This Oscars season, “Oppenheimer” sweeps up 7 awards, as expected. Once more, “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” have been shown the door. On Sunday night, the Academy proved what we already knew for long – it is truly an international event. And that campaigning works wonders.
Huge Anticipation for Oppenheimer
The Oppy campaign began very slowly because of the dual strike in Hollywood by writers and actors. However, it picked up momentum and kept winning every award there is – Critics Choice to BAFTAs to Oscars. “Oppenheimer” is based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s book by the title “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.”
Although the subject of the movie is pretty serious, the creative and gripping storytelling style of director Christopher Nolan made it worth the watch. Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Matt Damon are among the cast. Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. made this epic film with $100 million in explosions.
Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Chuck Roven shared the Best Picture trophy, Cillian Murphy lifted the Best Actor award, and Nolan got another for Best Director. Robert Downey Jr. won for Best Supporting Actor, Hoyte van Hoytema for Best Cinematography, Ludwig Göransson for Best Original Score, and (Jennifer Lame for Best Film Editing.
Why Oppenheimer Connects
80 years after the nuclear threat ever began, the world is still seeing its effects. Today, as Russia’s Putin rattles the nuclear option and countries are in the middle of the war, the film makes sense. In fact, “Oppenheimer” is hugely successful in bringing people to the theatres post the pandemic.
On the other hand, “Barbie” is a message-oriented film, similar to Oppy. But here, it is a satire about women’s issues, and as you know, they are less appreciated. The Academy also prefers serious films. Still, this Greta Gerwig’s film won just a single Oscar for Best Original Song “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas.
Likewise, even “Killers of the Flower Moon” had a few chances of winning because of its length. This Martin Scorsese film ran for 3 hours and 26 minutes! No one has the time to sit through the whole thing, to be honest. Based on Native American true stories, it featured Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead.
Meanwhile, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” won 4 Oscars. This twisted “Barbie-on-drugs” kind of a story secured the Oscar for Best Costume, Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Actress for Emma Stone.
Foreign Languages Films Won the Oscars
4 years ago, the Korean movie “Parasite” got an Oscar statuette, the first foreign language film to win. In 2024, 5 foreign pictures received the coveted trophies. 3 are European – “Anatomy of a Fall” (French) for Original Screenplay, “Zone of Interest” (German) for International Feature and Sound, and “20 Days in Mariupol” (Ukrainian) for Documentary.
Two Japanese-language films won – “Godzilla Minus One” for Visual Effects and “The Boy and the Heron” for Animated Feature. This is the highest number of Oscars that non-English movies have ever won.