2024 Oscar Awards: Oppenheimer rules the roost, and other big moments

The 96th Academy Awards commenced last night, and, as expected, Oppenheimer made all the noise! The Christopher Nolan film, which has been sweeping all the awards this season, won a total of seven Oscars out of 13 nominations, while Poor Things, which had the second-highest nominations at 11, claimed four statues. Sadly, it wasn’t the same for Barbie, which could only muster a single win—Best Original Song, while Killers of the Flower Moon didn’t win a single award. 

Here’s a round-up of the biggest wins from the night. 

An Oppenheimer clean sweep

Oppenheimer dominated proceedings, winning Best Picture (no surprise there!). The film also saw Christopher Nolan win his very first Oscar for Best Directing, while Cillian Murphy bagged Best Actor in a Leading Role. It was a first for Robert Downey Jr, who won his first Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. But it did not end there; the movie also won Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), and Best Film Editing (Jennifer Lame). With its many wins, you would think the film broke the record for most Oscar wins of all time. However, that title belongs to three movies—Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), which won a historic 11 awards!

A naked John Cena

Award presentations at the Oscars can be a lot of fun. This year's awards, too, took a very wild turn as John Cena presented the Best Costume award wearing absolutely nothing (you read that right). And, TBH, you’ve already seen the video more than once. The build-up to the act was perfect as host Jimmy Kimmel spoke about a streaker at the 1974 Academy Awards, with Cena letting him know that he didn’t want to ‘do the streaker bit’ anymore. 

That was followed by Cena covering his modesty with an oversized winner’s envelope and making his way to the centre of the stage with shocked reactions from everyone in the audience, especially Margot Robbie. He said, “Costumes are so important. Maybe the most important thing there is!” a response that saw everyone burst out laughing!

Jimmy Kimmel in top form

Donald Trump, Barbie, Robert Downey Jr—there wasn’t anyone that host Jimmy Kimmel spared on awards night. Right before Al Pacino took the stage to present Best Picture to Oppenheimer, Kimmel read aloud Donald Trump's latest social media post that bashed him as this year’s Oscar host. What Kimmel was reading was an actual Truth Social post by Donald Trump. The former president called the show itself "a really bad politically correct show" and "disjointed, boring, and very unfair."

Kimmel’s reaction to the bad review: “Thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still... Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Kimmel didn't stop showing his admiration for Barbie as he joked about director Greta Gerwig not getting a Best Director nod. He said, “Now, Barbie is a feminist icon, thanks to Greta Gerwig, who many believed deserved to be nominated for best director tonight. Hold on a second. I know you’re clapping, but you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her, by the way. Don’t act like you had nothing to do with this.”

He also went on to compliment both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling aka Barbie and Ken.

"I want you to know that if neither of you wins an Oscar tonight, both of you have won something much more important—the genetic lottery," Kimmel said. "Ryan, you are so hot, I could just eat you up."

He also made fun of Robert Downey Jr, who later won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Oppenheimer. "Look at him; he’s so handsome and talented; he’s won every award there is to win," Kimmel said. "Is that an acceptance speech in your pocket, or do you just have a very rectangular penis?" Another one of Kimmel's best jokes of the night was about Bradley Cooper, who brought his mom with him. "How many times can one bring their mom as their date before they’re dating their mom?" said Kimmel.

The best of the night was saved for Robert De Niro, as Kimmel joked about the legendary actor and his younger girlfriend. Kimmel said, “Here’s some fun Oscar trivia: 48 years ago, Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster were nominated for Taxi Driver, and they’re both nominated again tonight. 1976 was the year." He added, "In 1976, Jodie Foster was young enough to be Robert De Niro’s daughter. Now, she’s 20 years too old to be his girlfriend." This year, De Niro was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Jodie Foster is in the race for Best Supporting Actress for Nyad. As the camera cut to Foster, she gave an affirmative nod to the joke. De Niro, who sat with 45-year-old girlfriend Tiffany Chen, also looked amused at the joke. 

Billie Eilish breaks an 87-year record

Siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell made Oscar history by becoming the youngest and second youngest people to win an Oscar for the second time. The duo, who won their first Oscar two years ago for the James Bond theme song “No Time to Die,"  claimed the Best Original Song award for 'What Was I Made For?' from Barbie. The award saw Eilish make history by becoming the youngest two-time Oscar winner at the age of 22, surpassing the mark held by Luise Rainer, who was 28 when she won her second Oscar. Eilish is also the first woman to win the “Triple Crown” (Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe) of film music twice!

She performed her Oscar-nominated Barbie movie hit “What Was I Made For?” at the ceremony, with brother Finneas on the piano, and got a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd.

Director Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and America Ferrera were seen getting emotional in their seats, as were other celebrities, including Ariana Grande, who had tears in her eyes following Eilish’s performance.

Who's a good boy? Messi is

While the celebs dressed to impress, looking like a million bucks at the Oscar Awards, it was a four-legged furry friend that stole the spotlight. It was Messi, the 7-year-old border collie best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film Anatomy of a Fall. He was seen looking as adorable as ever, sitting in a plush red seat with a black bow tie around his neck. He got a lot of screen time with the camera panning to him when he put his paws up in applause for Robert Downey Jr's Best Supporting Actor win.

Complete winners list

Best Picture: Oppenheimer

Best Actor: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Best Actress: Emma Stone, Poor Things

Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer

Best Animated Short: War Is Over!

Best Animated Feature: The Boy and the Heron

Best Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall

Best Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Poor Things

Best Production Design: Poor Things

Best Costume Design: Poor Things

Best International Feature: The Zone of Interest

Best Visual Effects: Godzilla Minus One

Best Film Editing: Oppenheimer

Best: Documentary (Short Subject): The Last Repair Shop

Best Documentary Feature: 20 Days in Mariupol

Best Cinematography: Oppenheimer

Best Short Film (Live Action): The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Best Sound: The Zone of Interest

Best Score: Oppenheimer

Best Song: 'What Was I Made For?' from Barbie

Also read: The full list of nominations for 2024 Oscars and everything you need to know about the 96th Academy Awards

Also read: The biggest moments from the 2024 BAFTA Awards