently, she became the first Native American to win a Golden Globe.  Scott George was also nominated for an Oscar for creating the score for Killers of the Flower Moon. He is the first member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award.  Like Gladstone, many nominees are nominated for the first time.  America Ferrara, Cillian Murphy, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jeffrey Wright, Emily Blunt, and Sandra Hüller are the other first-time nominees for acting.  

Below, we’ve voiced our predictions separately on who will win in the listed categories above.  

Lily Jarbeau’s predictions: I think Oppenheimer will win a lot this year, and Best Picture is one of them. I also think that Cillian Murphy will take Actor in a Leading Role, which is supported by his recent Golden Globe win. For Actress in a Leading Role, Emma Stone is my prediction, she won Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. For cinematography and best director, Oppenheimer is coming back in my opinion. Christopher Nolan is such an admired director, and so the sweep will continue, but I think that Martin Scorsese is very close behind.

Shan Raneri’s predictions: For Best Picture, I would love to see The Holdovers win.  Despite my hope, I have to go with Oppenheimer.  For Best Leading Actor, again, I would love to see Paul Giamatti, but this is definitely going to Cillian Murphy.  A common trend within awards shows is that dramas always win over comedies, so I think the Oscar will go to Lily Gladstone instead of Emma Stone for Best Leading Actress.  I, honestly, have no clue who is going to win Cinematography.  I don’t know, probably Oppenheimer?  For Directing, I would love to see Justine Triet win because she (unexpectedly) won two awards at the Golden Globes.  Then again, to see Martin Scorsese win (because he is absolutely legendary), would be great too.  Might as well add Christopher Nolan too, since Oppenheimer is probably going to win most of these anyway.  

Looking at our reviews (mind you, we wrote these separately!), it’s safe to say that Oppenheimer will sweep the categories.  Maybe this year the Oscars will take viewers’ opinions into account, but it is very unlikely.  That’s the People’s Choice Awards (which we voted for).  Nonetheless, we are very still very excited to see the outcome of the 96th Academy Awards.  

What are your predictions for the upcoming Oscars?