March 8, 2024/Midnight
Erie Pa., –Following the infamous lockdown of 2020, productions were delayed, movie theaters shut down, and streaming services took over.
In 2023, the film industry made a breaking comeback with audiences returning to the theater, ready to view new releases on the big screen.
Following a big year for movies, the much-anticipated Oscar Awards are airing this Sunday, March 10th at 7pm EST, celebrating groundbreaking records and historical firsts; this ceremony is not one to miss.
During July 2023, arguably the two biggest movies of the year premiered on the same day, causing the internet to find humor in the contrasting stories. Barbie and Oppenheimer (dubbed “Barbenheimer”) broke box office records.
Despite Barbie’s heartfelt themes and inspiring story, the movie is not nearly as nominated as the historical biopic. People took to social media to claim the Oscars snubbed Barbie actor Margot Robbie and the film’s director, Greta Gerwig, from the leading actor and best director categories.
With 13 nominations, Oppenheimer is the most nominated film this year, with multiple predicted wins such as Best Picture – the biggest award of the night. Cillian Murphy, playing Oppenheimer himself, is predicted to sweep his categories. If Murphy wins the best actor, and the film wins the best picture, it will be the first time since 2012 for the same film to achieve the two honors.
This year may introduce new firsts to the industry. The nominated film Killers of the Flower Moon anticipates multiple groundbreaking awards. Actor Lily Gladstone is nominated for the best leading actor for her raw performance painting the grief and suffering of a woman.
If she takes the Oscar home, she will be not only the first Native American to win the honored category but also the first Indigenous person ever to receive an Oscar. Gladstone is predicted to win the award and make history. The director of the film, Martin Scorsese, not only became the most-nominated living director due to the movie’s nominations, but if he wins Best Director, he becomes the category’s oldest winner at age 81.
Taking a step away from the direct film industry, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish is nominated for Best Song with her Grammy-awarded ballad, “What Was I Made For?” featured in Barbie. The melody recently won Song of the Year at the 2024 Grammy Awards, proving it to be a strong contender for the achievement. Eilish previously won an Oscar for Best Song at 20 years old, and this second nomination and predicted win could make her the youngest two-time Oscar winner. Eilish will be performing the song live this Sunday.
The 2023 film, American Fiction, has already made Oscar history for its nomination alone. The movie’s actors Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K Brown are the first Black actors in the same film to be nominated as best lead and supporting actors.
The number of groundbreaking records for this year’s awards seems to be countless. With the possibilities of actor Sandra Hutler being the first German-born actor to win the leading role category in 60 years or Emma Stone winning as an actor and producer, there are sure to be records broken and new ones made.
Tune in to the 96th Annual Oscar Awards this Sunday to witness groundbreaking moments and film history.
