The Awards Season momentum of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (now streaming exclusively on Peacock) could be not be stopped Sunday night as the atomic bomb thriller nabbed an impressive total of seven Oscar wins, including the most coveted prize of the night, Best Picture, beating out the likes of American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers (also streaming on Peacock), Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, and The Zone of Interest.
In addition to Best Picture — which was presented by Al Pacino (celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Godfather Part II winning the same award) — the World War II-era biopic also took home accolades for Best Director (Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Editing (Jennifer Lame), Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), and Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema).
RELATED: Did Oppenheimer Ever Apologize for the Atomic Bomb?
Oppenheimer — which was up for a total of 13 Academy Awards, the most of any title released in 2023 — unfortunately lost out in the categories of Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt), Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Nolan), Makeup and Hairstyling (Luisa Abel), Production Design (Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman), Costume Design (Ellen Mirojnick), and Sound (Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell).
Despite an R-rating and hefty runtime of just over three hours, the nonlinear biopic centered around Manhattan Project physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Murphy) was one of the year’s biggest hits, both critically and financially, with a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, close to $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, and a slew of accolades from the National Board of Review, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, British Academy Film Awards, Saturn Awards, and more.
Oppenheimer Wins Best Picture at 96th Academy Awards
“I think any of us who make movies kind of dream of this moment. You know you do, right? I could deny it, but I have been dreaming about this moment for so long. But it seemed so unlikely that it would ever actually happen. Now I’m standing here and everything’s kind of gone out of my head,” producer Emma Thomas confessed during the final acceptance speech of the night.
She went on to credit the film’s success to her husband and producing partner, Chris Nolan. “He is singular, he is brilliant, and I’m so grateful to [him],” Thomas continued. The thing that’s fantastic about our jobs, is that it’s about collaboration. It’s about teamwork and our team was just incredible on this movie. Thank you to all of them — both cast and crew. Thank to you to Universal for supporting us. And I want to thank Rich Gelfond [CEO] and everybody else at IMAX for believing in this movie when it maybe didn’t make that much sense to do so. Thank you to all the theaters. As a moviegoer and as a filmmaker, that’s why we do what we do.”
“I certainly want to thank The Academy. I want to thank Universal Pictures’ Donna Langley and the whole team there,” added fellow producer, Charles Roven. “I, of course, want to thank my family and my wife, who always has my back and is — as all my friends know — the secret weapon of my life … And finally, I just want to say that I’ve had this amazing 20-plus year experience with Chris and Emma. Five movies over 20 years and it’s been one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. They’re a fantastic team and just to be part of making movies with them has been completely thrilling.”
How Many Oscars Did Oppenheimer Win at the 2024 Academy Awards?
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cleaned up at the 2024 Academy Awards, winning seven Oscars:
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Christopher Nolan)
- Best Actor (Cillian Murphy)
- Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.)
- Best Editing (Jennifer Lame)
- Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema)
- Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson)
Click here for the complete list of winners.
How to Watch Oppenheimer Right Now
Based on American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, Oppenheimer is now streaming exclusively on Peacock alongside a slew of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The NBCUniversal platform currently offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($5.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($11.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you’re a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year!
Not a Peacock subscriber just yet? The film is also available to purchase from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment!