Oscar winners 2024

The big winner on the night was Oppenheimer, which picked up five of the ‘main’ awards, and seven in total.  But perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was that Poor Things won in four categories, including a second Oscar for Emma Stone in the Best Actress category (where Lily Gladstone has been seen as the frontrunner).  But it remains a shame that Barbie, arguably the biggest cinematic success story of 2023, was all-but snubbed entirely (only winning one Oscar for Best Original Song) – a fact which is all the more ironic given that Ryan Gosling and co’s performance of I’m Just Ken was undeniably the highlight of the ceremony itself.

But I know the real question on everyone’s lips is – how many of my predictions did I get correct?!

When the smoke cleared, I got 8 out of 10 correct, which is certainly an improvement on my score last year!

Best picture winner – Oppenheimer

My Prediction – Oppenheimer

I don’t think the frontrunner was ever in any real danger.

Best actress winner – Emma Stone (Poor Things)

My Prediction – Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)

I thought after the SAG Awards that Lily Gladstone was the favourite here, but Emma Stone winning for her (admittedly) award-worthy performance in Poor Things was arguably the biggest surprise on the night.

Best actor winner – Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

My Prediction – Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

A deserved winner, in my opinion.

Best supporting actress winner – Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

My Prediction – Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

I haven’t seen The Holdovers yet, but I loved Da'Vine Joy Randolph in The Lost City and Only Murders In The Building, so I’m happy for her.

Best supporting actor winner – Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer)

My Prediction – Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer)

As I predicted, Hollywood loves a comeback story!

Best director winner – Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

My Prediction – Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

Oppenheimer may not be my favourite Christopher Nolan film, but it’s the one that finally found him the Oscar recognition that he deserves.

Best adapted screenplay winner – American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)

My Prediction – Barbie (Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach)

I went with my heart over my head in this category, hoping that Greta Gerwig would get some recognition for her incredible work on Barbie ... but it was not to be.  Cord Jefferson was perhaps the more logical frontrunner, and despite my disappointment for Gerwig, I’m happy for Jefferson, especially given that this was his debut feature.

Best original screenplay winner – Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet & Arthur Harari)

My Prediction – Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet & Arthur Harari)

Anatomy of a Fall was always the one to beat in this category, although as I predicted, this was the only category where it did win an award.

Best cinematography winner – Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema)

My Prediction – Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema)

Another well-deserved win for Oppenheimer, which also won for Best Original Score and Best Film Editing.

Best costume design winner – Poor Things (Holly Waddington)

My Prediction – Poor Things (Holly Waddington)

This is the category where I thought Poor Things would find success – and it also won Best Production Design and Best Make-Up & Hairstyling.

Other winners:

In the end, Barbie only won one award (Best Original Song for “What Was I Made For?”), while the Academy went for the “safe” choice of The Boy and The Heron for Best Animated Feature, rather than the more boundary-pushing Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.  And while I’m happy for Godzilla Minus One, I really hoped that The Creator would win Best Visual Effects, given how revolutionary its approach to VFX was.