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Fans flock to theaters for the 'Barbenheimer' double feature

Rachel Treisman

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Jeffrey Williams (left), who rented out a Barbie screening for his birthday, and Andrew Roof pose next to an Oppenheimer poster at the Regal Gallery Place in Washington, D.C., on Friday night. Rachel Treisman/NPR hide caption

Jeffrey Williams (left), who rented out a Barbie screening for his birthday, and Andrew Roof pose next to an Oppenheimer poster at the Regal Gallery Place in Washington, D.C., on Friday night.

The two big movies hitting theaters this weekend couldn't be more different.

There's Oppenheimer , Christopher Nolan's sprawling biographical thriller about the man known as the father of the atomic bomb, which the director has said will leave viewers "absolutely devastated." And there's Greta Gerwig's Barbie , a fantasy comedy with original songs and enough pink paint to prompt a real-life shortage .

Together, they form Barbenheimer. Or is it Oppenbarbie? Boppenheimer?

Go see 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' in theaters — doubleheader or not is your call

Movie Reviews

Go see 'barbie' and 'oppenheimer' in theaters — doubleheader or not is your call.

Whatever you call it, it's blown up into a cultural juggernaut.

Warner Bros. and Mattel unleashed a powerful Barbie marketing blitz , with over 100 official brand collaborations . Retailers and restaurants have followed suit, offering their own twist on " Barbiecore ."

And while Oppenheimer has taken a more subdued approach, all the hype appears to have given both movies a boost.

For weeks people have been making memes and merchandise celebrating the mashup, effectively transforming a box-office battle into an unlikely double feature.

And it seems many people are actually committing to the bit: The National Association of Theatre Owners projects that more than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings of both movies across North America this weekend.

A 'Barbie' v. 'Oppenheimer' Game

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A 'barbie' v. 'oppenheimer' game.

"This weekend has captured the cultural imagination in an unprecedented way," association President and CEO Michael O'Leary, told NPR in a statement. "People ... are flocking to the theatres in groups, with family, friends, neighbors, to celebrate two different, but amazing motion pictures."

Sixteen percent of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain's guests have bought tickets to both films, a spokesperson for the chain, which has 39 locations, told NPR in an email Friday. Roughly two-thirds of those seeing both are starting with Oppenheimer , the spokesperson said.

NPR spoke to more than a half-dozen people at a Washington, D.C., movie theater who were there to see one or both movies Friday night. Several of them doing the double feature — either on the same day or back-to-back nights — said they were in it largely for the experience.

Mishaela Robison, who saw Barbie on Thursday, was back at the theater with two friends the next night to watch Oppenheimer and then Barbie again. They said they had decided earlier in the day to double on Barbie because they had loved it so much, and because they'd bought a movie subscription pass months ago to lower the cost.

They agreed they probably wouldn't be seeing the former — at least on opening weekend — if not for the latter.

"I wouldn't see Oppenheimer , but I would see Barbenheimer," Robison said.

What's the deal with these movies?

Both movies come from directors with devoted fanbases, feature ensemble casts and grapple with existential dread — to varying degrees.

Oppenheimer tells the story of American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Peaky Blinders ' Cillian Murphy), who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II and helped develop the country's first nuclear weapons. Nolan has described him as "the most important person who ever lived."

'Barbie' is pretty in pink — but will she also be profitable?

'Barbie' is pretty in pink — but will she also be profitable?

Upon seeing the first successful bomb test in the New Mexico desert in 1945, Oppenheimer reportedly quoted a Hindu scripture: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" — now available on a T-shirt in pink curlicue script, as it happens.

The three-hour epic is based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Martin Sherwin and Kai Bird. It's the 12th film by Nolan, whose previous blockbusters include "The Dark Knight" trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk .

Barbie , on the other hand, follows the Mattel icon (played by Margot Robbie) as she experiences an existential crisis: "Do you guys ever think about dying?" she asks on the dance floor at one point in the trailer.

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She and Ken (a very committed Ryan Gosling) leave idyllic-looking Barbieland behind to explore the real world and discover "the truth about the universe."

Indie director Gerwig wrote the screenplay with her partner Noah Baumbach. This is her third film as solo director, after Lady Bird and Little Women.

The movie, which clocks in at just under two hours, amounts to both corporate propaganda and Malibu metacommentary, NPR's Aisha Harris writes .

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Advertisements for Oppenheimer and Barbie are seen above the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Advertisements for Oppenheimer and Barbie are seen above the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday.

Why did they come out on the same day?

It's increasingly rare for two such high-profile movies to hit theaters on the same day.

Some think it might have to do with Nolan leaving Warner Bros. (after its controversial decision to release its 2021 movies in theaters and on its streaming service simultaneously) and make Oppenheimer with Universal instead.

Their theory is that Warner Bros. chose to release Barbie the same day out of spite. When asked about this by Insider at a recent press event, Nolan chuckled and refused to answer.

'American Prometheus' authors on 'The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer'

Trinity and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb

'american prometheus' authors on 'the triumph and tragedy of j. robert oppenheimer'.

Opposite blockbusters have been pitted against each other in the past, like 10 Things I Hate About You opening against The Matrix in 1999. And, in a much-discussed parallel , Nolan's The Dark Knight premiered on the same day as Mamma Mia in the summer of 2008.

Experts say releasing two different genres of movies on the same day can actually be good for business, especially if they appeal to distinct demographics.

And it certainly appears to be fueling ticket sales for both Barbie and Oppenheimer , whose target audiences may not be as segmented as some originally thought.

One Twitter user went viral back in April for suggesting that there would be little overlap. He was immediately inundated with tweets — many from women in STEM — proving otherwise.

Did the 'Barbie' movie really cause a run on pink paint? Let's get the full picture

Did the 'Barbie' movie really cause a run on pink paint? Let's get the full picture

The Barbenheimer frenzy has reached a fever pitch in the weeks since.

Viral social media memes have poked fun at everything from the movies' opposing aesthetics to viewers' requisite costume changes to the sheer volume of the hype itself.

People have started making Barbie/Oppenheimer posters featuring a massive pink mushroom cloud. And sites like Etsy and Redbubble are selling all kinds of crossover T-shirts, mixing and matching the movies' slogans and visuals.

"It's Mattel versus the Manhattan Project and BarbenHeimer," Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for Comscore, told NPR's Mandalit del Barco . "That just means that this is going viral, and that's good news for both Barbie and Oppenheimer ."

What does an internet phenomenon look like in real life?

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Deneen Nabinett and her daughters dressed up for Barbie on Friday, after seeing Oppenheimer the previous night. Rachel Treisman/NPR hide caption

Deneen Nabinett and her daughters dressed up for Barbie on Friday, after seeing Oppenheimer the previous night.

The crowd at the Regal Gallery Place in downtown D.C. was awash in hues of bright pink and glittering rhinestones on Friday night, as groups gathered in the lobby for evening showings of Barbie and, in some cases, Oppenheimer too.

Jeffrey Williams, rocking a replica of Robbie's Western-inspired outfit from the movie, was celebrating not only opening night but his 26th birthday. He had called ahead back in May to reserve a theater to screen Barbie with more than 50 friends.

"I'm just an extra human being ... if the outfit doesn't sell that enough, and so I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate," said Williams, who plans to see Oppenheimer next weekend. "I think it's probably the biggest movie cultural day in a while, so can't pass that up."

Even movie regulars said they were surprised by the size of the crowds.

Deneen Nabinett and her daughters say they come to the theater every Friday, but had to split their double feature into two nights in order to get their preferred seats. They saw Oppenheimer first on Thursday, and Nabinett said — on her way out of Barbie — that the order didn't really matter.

"Either way we wanted to see both of them, so I'm just glad it worked out," she said.

Not everyone NPR spoke with was in the midst of a double feature.

The spectacular femininity of bimbos and 'Barbie'

It's Been a Minute

The spectacular femininity of bimbos and 'barbie'.

Brandon Thomas said he's a fan of Nolan and has been waiting to see Oppenheimer for months — and says while he doesn't care much about Barbie, he'll probably see it eventually.

"I'm just glad people are in the theaters," he added.

And the costumes weren't only for Barbie . Robison dressed up for Oppenheimer , wearing a vintage, long-sleeved turquoise dress that she said her grandmother used to wear to work when she was around her age.

"It really reminds me of Barbie , even if it's not a Barbie fit, because it's about the ties of femininity and there's a really good line in [the movie] about mothers and daughters and the work mothers do so their daughters can see how far they've come," she explained. "And I have composed a very nice text to send her about all of this."

Robison, 24 and her friend Margaret Murphy, 23, compared Barbenheimer to another ongoing cultural phenomenon — Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, for which people have been dressing up in aesthetically similar outfits and shelling out money for Swift-themed merchandise and experiences, too.

"I feel a little bit of fomo with the Eras Tour," Murphy said. "And so getting to have my own little Eras Tour, where I got a dress for Barbie last night, and I felt like a little princess going to see Barbie, and it being so influential for my life, it felt like such a good, well-rounded moment."

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Mishaela Robison and Margaret Murphy made Barbenheimer-themed friendship bracelets to give out at the theater in a nod to another cultural phenomenon, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Rachel Treisman/NPR hide caption

Mishaela Robison and Margaret Murphy made Barbenheimer-themed friendship bracelets to give out at the theater in a nod to another cultural phenomenon, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

The two even took a page out of the Eras Tour playbook by making friendship bracelets , which Swifties have been exchanging in the crowds at concerts. But instead of referencing Swift lyrics or album titles, their beaded creations said things like "Kenergy" and "Barbenheimer."

Robison said she had been inspired by that embrace of femininity and expression of solidarity and figured they would transfer well to Barbie too — she'd been giving out bracelets at the theater.

"And hopefully it'll be a cultural moment people remember," she added. "So maybe it'll go in a museum in a hundred years."

What's the ideal viewing order?

There's been so much chatter about seeing both movies that it's even spurred a spirited online debate : Which one should you watch first?

Spending five-plus hours in a movie theater is no small commitment, and there's been a lot of discussion on how best to go about it. Do you start with Oppenheimer and some strong coffee, and finish with Barbie and a dance party? Or do you ease in with a Barbie brunch so you can drag your depleted self straight to bed when it's all over?

Coffee and face masks at 10AM Mimosas and glam 11:30AM Barbie movie 2PM Joint at 4:30PM Olive Garden 5PM Oppenheimer 7PM Applebees Happy Hour 10PM https://t.co/eWowDFZzat — Jacqueline (@jvckierios) June 24, 2023

While public opinion seems to favor ending on a lighter note, there are compelling arguments to be made for each side, as Slate reports .

Some experts have weighed in, too.

Robbie, Barbie herself, called it a "perfect double bill" at her movie's premiere last week .

"I think actually start your day with 'Barbie,' then go straight into 'Oppenheimer' and then a 'Barbie' chaser," she said.

In search of tunes for your 'Barbenheimer' pregame? Look no further

In search of tunes for your 'Barbenheimer' pregame? Look no further

Tom Cruise, whose latest "Mission: Impossible" movie opened in theaters last week, said at his premiere that he plans to see both, likely starting with Oppenheimer . Others have endorsed his approach.

"If you see Oppenheimer last then you might be a bit of a psychopath," Barbie actor Issa Rae said.

Gerwig told The Hollywood Reporter that she also recommends treating Barbie as a palate cleanser.

"I want to have mimosas and drinks and cocktails after Barbie , I don't want to, like, sulk," she said. "That's just my plan, as long as you're seeing Barbie I don't care."

What's Hollywood saying?

Those who worked on the movies appear to be enjoying the rivalry-turned-alliance.

A picture of Gerwig and Robbie posing with their Oppenheimer theater tickets last month, for example, sent the internet into another minor frenzy.

Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie with their opening night tickets for ‘OPPENHEIMER’. pic.twitter.com/VHwFuxst6d — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 30, 2023

"I love that there's solidarity though, where people tried to pit us against one another but now it's turned into like a double-feature situation," Gerwig told THR .

She also told USA Today that she feels "very shiny" to be associated with Oppenheimer , adding that "a rising tide lifts all boats."

Nolan told Insider that many in the industry have been longing for "a crowded marketplace with a lot of different movies."

"That's what theaters have now, and those of us who care about movies are thrilled about that," he said.

3 lessons past Hollywood strikes can teach us about the current moment

3 lessons past Hollywood strikes can teach us about the current moment

Oppenheimer actor Emily Blunt, who wore "Barbie" pink heels to her movie's premiere, similarly told USA TODAY that the other film's cast has been "so supportive" toward hers.

"It doesn't have to be competitive!" she said. "It's really cool and that's what we want: that full spectrum of what you can see in movie theaters. We love it."

An important note: Now that SAG-AFTRA is on strike, the actors are officially prohibited from promoting their movies. That's why the Oppenheimer stars walked out of the London premiere last week, and why Robbie's glamorous parade of Barbie-inspired red carpet outfits was cut short.

And don't worry, you can watch the movies without crossing the proverbial picket line.

SAG-AFTRA is not calling for a consumer boycott of movie theaters or streaming services at this time, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told NPR in an email.

"There may well come a time when we ask fans to send their message of support through direct economic action, but for now, we hope that they will inform themselves about our cause and share that information with their network of family, friends, and colleagues," he said.

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Tom Cruise Is Planning To See Both "Barbie" And "Oppenheimer" On Opening Weekend, And He's Already Decided Which One He's Going To First

“I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer . I’ll see them opening weekend."

Joseph Longo

BuzzFeed Staff

Even Tom Cruise is on the " Barbenheimer " train, though he isn't technically planning a back-to-back double feature.

Close-up of Tom smiling

For the past several weeks, Tom has been all over the world promoting his latest film in the Mission: Impossible series: Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. The film comes out July 12, which is a little over a week before the films Barbie and Oppenheimer head to theaters July 21.

Close-up of Tom smiling with Mission: Impossible poster behind him and the Sydney Opera House in the background

All this, combined with the recent release of the latest  Indiana Jones  film,  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , has made it a busy time at the box office. Fortunately, Tom appears to be the supportive movie star, publicly posting on Twitter last week about his excitement over the three new films he isn't in.

This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie. pic.twitter.com/udWHHj4fAe — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) June 28, 2023

Barbie  director Greta Gerwig and the film's star Margot Robbie quickly followed suit and posed with tickets to  Indiana Jones ,  Oppenheimer , and  Mission: Impossible.

Mission: Accepted! pic.twitter.com/DJ2gm5e4XU — Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) June 30, 2023

Since  Barbie  and  Oppenheimer  drop the same day, some moviegoers have to decide which film to see first, with many dubbing the double-film event "Barbenheimer."

We’re into Barbenheimer month. Choose your fighter. pic.twitter.com/me54rFcO4Y — Queen's Film Theatre (@QFTBelfast) July 3, 2023

Well, it turns out Tom already has his plan figured out for the July 21 weekend, and he's not planning a same-day screening of both films.

Close-up of Tom smiling at a press event

“I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer . I’ll see them opening weekend. Friday I’ll see Oppenheimer first, and then Barbie on Saturday," he told the Sydney Morning Herald on July 3.

Margot in a scene from Barbie getting her mug shot taken

If it isn't already clear, Tom is a big fan of seeing films in theaters. “I grew up seeing movies on the big screen. That’s how I make them, and I like that experience; it’s immersive, and to have that as a community and an industry, it’s important,” he told the publication. “I still go [to] the movies.”

Close-up of Tom smiling and wearing sunglasses, a jacket, a T-shirt, and jeans

So there's Tom's plan. What about yours? Tell us in the comments below whether you plan to see Barbie or Oppenheimer first.

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Tom Cruise Lays Out Plan To See ‘Oppenheimer’ & ‘Barbie’ On Their Opening Weekend

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Cillian Murphy in 'Oppenheimer,' Tom Cruise in 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning' and Margot Robbie in 'Barbie'

Tom Cruise is on a mission to watch both Oppenheimer and Barbie on their opening weekend and is opening up about how he’ll make it happen.

“I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer . I’ll see them opening weekend,” he said per The Sydney Morning Herald . “Friday I’ll see Oppenheimer first and then Barbie on Saturday.”

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Cruise has made it no secret of his intentions to hit the Cineplex to see Oppenheimer and Barbie and recently showed off his tickets as proof .

“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters,” he tweeted. “Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie .”

This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie. pic.twitter.com/udWHHj4fAe — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) June 28, 2023

Cruise is highly credited for bringing audiences back to theaters when Top Gun: Maverick broke records over the summer. The actor is also preparing to hit theaters again as Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One opens July 12, a week before Oppenheimer and Barbie .

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Tom Cruise Is a Barbie - Oppenheimer Double-Feature Evangelist

Portrait of Zoe Guy

Tom Cruise is going door-to-door spreading the gospel. The Barbie and Oppenheimer double-feature gospel, that is, a church in which Matt Damon also belongs . These two big-budget summer blockbusters will debut on the same day, which leads some to pit each movie’s box-office numbers against the other or vow to see both of them in a doubleheader. Cruise is a part of the latter sect. “This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters,” the Mission Impossible star tweeted. “Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history,” he wrote before adding the important bit about an atom-bomb procedural epic and an existentialist movie about a plastic doll. “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie,” he finished. Cruise included pictures of himself and an executive holding movie tickets to each film mentioned. The real question, though, is the order one should view the movies. Is there a universally acknowledged sequence that one must view to get the best possible experience? Cruise doesn’t give us insight in his tweet. He needs to hurry up and make a suggestion before some brave soul tries to watch both films at the same time and ends up subconsciously associating Barbie with congressional hearings about nukes.

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Even Tom Cruise is planning a Barbie and Oppenheimer double feature

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Jessica is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog.

Tom Cruise , ex-husband of AMC ad sensation Nicole Kidman , is emboldening moviegoers to flock to the theaters this summer.

The movie star encouraged a double feature of Greta Gerwig 's Barbie and Christopher Nolan 's Oppenheimer, both in theaters July 21, in a Twitter post celebrating the riches of the summer movie season. That also includes James Mangold 's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , which marks Harrison Ford 's last outing as the famed archaeologist.

"This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters," Cruise wrote. "Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie ."

Cruise will also be fronting a blockbuster this summer with Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One , in theaters July 12. The pressure's on, as Cruise's last summer outing, Top Gun: Maverick , grossed a staggering $1.5 billion worldwide. In the aftermath of its success, filmmaker Steven Spielberg was overheard telling Cruise that he was "saving Hollywood's ass" as the industry attempts to rebound from the pandemic.

As for the Barbie vs. Oppenheimer discourse, Matt Damon , who stars opposite Cillian Murphy in the war drama, previously encouraged a double feature , telling Vanity Fair last month, "People are allowed to go see two movies in a weekend. Oppenheimer is one of them!" As for which title his family would prefer to hit first (Damon shares four daughters with wife Luciana Barroso), he said, "I'll have to ask them that. If that's the case, they'll see two movies that weekend!"

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Tom Cruise, Self-Appointed Box Office Savior, Plans to See ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ on Opening Weekend

  • By Emily Zemler

Emily Zemler

Tom Cruise ‘s latest mission is to single-handedly prove that movies should be seen in theaters. The Mission: Impossible star has confirmed he will see Christopher Nolan ‘s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig ‘s Barbie as soon as they open simultaneously on July 21.

“I want to see both  Barbie  and  Oppenheimer ,” the actor told The Sydney Morning Herald . I’ll see them opening weekend. Friday I’ll see  Oppenheimer  first and then  Barbie  on Saturday.”

Cruise added that he wants to encourage viewers to go out and see movies in theaters, rather than waiting for streaming. He confirmed he’s a big proponent of enjoying films with that sense of true spectacle.

“I grew up seeing movies on the big screen,” Cruise said. “That’s how I make them, and I like that experience; it’s immersive, and to have that as a community and an industry, it’s important. I still go the movies.”

“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters,” Cruise wrote. “Congratulations, Harrison Ford , on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie .”

Speaking to the Herald , Cruise added, “Harrison Ford is a legend. I hope to be still going. I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.”

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After Cruise tweeted his intention to see Barbie , Gerwig and star Margot Robbie posted photos of themselves with tickets for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One , as well as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Oppenheimer . “Mission accepted,” the pair wrote on the Barbie Twitter page.

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Tom Cruise Encourages ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Double Feature to Support Theaters

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Tom Cruise is continuing to save movie theaters.

Earlier this year, the “Top Gun: Maverick” star was praised by Steven Spielberg for having “ saved Hollywood’s ass ” at the box office. Now, Cruise has taken to Twitter to encourage audiences to see this year’s summer blockbusters on the big screen.

“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters,” Cruise tweeted. “Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with ‘ Oppenheimer ‘ and ‘ Barbie .'”

The next month sees the summer movie season ramping up. Harrison Ford’s presumed final appearance as Indy in “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ” hits theaters June 30 . “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are set to battle it out at the box office with a shared July 21 release date. Related Stories 2 Key Sundance Theaters in Park City Filed for Bankruptcy The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in March, from ‘Fair Play’ to ‘Emily the Criminal’

“Vanilla Sky” and “Eyes Wide Shut” actor Cruise’s expansive Hollywood career has seen him become a advocate for the sanctity of theaters. Cruise allegedly convinced Paramount to give “Dead Reckoning” a theatrical release without undercutting the box office with a 30-day streaming window premiere on Paramount+.

A recent Puck report also claimed that Cruise has personally called rival studio executives and exhibitors in hopes of convincing them to relinquish PLF (premium large-format) screens for “Dead Reckoning” screenings. PLF screens come with an upcharge fee. “Oppenheimer” is already confirmed to be taking over all IMAX screens in North America for three weeks, which could kick out “Dead Reckoning” screenings.

An IMAX representative told IndieWire that IMAX will still house a three-week “Oppenheimer” plan for 1,550 out of IMAX’s total 1,700 venues worldwide while the Christopher Nolan film premieres later in China and Japan. “Oppenheimer” was entirely shot in IMAX.

This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie. pic.twitter.com/udWHHj4fAe — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) June 28, 2023

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Tom Cruise Is Doing an 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie' Double Feature Too: 'Doesn't Get More Explosive'

The "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" star shared his excitement for some of the upcoming films he wants to watch in theaters

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Monica Schipper/WireImage

Tom Cruise is showing some love for his fellow filmmakers and actors!

The Hollywood icon — gearing up for the theatrical release of his own film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One next month — took a break from his action-packed schedule to tweet about some of the summer movies he is looking forward to watching himself.

Among the films he praised were Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , the long-awaited sequel starring Harrison Ford as the legendary adventurer (out Friday), the atomic-bomb biographical thriller Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Barbie with Margot Robbie as the famous toy. The latter two films will be released on the same day: July 21.

“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters,” Cruise wrote alongside photos of himself and his Dead Reckoning — Part One director Christopher McQuarrie in front of each of the films' respective posters.

"Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history," added the actor, 60, "I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie.”

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Cruise was recently on the red carpet in Rome for the world premiere of Dead Reckoning Part One, as previously reported by PEOPLE, praising how people of different cultures "all join together to enjoy cinema" as he gave a speech from the city's famous Spanish Steps, according to Variety .

"It’s something that I grew up with, that made me and inspired me to dream and want to travel the world," Cruise said. “My goal since I was little was to make movies and travel. And not just be a tourist, but work in that world and understand their culture."

"Through my movies, I’ve been able to have that because everyone here has allowed me to entertain them. It’s a privilege that I have never taken for granted," he continued in his speech, highlighting the importance of seeing movies in theaters. "It’s my passion to entertain you, and I will always fight for big theaters and that kind of experience for everyone.”

Cruise joined his longtime collaborator McQuarrie, 54, along with some of the stars of the film, such as Esai Morales , Simon Pegg , Frederick Schmidt, Shea Whigham , Mariela Garriga, Rebecca Ferguson , Hayley Atwell , Pom Klementieff and Vanessa Kirby .

TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty

The star complimented his collaboration with McQuarrie — who directed the last two Mission: Impossible movies and also wrote 2022's Top Gun: Maverick — during his speech, saying the director has "had a hand in every single film I’ve made over the past 16 years."

"He is my creative brother and an exceptional human being,” Cruise said.

McQuarrie and Cruise have been working together since at least 2008, when McQuarrie wrote the script for Valkyrie . He later directed Cruise for the first time in 2012’s Jack Reacher , which led to him becoming the Mission: Impossible franchise’s director starting with 2015’s Rogue Nation .

In the series’ newest entry since 2018,  Dead Reckoning Part One follows Cruise's Ethan Hunt and his IMF team racing their most perilous mission: to stop a horrifying weapon that endangers mankind before it’s too late.

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters July 12.

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Tom Cruise is all in on Barbie-Oppenheimer double feature: ‘It doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink)’

Fans have been debating what order to see the blockbusters, which both release on 21 july, article bookmarked.

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It’s less than a month until two of the biggest movies of the year are released on the same day – and Tom Cruise is excited.

Greta Gerwig ’s Barbie – starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling – and Christopher Nolan ’s Oppenheimer – starring Cillian Murphy – are both due for release on 21 July.

As a result, cinemagoers have been planning on watching the two blockbusters as a double feature and are now debating in what order to watch them.

Cruise, whose own summer action film Mission: Impossible – Dead Ref10ckoning Part One is out on 12 July, has expressed his desire to see the movies back-to-back.

In a tweet shared on Wednesday (28 June), the 60-year-old Top Gun star also praised Harrison Ford on his fifth and final Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , which is released in cinemas on Friday 30 June.

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“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theatres,” Cruise wrote.

“Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie .”

Cruise is known for passionately promoting the cinema industry. Earlier this year, Steven Spielberg was filmed telling the actor he’d “saved Hollywood’s ass” thanks to his $1.5bn-grossing Top Gun revival, Maverick.

At the Dead Reckoning UK premiere last week, Cruise told Insider : “I’m always pushing. I just remember, every time they say, ‘Can you top it? Can you not top it?’, we’re always pushing.

“Every film I do, whatever genre it’s in, I want to make it as entertaining as possible for that audience. I know I can do things better.”

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In the seventh film in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Cruise join forces with Avengers star Hayley Atwell to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens humanity.

For the most part, reviewers have fawned over Cruise and the film’s breathtaking action sequences . Back in April, the star treated Cinemacon attendees to an “epic” 20-minute motorcycle chase sequence from the movie , which saw the 60-year-old action star bombing around the Italian capital.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is out in cinemas 12 July.

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SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Reveals All! Here's The Order He Plans To See Barbie And Oppenheimer

Barbie Oppenheimer

Both Greta Gerwig's ultra-pink, kid-friendly fantasy "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's terse biography "Oppenheimer" will be released on July 21, 2023. One promises to be a fluffy look at one of the most popular toy products ever made, while still interrogating the negative impact it had on the world. The other will be a deep look into the mind of a man whose brilliance and engineering acumen created one of the most deadly weapons ever conceived by humankind. The audiences for the two films could not be more different. 

Or could they? Enterprising cineastes the world over have been intrigued by both Gerwig's and Nolan's movies, and delight in the bizarre juxtaposition of the two being counterprogrammed in theaters against one another. As such, one might find that some audience members fully intend to go to their local multiplex on July 21 and construct one of the most jarring double features imaginable. The term "Barbenheimer" has become a minor meme in recent months, happily blending the two prospective film experiences into one. One can even find Barbenheimer t-shirts on Etsy.

Of course, the question remains: which film does one watch first? Do you start with a frothy, lighthearted romp, have a drink, and then contemplate the destruction of the Earth via nuclear bomb? Or does one start with the longer, headier film, and chase it with something colorful?

One notable fan asking this question is Tom Cruise, star of "Taps" and "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One." He, like many of us, intends to see "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on their opening weekend. He also, as he revealed in a recent interview with Variety , has a plan of action.

Cruise's Barbenheimer plans

Cruise, it seems, has no plans to marathon both films on the same day. Gerwig's "Barbie" is a surprisingly long 114 minutes, while Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is a hefty 180 minutes. Add in a 15-minute break for coffee, as well as the typical theater's coming attractions reels, and that's about six straight hours at the theater. This is not feasible for viewers who have day jobs or require babysitters. Cruise is likely a busy guy — his own new action blockbuster will be playing in theaters alongside "Barbenheimer" — so he'll be splitting up the experiences. His plan: 

"I want to see both 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer.' I'll see them opening weekend. Friday, I'll see Oppenheimer' first and then 'Barbie' on Saturday."

Fine. A hefty movie for a Friday night, then a Saturday matinee to unwind. This is as good a plan as any. 

How one orders "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" may well depend on your disposition. If one wants to leave the theater in a hopeful mood, pondering that little kids can take hope from their toys and construct identities for themselves, then finish with "Barbie." If one prefers to leave a theater with a great weight on their brain, contemplating how humankind's implied promise of a grand technological future was ultimately betrayed by the construction of an atomic bomb, then definitely finish with "Oppenheimer." Personally, I would skew toward the latter. Either way, I'd be interested to hear reviews from people — including Cruise — who tried doubling up. 

It's been theorized that any two films, when watched back-to-back, seem to share a thematic link. Perhaps the link would be different if "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were watched in a certain order. 

How would you construct a Barbenheimer double feature?

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Tom cruise urges fans to see rival summer movies ‘barbie’ and ‘oppenheimer’.

The 'Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One' star is urging fans to buy tickets for his biggest competition, including 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.'

By James Hibberd

James Hibberd

Writer-at-Large

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Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Tom Cruise really wants you to go see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny . And Barbie . And Oppenheimer . 

Despite his own blockbuster opening in a few weeks (that would be Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One ), Cruise is urging his fans to check out the summer movie competition. 

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“Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indiana Jones and creating one of the most iconic characters in cinema history,” he continued. “You have given us countless hours of joy.”

“I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie .”

The messaging suggests Cruise is once again hoping to save the summer box office — this time by bringing along a few other titles.

Last year, the massive success of Top Gun: Maverick (which made $1.5 billion globally) was credited as “ saving Hollywood’s ass ” by no less than Steven Spielberg himself.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Cruise (@tomcruise)

This year, a few films have struggled to gain box office traction — such as The Flash and Elemental — though Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse successfully popped.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is facing headwinds with modest reviews , yet is tracking to open with a solid $60 million to $70 million over the June 30-July 2 weekend.

Meanwhile, Dead Reckoning is headed toward a franchise-best $90 million opening for its extended weekend, which gets underway Wednesday, July 12.

There’s no tracking yet for Barbie or Oppenheimer , which open head-to-head July 21, but both are considered highly anticipated — though, with respect to Cruise, would likely make for a rather odd back-to-back viewing experience.

— Pamela McClintock contributed to this report

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Tom Cruise Reveals If He's Seeing 'Barbie' or 'Oppenheimer' First

By Stephen Andrew - July 7, 2023 03:43 pm EDT

Tom Cruise has revealed if he'll be seeing Barbie or Oppenheimer first when both films open on July 21. Speaking to the  The Sydney Morning Herald , Crusie confessed, "I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer." He then added,"I'll see them opening weekend. Friday I'll see Oppenheimer first and then Barbie on Saturday."

Going on to share his love of experiencing movies in a theater, Cruise offered, "I grew up seeing movies on the big screen. That's how I make them, and I like that experience." He continued, "It's immersive, and to have that as a community and an industry, it's important. I still go the movies." Notably, Barbie and Oppenheimer open a little over a week after Cruise's new movie  Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One  premieres in theaters on July 12. It was previously alleged, per Screen Rant , that Crusie was upset over the two films taking screens away from his, though the claims were never proven.

This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie. pic.twitter.com/udWHHj4fAe — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) June 28, 2023

Barbie stars Margot Robbie as the iconic doll , along with Ryan Gosling as Ken. The film follows the pair as they set out on an adventure in the real world, after leaving Barbie Land. Other stars of the film include America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell, among others. The movie is directed by Greta Gerwig, from a script she wrote with Noah Baumbach.

Oppenheimer is a biopic-thriller about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons. It is directed, written and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, and is based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Cillian Murphy stars as Oppenheimer, with additional performances from a star-studded cast that includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh.

In addition to Cruise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One brings back Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Vanessa Kirby. Esai Morales plays the villain this time around, and   Agent Carter  star Hayley Atwell  is added as well. Other franchise newcomers include Frederick Schmidt, Sea Whigham, Pom Klementieff, and Cary Elwes.

M:I – Dead Reckoning Part One is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, from a script he wrote with Erik Jendresen. It marks the seventh movie in the film franchise after Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018). Next up will be Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two , which is currently in post-production and scheduled to be released in 2024.

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Tom Cruise Goes Full Barbenheimer, Plans to See Oppenheimer & Barbie Opening Weekend

The health and wellness of the movie industry is more important than a feud over some IMAX screens.

A split screen image of Ken (Ryan Gosling) in Barbie (2023); Tom Cruise; J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) in Oppenheimer (2023)

Tom Cruise , one of the last true movie stars alive and one of the most influential people in Hollywood, has decided to put  his IMAX feud with   Christopher Nolan  aside for the greater good of an industry he loves so much.

Catching up with The Sydney Morning Herald while on the press circuit for the latest Mission: Impossible  (opening July 12), Cruise revealed his cinema-going plans for the weekend of July 21 — aka the fateful showdown between Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's Barbie . "I’ll see them opening weekend," he proclaimed. "Friday I’ll see  Oppenheimer  first and then  Barbie  on Saturday."

RELATED:  Matt Damon On Barbie vs. Oppenheimer: "People Are Allowed to Go See 2 Movies in a Weekend"

Both films open a mere week after the release of Ethan Hunt's return in Dead Reckoning Part One . This reportedly didn't sit well with Cruise, who appealed directly to distributors, asking them to reconsider their deal with Universal Pictures to reserve every IMAX screen in the country for Oppenheimer  (the World War II thriller about the development of the first atomic bomb runs just over three hours ).

"I grew up seeing movies on the big screen," the actor explained during his chat with the Herald . "That’s how I make them, and I like that experience; it’s immersive, and to have that as a community and an industry, it’s important. I still go the movies."

Since then, he has decided to let cinematic bygones be cinematic bygones. Late last month, for instance, the actor and Dead Reckoning  writer-director Christopher McQuarrie pledged their devotion to the theatrical experience by posing with tickets for Oppenheimer , Barbie , and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (now playing everywhere).

"This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters," Cruise tweeted. "Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie ."

Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie followed suit not long after with tickets for Dial of Destiny , Mission: Impossible , and Oppenheimer .

This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters. Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indy and one of the most iconic characters in history. I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie. pic.twitter.com/udWHHj4fAe — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) June 28, 2023
Mission: Accepted! pic.twitter.com/DJ2gm5e4XU — Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) June 30, 2023

Want more blockbuster thrills in the meantime? Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Da Vinci Code, The Hunger Games, Fast Five, Jurassic World, Knock at the Cabin, Cocaine Bear, Renfield, and more are now streaming on Peacock !

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‘Oppenheimer’ crowned best picture at an Academy Awards shadowed by war

A look at the highlights from the 96th Academy Awards. The bio-pic “Oppenheimer,” which became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture and Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. also took home acting honors for the film. (March 11)

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Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary Japanese filmmaker whose anime classics have enchanted fans around the world for decades, has won his second career Oscar, this time for “The Boy and the Heron.” (March 11)

Emma Thomas, left, and Christopher Nolan accept the award for best picture for "Oppenheimer" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Emma Thomas, left, and Christopher Nolan accept the award for best picture for “Oppenheimer” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Robert Downey Jr., winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for “Oppenheimer,” from left, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for “The Holdovers,” Emma Stone, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for “Poor Things,” and Cillian Murphy, winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for “Oppenheimer,” pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

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Cillian Murphy accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for “Oppenheimer” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Robert Downey Jr. accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for “Oppenheimer” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Jamie Lee Curtis arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Raney Aronson-Rath, from left, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Michelle Mizner, and Derl McCrudden accept the award for best documentary feature film for “20 Days in Mariupol” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

This image released by Neon shows, from left, Samuel Theis, Sandra Hüller and Milo Machado Graner in a scene from “Anatomy of a Fall.” (Neon via AP)

Members of the Osage Nation arrive at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Osage singers and dancers arrive at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Dominic Sessa arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters hold posters during a demonstration in support of Palestinians calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as the 96th Academy Awards Oscars ceremony is held nearby, Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Billie Eilish, left, and America Ferrera arrive at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Law enforcement officers hold a line preventing demonstrators in support of Palestinians calling for a ceasefire in Gaza to access the area where the 96th Academy Awards Oscars ceremony is held, Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Yvonne McGuinness, left, and Cillian Murphy arrive at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Cillian Murphy, winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for “Oppenheimer,” from left, Robert Downey Jr., winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for “Oppenheimer,” Da’Vine Joy Randolph, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for “The Holdovers,” and Emma Stone, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for “Poor Things,” pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Emma Stone, left, and Dave McCary embrace as Stone wins the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for “Poor Things” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Jessica Lange, left, and Emma Stone appear during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Law enforcement officers and protesters demonstrating in support of Palestinians calling for a ceasefire in Gaza face off after the latter tried to break through a fence securing the perimeter next to the Dolby Theatre as the 96th Academy Awards Oscars ceremony is held nearby on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Law enforcement officers and protesters demonstrating in support of Palestinians calling for a ceasefire in Gaza face off next to the Dolby Theatre as the 96th Academy Awards Oscars ceremony is held nearby on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Osage singers and dancers perform during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Finneas, left, and Billie Eilish perform “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Oppenheimer,” a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic , including best actor for Cillian Murphy , best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan .

Everything to know about the 2024 Oscars:

  • Catch up on tonight’s show here , with highlights of winners and performances.
  • Read the full list of winners at the 96th Academy Awards .
  • See the best of tonight’s fashion and candid moments from the red carpet .
  • ‘20 Days in Mariupol’ won The Associated Press its first Oscar in the 178-year-old news organization’s history. Here’s how to watch the documentary .

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film . In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

“For better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” said Murphy in his acceptance speech. “I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.”

Cillian Murphy accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for "Oppenheimer" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, “Oppenheimer” also emerged — even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, “Barbie” – as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not.

Sunday’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine , and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon. Awards for the documentary winner, “20 Days in Mariupol,” and best international film, “The Zone of Interest,” brought geopolitics into the Oscar spotlight.

Emma Stone accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Poor Things" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The most closely watched contest went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2017 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katharine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

“Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming,” said Stone, who fought back tears and a broken dress during her speech.

Sunday’s broadcast had razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the “Barbie” hit “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash and a sea of Kens who swarmed the stage.

Ryan Gosling performs the song "I'm Just Ken" from the movie "Barbie" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

But protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards . Late during the show, host Jimmy Kimmel read a critical social media post from former president Donald Trump.

“Thank you for watching,” said Kimmel. “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker . Addressing the crowd, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

“Imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater,” said Nolan, who shared the best-picture award with Emma Thomas, his wife and producer. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

Downey, nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”), also notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, ultimately won just one award: best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars’ arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar’ attention toward the ongoing conflict . Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the awards.

‘20 Days in Mariupol’ wins Oscar

HOW THE FILM WAS MADE: “20 Days in Mariupol” by Mstyslav Chernov is a harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Chernov shot the footage for the film while covering Russia’s invasion along with AP journalists Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko.

WATCH THE FILM: It is an intense account of the war’s early days. Death abounds. The trailer provides some sense of difficult scenes in the film.

See more of the AP’s Pulitzer-prize winning coverage of Mariupol and ongoing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war .

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination , spoke forcefully about Russia’s invasion.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” said Chernov. “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this (for) Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design. “Poor Things” fared second best to “Oppenheimer,” with a total of four awards.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with an monologue that emphasized Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023’s actor and writer strikes , drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress , for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature , a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his “Spirited Away” won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.

In adapted screenplay, where “Barbie” was nominated — and where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director — the Oscar went to Cord Jefferson , who wrote and directed his feature film debut “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks on young filmmakers like himself.

“Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on the story by Roald Dahl.

The win for “Oppenheimer” offered Hollywood a chance to celebrate despite swirling storm clouds in the film industry. Nolan’s film debuted last year just as actors joined screenwriters in a prolonged strike over streaming economics and artificial intelligence. The actors’ strike ended in November, but little of Hollywood’s unease subsided. Streaming has proved less lucrative for most studios not named Netflix.

But “Barbenheimer” was the kind of unplanned phenomenon Hollywood needs more of. The two films could also give a lift to the Oscar telecast, which has historically benefitted from having big movies in contention. The Academy Awards’ largest audience ever came when James Cameron’s “Titanic” swept the 1998 Oscars.

AP’s Ryan Pearson and Krysta Fauria contributed to this report

___ For more coverage of this year’s Academy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards

JAKE COYLE

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Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise reveals what he'll watch first: Barbie or Oppenheimer

Tom cruise recently promoted the ‘double feature’ of christopher nolan's oppenheimer and greta gerwig's barbie releasing in cinemas on july 21..

Tom Cruise got everyone's attention recently when he promoted his summer movie rivals, Christopher Nolan 's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig 's Barbie. He said that he loves the idea of a double feature and is excited to watch both the movies in theatres once they release on July 21. (Also Read: Tom Cruise reveals he beat Mission Impossible 7 co-stars Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg in a dance-off on his last birthday )

Tom Cruise lent his support to the double feature of Oppenheimer and Barbie

While Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy in the titular role of a nuclear scientist; and Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in a film based on the Mattel Barbie and Ken dolls, will release in cinemas on the same day on July 21, Tom's action thriller Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One will hit the theatres only nine days prior to that, on July 12.

Tom's Barbenheimer plans

“I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer. I’ll see them opening weekend. Friday I’ll see Oppenheimer first and then Barbie on Saturday," Tom told The Sydney Morning Herald, when he was in the Australian capital for the premiere of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One.

What Tom said earlier on Barbenheimer

Tom had earlier taken to Instagram last week to lend support to the upcoming “double feature” of Oppenheimer and Barbie on July 21. He posed with Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie in front of the posters of both the films with tickets in hand. He wrote in the caption, “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Cruise (@tomcruise)

Tom also promoted Indiana Jones

In the same Instagram post, Tom also sent a shoutout to the new release, Harrison Ford-starrer Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. He wrote, “Congratulations, Harrison Ford, on 40 years of Indiana Jones and creating one of the most iconic characters in cinema history. You have given us countless hours of joy,” with a picture of him and McQuarrie posing with tickets in front of a poster of the movie.

“Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going; I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age,” Tom said in the interview to The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Tom Cruise vs Oppenheimer vs Barbie: which movie are you most excited for?

Between July's three biggest movies, which one are you most looking forward to?

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, Margot Robbie in Barbie

In the span of nine days in July, movie fans are going to be in heaven. On July 12, Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One , releases worldwide, then on July 21 we get the one-two punch of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's Barbie . There probably hasn't been a run of such highly anticipated movies releasing in such a short window since pre-COVID; all three movies made WTW's list of blockbuster movies we're excited to see this summer.

As of publication, there's still more than a month before any of those movies are available to watch, but a rivalry among the three of them is already brewing. 

The one between Oppenhimer and Barbie has been talked about for a while, pretty much since we learned they were going to release on the same day. But a recent report by Puck News revealed that Tom Cruise may have his own beef over Oppenheimer taking away IMAX movie screens away from the latest Mission: Impossible and is pushing to change their minds.

Most of this is just business and hype around these movies. As Matt Damon, who stars in Oppenheimer , correctly pointed out , there is no rule against people going to only one movie in a weekend; there are even ways to help make multiple trips more affordable with movie theater subscriptions and membership deals if that's a worry. We know we'll certainly be seeing these movies on the big screen as soon as we can. Oppenheimer and Barbie could make for a fun double feature.

But, in all fairness, it is kind of fun to stack these movies against each other. We'll have to wait to see how they compare at the box office, but we can find out right now how excited you, the average moviegoer, are about each one of these films.

So, between the new Mission: Impossible , Oppenheimer and Barbie , which one are you most eager to see?

You can cast your vote in the poll below, but here's a brief rundown of each movie in case you need some additional info to help make your pick.

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One

Release date : July 12 Starring : Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Shea Whigham and Henry Czerny What's it about : Dead Reckoning is the seventh movie in Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise, and as the Part One of the title suggests, the first half of a larger story. We don't know a lot of plot specifics, but we do know it is going to deliver another incredible Tom Cruise stunt , which some are calling his biggest stunt ever . It has felt like each Mission: Impossible movie has been better than the last (OK, maybe not Mission: Impossible II ), we can only hope that continues here.

Release date : July 21 Starring : Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Helen Mirren, John Cena, Emma Mackey, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir and plenty more. What it's about : Greta Gerwig wrote the script with her partner Noah Baumbach ( Marriage Story ), so get ready to have your expectations rocked for what a Barbie movie can be. From the trailer, Barbie (Robbie) begins to have questions about the Barbie-centric world she inhabits and must venture into the real world to get some answers. The movie looks colorful, absolutely hilarious and stuffed to the brim with fun actors.

Oppenheimer

Release date : July 21 Starring : Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Jack Quaid, Gary Oldman, Olivia Thirlby, Josh Peck and Benny Safdie What it's about : Nolan tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, considered the father of the atomic bomb. If that doesn't necessarily sound like a blockbuster movie to you, consider that Nolan reportedly recreated a nuclear explosion without the use of CGI. Add in that he shot the movie in IMAX, it has a reported three-hour run time and it is the first R-rated movie of Nolan's in 20 years and there's plenty of intrigue around Oppenheimer .

Let us know which of the three movies you are most excited to see when they release in July (though we hope you see all of them).

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Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca , Moulin Rouge! , Silence of the Lambs , Children of Men , One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars . On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd .

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Movies | “oppenheimer” crowned best picture at an academy awards shadowed by war.

The cast and crew of "Oppenheimer" accept the award for...

The cast and crew of "Oppenheimer" accept the award for best picture during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Ryan Gosling performs the song "I'm Just Ken" from the...

Ryan Gosling performs the song "I'm Just Ken" from the movie "Barbie" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Ryan Gosling performs the song "I'm Just Ken" from the...

Robert Downey Jr. accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for "Oppenheimer" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Jon Batiste performs the song "It never went away" from...

Jon Batiste performs the song "It never went away" from "American Symphony" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Takashi Yamazaki poses a Godzilla figurine with the award for...

Takashi Yamazaki poses a Godzilla figurine with the award for best visual effects for "Godzilla Minus One" at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Raney Aronson-Rath, from left, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka,...

Raney Aronson-Rath, from left, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Michelle Mizner, and Derl McCrudden accept the award for best documentary feature film for "20 Days in Mariupol" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES — “Oppenheimer,” a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, including best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan.

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

“For better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” said Murphy in his acceptance speech. “I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.”

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, “Oppenheimer” also emerged — even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, “Barbie” – as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not.

Sunday’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon. Awards for the documentary winner, “20 Days in Mariupol,” and best international film, “The Zone of Interest,” brought geopolitics into the Oscar spotlight.

The most closely watched contest went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2017 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katharine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

“Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming,” said Stone, who fought back tears and a broken dress during her speech.

Sunday’s broadcast had razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the “Barbie” hit “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash and a sea of Kens who swarmed the stage.

But protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards. Late during the show, host Jimmy Kimmel read a critical social media post from former president Donald Trump.

“Thank you for watching,” said Kimmel. “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker. Addressing the crowd, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

“Imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater,” said Nolan, who shared the best-picture award with Emma Thomas, his wife and producer. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

Downey, nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”), also notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, ultimately won just one award: best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars’ arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar’ attention toward the ongoing conflict. Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the awards.

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination, spoke forcefully about Russia’s invasion.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” said Chernov. “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this (for) Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design. “Poor Things” fared second best to “Oppenheimer,” with a total of four awards.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with an monologue that emphasized Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023’s actor and writer strikes, drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress, for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature, a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his “Spirited Away” won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.

In adapted screenplay, where “Barbie” was nominated — and where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director — the Oscar went to Cord Jefferson, who wrote and directed his feature film debut “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks on young filmmakers like himself.

“Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on the story by Roald Dahl.

The win for “Oppenheimer” offered Hollywood a chance to celebrate despite swirling storm clouds in the film industry. Nolan’s film debuted last year just as actors joined screenwriters in a prolonged strike over streaming economics and artificial intelligence. The actors’ strike ended in November, but little of Hollywood’s unease subsided. Streaming has proved less lucrative for most studios not named Netflix.

But “Barbenheimer” was the kind of unplanned phenomenon Hollywood needs more of. The two films could also give a lift to the Oscar telecast, which has historically benefitted from having big movies in contention. The Academy Awards’ largest audience ever came when James Cameron’s “Titanic” swept the 1998 Oscars.

AP’s Ryan Pearson and Krysta Fauria contributed to this report

___ For more coverage of this year’s Academy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards

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Oppenheimer scoops seven awards at Oscars 2024 — as it happened

Oppenheimer and poor things dominate as murphy, christopher nolan and robert downey jr take home first academy awards. barbie wins one oscar while ryan gosling misses out.

Emma Stone and Cillian Murphy won the top acting prizes

Key moments

Al Pacino may have summed up the night when he simply yelled “Oppenheimer!” when announcing the Best Picture winner.

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster held a tight grip on the limelight for most of the night, winning awards for himself, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

Emma Stone received her second best actress award for her portrayal of Bella Baxter in Poor Things, and Billie Eilish also won a second Academy award.

• See the full list of winners

Hollywood shows support for ceasefire

Mark Ruffalo was among the attendees who wore red pins demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

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Alongside the Marvel actor wearing pins provided by Artists4Ceasefire were Ramy Youssef and brother-sister duo Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell.

Artists4Ceasefire is a group of celebrities and entertainment industry members who signed an open letter to President Biden calling for a ceasefire.

The letter has nearly 400 signatories, including Bradley Cooper and America Ferrera, both Oscar nominees this year, as well as Cate Blanchett, Drake and Jennifer Lopez.

Stars gather for Oscars after-party

With the awards all given out, the stars have made their way to the Governor’s Ball to enjoy a night of celebration.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the famed Vanity Fair after-party.

Margot Robbie, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Justin Theroux, Kim Kardashian, Chris Evans, Charles Melton, Tom Ford, Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter, Mark Ronson, Andy Samberg, Selma Blair, Callum Turner, Elizabeth Banks, Melissa McCarthy, among many other guests, were spotted to the red carpet.

Margot Robbie attends the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Messi, best supporting dog

Among all the famous faces, one unexpectedly shone out, Messi, the black-and-white border collie who plays Snoop the dog in the best picture-nominated Anatomy of a Fall.

After speculation over whether the four-legged star would appear, Messi was present alongside their fellow actors sporting a black bow tie.

The canine star of the French courtroom drama logged some screen time later in the evening. The camera panned to him showing his paws up in cheering for Robert Downey Jr after his best-supporting actor win.

In a Kimmel-engineered prank, Messi relieved himself on Matt Damon’s Walk of Fame star in a nod to the pair’s faux feud.

Messi in the audience

Navalny leads the award’s memoriam segment

The Academy Awards “in memoriam” segment began with a message from the recently deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The clip from Navalny, an Oscar-winning 2022 documentary about President Putin’s most strident critic played before the ceremony honoured Matthew Perry, Harry Belafonte, Tina Turner and many more in the film industry who died in the past year.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing,” read the Navalny quote on the screen.

Navalny died last month in a Russian prison in the Arctic at the age of 47. His allies and western leaders said that he had been killed by Putin.

A video of the late Alexei Navalny is displayed during the 96th Academy Awards

Best actress nominees — and Margot Robbie — share emotional hug

Emma Stone, Lily Gladstone, and Annette Bening shared a heartfelt group hug during a commercial break at the awards ceremony.

All nominated for best actress, the trio was also reportedly joined by Margot Robbie, who many felt deserved a nomination for her performance in Barbie.

Once again, Stone won the award, beating out her close friend Lily Gladstone, who was nominated for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon.

Stone and Gladstone became “fast friends” while set against each other for best actress by the Academy, Gladstone told Vanity Fair.

The pair have matching friendship rings and call themselves the “Infinity Stones.”

Watch the biggest moments

From a proud Irishman to a broken dress, see video of the stars’ speeches below.

The red carpet lowdown

Our fashion director observed a game of two halves, with some of the great and the good in the market for fun and games while others embraced black.

For Anna Murphy’s take on the biggest stars (and the unsung heroes who brought a splash of colour to proceedings), click here .

Zendaya wore Armani Privé

The biggest snub of the night?

Lily Gladstone? Greta Gerwig? Or Mr Top Gun himself?

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One garnered just two nominations, for best sound and visual effects, winning neither. Its star, however, remains the unluckiest man at the Oscars, per Tom Cruise superfan Matt Rudd.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Rudd writes. “Of course he doesn’t deserve an award for Mission: Impossible Part 327. Not when Bradley Cooper spent six months wearing a prosthetic nose and Cillian Murphy had to shoulder the infinite guilt of his civilisation-ending experimental physics. But sadly, you’re wrong.”

• Read more: Why is Tom Cruise always overlooked at the Oscars?

Our critic has his say

The dust has settled, and Oppenheimer was the big winner at the 96th Academy awards. “Needlessly convoluted” and “over-long” is our film critic’s verdict — not the ceremony, but the best picture winner itself. Click here for Kevin Maher’s analysis of the night , and the full list of winners.

Dinner time

Wolfgang Puck, the 74-year-old Austrian-American chef and restaurateur, will be overseeing catering of the Governor’s Ball after the ceremony for the 30th year running (Harriet Alexander writes).

Puck will serve 1,500 guests, some of whom have been on a strict diet for months, with a menu including wild mushroom and black truffle risotto, Peking-style duck and what Variety called last year’s “breakout star”: fish and chips served in a cone.

Brad Pitt was not nominated this year, but he’s still a winner: his sparkling rose wine, Fleur de Miraval, will be served at the soiree. And for dessert, how about a chocolate Oscar dusted with 24-carat gold? Puck has made 5,000 of them.

Trump gets biggest laugh of the night

Moments before the last award was handed out, the ceremony’s host read out one viewer’s verdict (Harriet Alexander writes).

“Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars,” Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

“His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be.”

Trump said that Kimmel had presided over “a really bad politically correct show tonight”, calling it “disjointed, boring, and very unfair”.

He concluded: “Why don’t they just give the Oscars to those that deserve them. Maybe that way their audience and TV ratings will come back from the depths. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Kimmel joked that he was surprised Trump was still watching, adding, to the most raucous reaction of the night: “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Oppenheimer wins best picture

“I’ve been dreaming of this moment for so long,” says Christopher Nolan’s wife and producing partner Emma Thomas as she accepts the last award, taking Oppenheimer ’s tally to seven from 13 nominations — not quite a sweep of the order of Titanic and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (both won 11) but decisive nonetheless (Tom Shone writes).

The film marks a game-changing moment for Hollywood, holding a mirror up to its past, present and future: the epic scope of David Lean meets the modernity of Nolan and illuminates the path ahead for cinemas.

The triumph also caps a great night for British interests from beginning to end — spanning best picture, director, international feature, sound, make-up and hairstyling, production design, and costume design.

Emma Stone wins best actress

It’s the 35-year-old’s second Oscar, awarded for Poor Things — her first was for 2016’s La La Land .

This was the tightest race of the leading categories (Harriet Alexander and Tom Shone write). Lily Gladstone ( Killers of the Flower Moon ) and Stone both won Golden Globes; Stone took the Bafta and Gladstone won the SAG award, but Stone gets the Oscar and seemed stunned.

Emma Stone with her second Oscar for best actress

Her dress split amid all the excitement. “I think it happened in I’m Just Ken ,” she said.

Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan win

Murphy, 47, was the odds-on favourite for best actor — and duly won for his role in Oppenheimer. “I’m a very proud Irishman standing here tonight,” he said, dedicating his award for playing the father of the atomic bomb to “the peacemakers”.

Moments later, Christopher Nolan was also collecting his first Oscar (after eight nominations) for best director.

Eilish wins record-breaking Oscar

Having won once for a Bond theme, Billie Eilish has a second Academy award for best original song — making her, at 22, the youngest two-time Oscar winner yet.

Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas

This category was Barbie ’s to lose (Tom Shone writes). It was the first film since La La Land in 2017 to have two nominees: What Was I Made For? by Eilish and I’m Just Ken, performed by Gosling .

Eilish’s ballad didn’t just mark Barbie ’s self-awakening, but was also an actual chart hit.

Best original score goes to Oppenheimer , its fourth award on the night. Ludwig Goransson’s innovative work includes, in one five-minute stretch, an impressive twenty-one different tempo changes.

Ken takes to the stage

Despite that snub for Greta Gerwig in the best director category, Barbie is the Academy’s not-so-secret weapon to win back viewers (Tom Shone writes). A performance by Ryan Gosling — plus 65 male dancers, may have done more to save the Oscars than any amount of format and schedule changes.

Just glorious — it gets a standing ovation. Maybe Barbie should have been a musical.

Gosling performed in pink, joined by dozens of besuited Kens

Moments earlier, The Zone of Interest won for best sound. Excuse the extreme film nerdiness, but this is the category where I have been most biting my nails.

Richard King’s work on Oppenheimer turned thunder and sonic booms into a filling-loosening atomic blast — but in The Zone of Interest , where we hear, but do not see, the horrors of Auschwitz, the sound is almost the star of the film. The win for Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn is unexpected but wholly deserved for their genuinely innovative work.

Sweet success for Wes Anderson

Best live action short film has gone to The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Tom Shone writes). This is Wes Anderson’s first Oscar win, after seven nominations (three for writing, one for directing, and three more for producing).

Henry Sugar is, despite its brevity, one of the best Roald Dahl adaptations ever made. So Anderson will take a deserved win, thank you very much.

Oppenheimer wins best cinematography

Roberto Prieto’s fourth collaboration with Scorsese on Killers of the Flower Moon was full of understated power, but in Oppenheimer Hoyte Van Hoytema found a way of shooting vast desert landscapes and minute subatomic reactions as if they were the same thing (Tom Shone writes). The Dutchman’s first win is another sign that the evening is going Oppenheimer’s way.

Ukraine war film named best documentary

The Last Repair Shop has been named best documentary short film, with the Oscar for best documentary feature going to 20 Days in Mariupol .

It was hard to see how Mstyslav Chernov’s gut-wrenching film, which documents the devastatingly destructive start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, could lose (Tom Shone writes). President Biden put the country front and centre at his recent state of the union address; this was the Academy’s chance to do the same.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukraine’s history,” said Chernov, adding that he would happily exchange it for Russia not invading in the first place. “I cannot change the history but we can make sure that the historical record is set straight.”

A monster victory

Godzilla Minus One came out on top in the visual effects category, presented by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. The pair co-starred in the 1980s film Twins — but have also both been Batman villains, as they pointed out on the stage. “You have a lot of nerve,” DeVito told a seated Michael Keaton, who formerly played the caped crusader.

Schwarzenegger has always been someone DeVito has looked up to

Robert Downey Jr wins best supporting actor

Oppenheimer has its first award of the night. Downey Jr began: “I’d like to thank my terrible childhood. And the Academy. In that order.”

Robert Downey Jr was named best supporting actor

He went on to also thank his wife Susan Downey, jokingly calling her “my veterinarian”.

“She found me a snarling rescue pet and she brought my back to life,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

He said of his role in Christopher Nolan’s film: “Here’s my little secret — I needed this job more than it needed me. Chris knew it … I stand here before you a better man because of it.”

Oppenheimer swiftly secured a second statuette, winning for best film editing.

Briton wins for best foreign film

The Zone of Interest , based on the Martin Amis novel about a German family living next to a Nazi camp, has won best international feature.

Steven Spielberg recently called it the best film about the Holocaust since Schindler’s List — and he wasn’t wrong (Tom Shone writes). A British-Polish co-production performed with German actors speaking in German, its win underlines the growing internationalism of the Oscars, after the Academy widened its membership rules to include representatives from 93 countries.

The writer and director Jonathan Glazer’s speech touches on the victims of Hamas’s attacks on October 7 and the ongoing war in the Middle East. Hollywood is split on the issue of Gaza — people are worried about their careers — so maybe it took a Briton to broach the subject.

Not such a Poor showing

Poor Things picks up a quickfire treble, with Oscars for production design, make-up and hairstyling, and costume design (Tom Shone writes). Make-up represents the first major upset of the night, with Kazu Hiro having been widely expected to win for turning Bradley Cooper into Leonard Bernstein in Maestro .

Holly Waddington’s costume work edged out Jacqueline Durran’s fabulously kitsch Barbie . The award was presented by John Cena, who could have done with more help from the wardrobe department.

The actor John Cena left little to the imagination

Waddington is a Briton, and a first-time winner — as were Poor Things production designers James Price and Shona Heath. Yorgos Lanthimos’s film is having a good night

Oppenheimer misses out on best screenplay

American Fiction has won best adapted screenplay. The writer and director Cord Jefferson, who saw off stiff competition from Oppenheimer and Barbie , spoke to Hadley Freeman in January.

Anatomy of a Fall won best original screenplay. Justine Triet has been on a stunning run since taking home the top award at Cannes in May, winning the Golden Globe, then a Bafta (Tom Shone writes). “It will help me through my midlife crisis,” she joked in her speech.

Arthur Harari and Justine Triet won the award for best original screenplay for Anatomy of a Fall

Triet’s win underlines the growing importance of film festivals as the launchpads for Oscar winners: nine films from the 2023 Cannes festival have 26 nominations in 16 categories.

By the way, with Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie and Past Lives , we have the most best picture nominees directed by women in Oscar history.

John and Yoko inspire winner

War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko has won best animated short film, while best animated feature film went to The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki in one of the evening’s few genuinely open races (Tom Shone writes).

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse had been an industry favourite but Miyazaki, who won an Oscar for Spirited Away in 2003, came out of retirement to make The Boy and the Heron for his grandchildren. This may have been the last chance to reward a master.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins best supporting actress

Randolph wins the first award of the night for The Holdovers , beating Emily Blunt ( Oppenheimer ), Danielle Brooks ( The Color Purple ), America Ferrera ( Barbie ) and Jodie Foster ( Nyad ).

“For so long, I have always wanted to be different, and now I just realise I have to be myself,” a tearful Randolph, 37, said. “And I thank you for seeing me.”

Da’Vine Joy Randolph with her award for best supporting actress

It was a barnstormer of a speech: broad, gutsy, voice hoarse with emotion, eyes brimming with tears (Tom Shone writes). It’s amazing her eyelashes stayed in place.

I’ve always suspected that the acceptance speeches in the months leading up to the Oscars are a kind of audition that allow the Academy’s voters to see what they’ll be getting on the night. How could they resist Randolph? Her speeches are just as good as her performances: like being enveloped in a warm hug. This is what we tune in for.

Gag that didn’t go Downey well

Kimmel opened the show with a Barbie sketch, before joshing with Nolan — but a barb aimed at Downey Jr gave us an early awkward moment (Harriet Alexander writes).

Referencing the actor’s years battling drug abuse, Kimmel called his nomination for Oppenheimer “his biggest high”, before adding: “Or was it?”

Downey Jr did not appear to be amused, gesturing for the host to move on with his monologue.

Kimmel moved on to Maestro ’s Bradley Cooper, and his habit of bringing his mother to every awards show as his date — leading the comedian to ask if Cooper’s next film would be about Sigmund Freud.

And we’re off

The ceremony was due to begin at 4pm local time, and yet several of the biggest stars were late reaching the red carpet (Harriet Alexander writes).

There was some suggestion, from The Hollywood Reporter, that the pro-Palestinian protesters near by had blocked the route, delaying arrivals and forcing some to get out of their cars and walk.

The protests had been expected — demonstrators earlier this week tried to prevent President Biden from reaching Congress to make his state of the union address — but it’s unusual for them to be able to get close enough to actively disrupt the schedule.

Gosling set to go ‘bananas’

Ryan Gosling was nominated in two categories

Ryan Gosling — Barbie ’s Ken — was nominated not only for best supporting actor but also best original song (Harriet Alexander writes).

Mark Ronson, who produced I’m Just Ken , has teased that the performance during the ceremony will be “bananas”.

Pro-Palestine protesters on the march

Hundreds of protesters put on their own show in support of Palestine (Harriet Alexander writes).

A massive crowd carrying Palestinian flags were marching down Sunset Boulevard toward the Dolby Theatre, chanting “ceasefire now” and “long live Palestine” in a protest organised by SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire and Film Workers for Palestine.

On the Oscars red carpet, Billie Eilish was among those wearing ceasefire pins.

Barbie girls

Black gowns had dominated among the early arrivals, but things are looking brighter now (Harriet Alexander writes).

America Ferrera dazzled in a form-hugging Barbie-pink metallic Versace number; she is nominated for best supporting actress for her role in Greta Gerwig’s film.

She posed for a photograph with Eilish, who is nominated for What Was I Made For? , her song on the Barbie soundtrack.

Billie Eilish and America Ferrera

The gift bag goodies

Being nominated for an Oscar doesn’t just mean that you can add a couple of extra zeros to your salary demands — it also means being showered with gifts (Harriet Alexander writes).

All 25 of those nominated for the biggest awards in acting and directing — and the ceremony’s host — will be handed a gift bag worth $180,000. The haul is compiled by the LA-based marketing company Distinctive Assets.

Treats include a tipple from the small Scottish company Bothy Gin, made near Glamis Castle and, most generously, a $50,000 trip to the Chalet Zermatt Peak in the Swiss Alps.

The grandmas going for gold

Sean Wang with his grandmothers Zhang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei and cinematographer Sam Davis

Sean Wang is nominated for best documentary short film for Nai Nai & Wai Po , which captures the daily routines of his two grandmothers who live together in California. They are with him tonight (Harriet Alexander writes).

Wang will hoping to be taking home one of the solid bronze, gold-plated statuettes which are the result of weeks of work by craftsmen at Urban Art Projects in Rock Tavern, New York.

Jake Joyce, a former finisher who is now the foundry’s general manager, explained that the Academy commissioned UAP in 2016 to give Oscar a makeover, “endowing him with crisper lines and larger muscles, so that he looked like a buff C-3PO”.

• Read more: Inside the foundry that makes the Academy awards

Bumper night for red carpet host

The stars have begun to arrive — and the actress Vanessa Hudgens, who is hosting the red carpet coverage for E! Entertainment, has revealed that she is pregnant, glowing in a figure-hugging black Vera Wang gown (Harriet Alexander writes).

Hudgens, 35, married professional baseball star Cole Tucker in December.

Vanessa Hudgens, who tied the knot in December, showed off her baby bump in a Vera Wang gown

Other early arrivals included Liza Koshy, a YouTube star in towering heels who fell on to the matching carpet.

Liza Koshy, a YouTube star, struggled with her heels

Stone seeking second statuette

Emma Stone in Poor Things

Poor Things snapped up the second-highest number of nods this Oscar season with 11, behind Oppenheimer (Harriet Alexander writes). The film is vying for: best picture, best actress (Emma Stone), best supporting actor (Mark Ruffalo), best director (Yorgos Lanthimos), best adapted screenplay, best original score, best cinematography, best costume design, best film editing, best production design and best makeup and hairstyling.

The film is adapted from a book of the same name by Alasdair Gray, which The Sunday Times’s Sarah Ditum insists you read before seeing it on screen . “You could call Poor Things a feminist Frankenstein , if Frankenstein were not already quite feminist to start with,” Ditum writes. “Gray’s 1992 novel stitches together a lot of Mary Shelley, a little Robert Louis Stevenson and a fair whack of James Hogg to create the story of Bella Baxter, a beautiful young woman who — thanks to the surgical genius of one Godwin Baxter (God for short) — has the brain of a baby.”

Stone shines in the role of Baxter, as evidenced by her Bafta and Golden Globe wins.

• Read our review : A sly and hilarious tale of sexual adventure

Age before beauty

John Williams will be the oldest winner if he takes home his sixth Oscar tonight

Move over, whippersnappers — this could go down as one of the most mature Oscars ceremonies in years (Ed Potton writes). For the first time since 1931 every nominee in the acting categories is over 30. Danielle Brooks, who is up for best supporting actress for The Colour Purple , is the youngest at 34 and Robert De Niro, nominated for best supporting actor for Killers of the Flower Moon , the oldest at 80. If John Williams, 92, wins best score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny it would be his sixth statuette. He would be the oldest Oscar winner in history, beating James Ivory, who was 89 when he won best adapted screenplay for Call Me By Your Name in 2018.

Kimmel hosts for fourth time

Jimmy Kimmel at last year’s ceremony

Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host Sunday’s show, joining the ranks of Jack Lemmon, Whoopi Goldberg and David Niven as a four-time host (Harriet Alexander writes).

The New Yorker, 56, was at the helm in 2017 and again in 2018 — when, famously, La La Land was accidentally named the best picture winner, before it was corrected to Moonlight .

The ceremony was host-free for three years, after Kevin Hart dropped out at the last minute: the Academy then experimented in 2022 with three people sharing host duties: Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.

Last year, it returned to its usual format, and Kimmel was back for his third show. The comedian says that having hit films like Oppenheimer and Barbie in contention has made his job much easier this year, as people have actually seen them.

“It’s hard to make jokes about things people don’t know, so having movies where most of the room has seen them helps a lot,” he told Variety.

If he returns next year, he would match Johnny Carson’s five times as Oscars host: Only Billy Crystal, who hosted nine Oscars, and Bob Hope, with a seemingly unassailable 19 times, have done it more.

The Barbie effect

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie

She may have been overlooked for a best actress nomination but Margot Robbie can be reassured to know that the spectre of Barbie is haunting that category in the most fundamental way (Kevin Maher writes).

Three out of the five nominees, for instance, are basically playing heroic Barbies in different oppressive all-male environments. Emma Stone in Poor Things is “Baby-brained Victorian Barbie”, a woman who is forced to face the cruel and unthinking patriarchy and reinvent herself in her own image.

Annette Bening in swimming drama Nyad is “Rebellious Superannuated Sports Barbie”, a woman who is forced to face the cruel and unthinking patriarchy and reinvent… You see where I’m going with this? And even Sandra Hüller, in the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall , is “Possibly Homicidal Yet Nonetheless Admirable Novelist Barbie”, a woman who is forced to etc.

Best of all, it works for the men too. Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer ? “Clever if Slightly Boring Ken”?

An unlikely venue

The Dolby Theatre

This year’s Oscars are the 96th. They will be held once more at the Dolby Theatre, inside the Ovation Hollywood shopping centre on Hollywood Boulevard (Harriet Alexander writes).

While the Baftas took place in the Royal Festival Hall, the Academy Awards are in a working cinema in a rather touristy (and tacky) part of town. Inside, it’s spectacular, and vast: 3,400 people can fit inside, seated on four levels. Yet outside, the cinema is surrounded by fast-food outlets and cheap souvenir stalls.

The theatre was built by the Academy, and the awards were first held there in 2001 when it was known as the Kodak Theatre. Dolby has since taken over the sponsorship: the sound inside, as you would imagine, is unbelievably crisp and powerful.

The cinema is actually up for sale, but the Oscars are contracted to be held there until 2029, and Dolby will keep the name rights until 2032. The site is estimated to be worth $70 million — significantly less than the $94 million it cost to build 20 years ago.

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Oscar winners 2024: see the full list (and our critic’s verdict)

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

‘Oppenheimer’ wins best picture at Academy Awards

L os Angeles (AP) “Oppenheimer,” a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was  crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards  that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on  Nolan’s blockbuster biopic , including best actor for  Cillian Murphy ,  best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr.  and  best director for Nolan .

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade:  hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film . In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

“For better or worse, we’re all living in Robert Oppenheimer’s world,” said Murphy in his acceptance speech. “I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.”

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, “Oppenheimer” also emerged—even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, “Barbie”—as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not. Sunday’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of  wars in Gaza  and  Ukraine and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon.

The most closely watched contest of the  Academy Awards  went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.”

In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over  Lily Gladstone  of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2019 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katherine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

“Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming,” said Stone.

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the  first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker .

In his acceptance speech, Nolan noted that cinema is just over a hundred years old.

“We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here,” said Nolan. “But to think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

Protest and politics intruded on an election-year  Academy Awards  on Sunday, where demonstrations for Gaza raged outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and awards went to “Oppenheimer,” “The Zone of Interest” and “20 Days in Mariupol.”

Sunday’s broadcast, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, had plenty of razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the  “Barbie” hit “I’m Just Ken”  by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash. A sea of Kens swarmed the stage.

The lead winner, as expected, was “Oppenheimer,”  the blockbuster biopic . Though not quite the clean sweep that some expected, “Oppenheimer” was overpowering all competition, including its release-date companion, “Barbie,” winning awards for its cinematography, editing, score, and Robert Downey Jr.’s supporting performance.

Downey, nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”), notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey,  the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, didn’t win an award until almost three hours into the ceremony. It won best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

But after an awards season that stayed largely inside a Hollywood bubble, geopolitics played a prominent role. Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars’ arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar spotlight toward the  ongoing conflict . Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the awards.

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose  chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest”  won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

The war in Gaza was on the minds of many attendees, as was the war in Ukraine. A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s  “20 Days in Mariupol,”  a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

Mstyslav Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist  whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination , spoke forcefully about Russia’s invasion.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history,” said Chernov. “And I’m honored. Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for  its sumptuous craft,  including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with a monologue that drew a few cold looks (from Downey, Sandra Hüller, and Messi, the dog from best-picture nominee “Anatomy of a Fall”). But Kimmel, emphasizing Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023’s  actor and writer strikes , drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers—who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable:  Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress , for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron”  won for best animated feature , a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when “Spirited Away” won the same award.

The best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.

In the adapted screenplay, where “Barbie” was nominated—aand where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director—tthe Oscar went to  Cord Jefferson , who wrote and directed his feature film debut, “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks with young filmmakers like himself.

“Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit of a player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on the story by Roald Dahl.

While “Barbie” bested (and helped lift) “Oppenheimer” at the box office, it took a back seat to Nolan’s film at the Oscars. Gerwig was notably overlooked for best director, sparking an outcry that some, even Hillary Clinton, said  mimicked the patriarchy parodied in the film.

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Barbie Couldn’t Make an Oscars 2024 Comeback

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

By David Canfield

Still from Barbie

Before Barbie hit theaters, its chances as an awards player appeared rather slim. While Greta Gerwig ’s first two movies ( Lady Bird, Little Women ) earned best-picture Oscar nominations and considerable financial success, here the writer-director was taking a massive commercial swing and dipping her toe in that most un-prestige world of IP. Then the glowing reviews trickled in. Then the box office exploded. Finally, the nominations showed up at a steady clip—a perfect record of best-picture, directing, and acting nominations from the likes of the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and industry guilds (PGA, DGA, SAG). 

This fizzy, pink summer blockbuster had taken the shape of a front-runner for a period of time. But when the season was done and dusted, Barbie wound up winning just one of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated, for best original song. It’s not as disappointing an outcome as that of some other major contenders— Killers of the Flower Moon received ten nominations, but won nothing—but still, for Dream House residents, it’s got to sting. ( Ryan Gosling ’s show-stopping rendition of “I’m Just Ken” may soften the blow, but just a little.)

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In retrospect, maybe the writing was on the wall when the Academy elected to omit both Gerwig in best director and star Margot Robbie in best actress. Though both women were nominated in other categories—Gerwig in adapted screenplay, Robbie as a producer for best picture—the snub struck many ( many ) observers as a kind of final-act betrayal, yanking away what precursor groups had indicated was a done deal and affirming that the film was not a serious threat to win the Oscars’ top prize. Barbie then started losing several key industry-guild awards, including for production design, one of its best chances at an Oscar victory. (At the Academy Awards, that category went to Poor Things .)

Yet it’s worth remembering what a challenge it initially seemed for a Barbie movie to even get this far. A film like this was always going to be a tough sell for the Academy, which is far less enamored with box office dominance than other industry voting groups. Last year, Top Gun: Maverick was put in a similar position, credited with saving the theatrical experience and riding great reviews to a certain Oscar distance.

If you’d said three years ago that Maverick and Barbie would be back-to-back best-picture nominees, most would laugh. But eventually the Academy hit the brakes, snubbing the earlier film’s director ( Joseph Kosinski ) and lead ( Tom Cruise ) and granting it a single, obvious win for best sound. Cruise didn’t even attend the show, despite being nominated for best picture as a producer.

Barbie was arguably playing from even further behind, its vibrant feminine aesthetic inevitably challenging the Academy’s (and industry’s) historically masculine preferences. Still, Warner Bros.’ campaign rightly emphasized the impressive, intricate, radical craft behind Gerwig’s vision. The film was in a close race with Poor Things in both production and costume design, with the latter Yorgos Lanthimos movie—a more typical winner—coming out on top.

Otherwise, Barbie , like much of its competition, simply fell victim to an incredibly strong year. Gerwig missed out in favor of international breakout directors like Justine Triet and Jonathan Glazer, who have an advantage with the arty directors’ branch. (Though both ultimately lost to Christopher Nolan .) Ryan Gosling’s broadly, brilliantly comic turn at least cruised to a slot in a supporting-actor lineup dominated—not for lack of love toward Gosling—by eventual winner Robert Downey Jr. The Barbie campaign similarly found its lauded screenplay in a frustrating no-man’s-land, following a failed attempt to categorize the script as original; strict Academy rules forced it into the adapted field, due to Barbie ’s IP roots. There, it was felled by the potent satire of American Fiction, a writerly movie about a writer who writes a book. (Voters love that stuff.)

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Barbie ’s legacy will not and should not be determined by its Oscar haul. Its lack of wins feels pointed, though, after seeing how frequently the film was referenced during the show. Host Jimmy Kimmel opened know the film with a clip that inserted him into one of Barbie ’s pivotal scenes, then made a note of Gerwig’s snub in his monologue. Both eventual winner Billie Eilish and Gosling performed during the ceremony, with Gosling’s number in particular bringing the house down. Even advertisements got in on it: the commercial block after best director was presented featured a spot in which Sparkling Ice-brand sparkling water proposed a toast for all the “Greta directors,” before slyly deleting the word “Greta” and replacing it with “great.”

We know that, in some ways, the Academy liked Barbie even more than other voting bodies, the surprise America Ferrera nomination being a prime example. And we know that Barbie is no ordinary box-office hit, but a success story that’s shaken an entire industry. For now, that will have to be Kenough.

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Screen Rant

Tom cruise is the biggest loser of barbenheimer.

Barbie and Oppenheimer's same-day release ended up as a win-win for both blockbusters, but Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible 7 has felt the loss.

  • Mission: Impossible 7 faced tough competition from Barbie and Oppenheimer at the box office, resulting in a challenging uphill battle.
  • Despite earning over half a billion at the box office, Mission: Impossible 7 is still likely to make a loss due to its bloated production budget.
  • Mission: Impossible 7 lost access to important IMAX screens to Oppenheimer, leading to a fight for dominance and a negotiation attempt by Tom Cruise.

While Barbie and Oppenheimer ’s friendly competition helped propel both movies to commercial dominance, it had real consequences for Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One . When Barbie and Oppenheimer were announced to be releasing on the same day, it was assumed that the two films would have to battle it out at the box office. However, the meme of the unlikely pairing, dubbed Barbenheimer , proved a win-win that ended up bolstering both releases.

However, Barbie and Oppenheimer weren’t the only summer releases battling for box office dominance. The Tom Cruise-starring Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has also seen a release this summer. The franchise entry was expected to do well despite unexpectedly high production costs, given the series’ consistent box office profitability and the massive success of another recent Tom Cruise sequel, Top Gun: Maverick . However, Mission: Impossible 7 ’s unfortunate release timing and loss of a key cinematic asset gave it an uphill battle at the box office.

Mission: Impossible 7's Box Office Was Tanked By Barbie & Oppenheimer

Mission: Impossible 7 ’s box office takings are by no means slim; the film has earned over half a billion at the time of writing (via The Numbers ). However, Dead Reckoning Part One ’s bloated production budget means that the film is still likely to make a loss in its theatrical run. The film’s budget is said to have ballooned out of control due to complications associated with filming during the pandemic. As such, the movie needs to make at least $600 million at the global box office in order to turn a profit.

Unfortunately for Mission: Impossible 7 , the film saw itself quickly eclipsed by one of the biggest cinematic events of the year. Dead Reckoning Part One released just one week before Barbenheimer , resulting in a strong opening weekend for the action series, followed by a franchise worst 65% drop-off in second weekend ticket sales. It’s easy to criticize Paramount’s release date choice in hindsight, but Dead Reckoning had already postponed its release date numerous times due to production delays, making another change difficult to justify. Moreover, the Barbenheimer hype couldn’t have been easily predicted. The internet phenomenon materialized organically, allowing both films to wildly outpace expectations.

Oppenheimer Beat Mission: Impossible 7's IMAX Opening (After Tom Cruise Wanted More Screens)

Another facet of Mission: Impossible 7 ’s success affected by Barbenheimer is the film’s access to IMAX. While the movie began its run with screenings on numerous IMAX screens, Mission: Impossible 7 soon lost numerous key screens to Oppenheimer . The Nolan film’s exclusive deal to play on all IMAX screens in the US for its first three weeks of release put a dramatic restriction on Dead Reckoning Part One ’s access to the screens, resulting in a fight for IMAX dominance spearheaded by Mission: Impossible star and producer, Tom Cruise.

Reportedly, Cruise attempted to negotiate more screens for Dead Reckoning Part One , while IMAX, in turn, tried to persuade Paramount to move the Mission: Impossible movie to give both films a chance at IMAX screens (via Variety ). Ultimately, IMAX’s official response backed Oppenheimer . The company’s CEO explained “ Nolan has a special place in Imax’s heart because he uses our cameras and promotes us. ” The decision seems to have come down to Oppenheimer ’s use of real IMAX cameras over Dead Reckoning Part One ’s Sony VENICE cameras, which are only certified for IMAX.

Tom Cruise Can Still Take Solace From Barbenheimer - Because It's Good For Cinema

There’s no question that Tom Cruise loves the Mission: Impossible franchise and wants to see it thrive. The star has appeared in more Mission: Impossible films than any other series, even co-producing on the films and working closely with the franchise’s many directors. However, Cruise has time and again demonstrated that he is a massive supporter of cinema in general. With Top Gun: Maverick , a film which Cruise insisted be released theatrically rather than direct to streaming, Steven Spielberg himself credited Cruise with saving Hollywood .

Cruise even took to Instagram with Dead Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie, urging people to head out to theaters to see Barbie and Oppenheimer in a bid to promote theatrical releases. While Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One underperformed, Cruise got his wish for theaters. Moviegoers showed up in droves to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the big screen, with Barbie even crossing $1 billion . The business will not only help keep thousands of brick-and-mortar theaters alive, it demonstrates to studios that cinematic releases are still a hugely profitable practice.

Source: The Numbers , Variety , Instagram.com/@tomcruise ,

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‘Oppenheimer’ crowned best picture at an Academy Awards shadowed by war

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

The cast and crew of "Oppenheimer" accept the award for best picture during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES — “Oppenheimer,” a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, including best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan.

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

“For better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” said Murphy in his acceptance speech. “I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.”

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, “Oppenheimer” also emerged — even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, “Barbie” – as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not.

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Cillian Murphy accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for "Oppenheimer" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Emma Thomas, left, and Christopher Nolan accept the award for best picture for "Oppenheimer" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Sunday’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon. Awards for the documentary winner, “20 Days in Mariupol,” and best international film, “The Zone of Interest,” brought geopolitics into the Oscar spotlight.

The most closely watched contest went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2017 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katharine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

“Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming,” said Stone, who fought back tears and a broken dress during her speech.

Sunday’s broadcast had razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the “Barbie” hit “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash and a sea of Kens who swarmed the stage.

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Emma Stone accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Poor Things" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Cillian Murphy, winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for "Oppenheimer," from left, Robert Downey Jr., winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for "Oppenheimer," Da'Vine Joy Randolph, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for "The Holdovers," and Emma Stone, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Poor Things," pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

But protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards. Late during the show, host Jimmy Kimmel read a critical social media post from former president Donald Trump.

“Thank you for watching,” said Kimmel. “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker. Addressing the crowd, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

“Imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater,” said Nolan, who shared the best-picture award with Emma Thomas, his wife and producer. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

Downey, nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”), also notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Robert Downey Jr. accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for "Oppenheimer" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, ultimately won just one award: best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars’ arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar’ attention toward the ongoing conflict. Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the awards.

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

A protester holds a poster during a demonstration in support of Palestinians calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as the 96th Academy Awards Oscars ceremony is held nearby, Sunday, March 10, 2024, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Raney Aronson-Rath, from left, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Michelle Mizner, and Derl McCrudden accept the award for best documentary feature film for "20 Days in Mariupol" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination, spoke forcefully about Russia’s invasion.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” said Chernov. “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this (for) Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design. “Poor Things” fared second best to “Oppenheimer,” with a total of four awards.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with an monologue that emphasized Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023′s actor and writer strikes, drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress, for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

oppenheimer barbie tom cruise

Finneas O'Connell, left, and Billie Eilish pose in the press room with the award for best original song for "What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie" at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature, a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his “Spirited Away” won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.

In adapted screenplay, where “Barbie” was nominated — and where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director — the Oscar went to Cord Jefferson, who wrote and directed his feature film debut “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks on young filmmakers like himself.

“Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on the story by Roald Dahl.

The win for “Oppenheimer” offered Hollywood a chance to celebrate despite swirling storm clouds in the film industry. Nolan’s film debuted last year just as actors joined screenwriters in a prolonged strike over streaming economics and artificial intelligence. The actors’ strike ended in November, but little of Hollywood’s unease subsided. Streaming has proved less lucrative for most studios not named Netflix.

But “Barbenheimer” was the kind of unplanned phenomenon Hollywood needs more of. The two films could also give a lift to the Oscar telecast, which has historically benefitted from having big movies in contention. The Academy Awards’ largest audience ever came when James Cameron’s “Titanic” swept the 1998 Oscars.

AP’s Ryan Pearson and Krysta Fauria contributed to this report

IMAGES

  1. Tom Cruise reveals what he'll watch first: Barbie or Oppenheimer

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  2. Tom Cruise Reveals His Schedule for Viewing 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer'

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  3. Tom Cruise Endorses Your ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Double Feature

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  4. Tom Cruise Does the Barbie & Oppenheimer Double Bill

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  5. Tom Cruise verá Oppenheimer y Barbie en el cine, y ya ha decidido cuál

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  6. ‘Barbie’ vs. ‘Oppenheimer:’ Tom Cruise Reveals His First Pick

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VIDEO

  1. Barbie and Oppenheimer: Classic or Trash?

  2. OPPENHEIMER vs BARBIE

  3. Tom Cruise on Barbie or Oppenheimer First?

  4. Me leaving the Oppenheimer Premiere and getting ready for the Barbie one

  5. Simon Pegg & Hayley Atwell Reveal Tom Cruise's Secret Skill

  6. Will Tom Cruise watch Oppenheimer or Barbie⁉️🤔

COMMENTS

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    Friday, I’ll see Oppenheimer first, and then Barbie on Saturday.” While this is not technically a back-to-back double feature, Cruise is clearly jazzed about the …

  2. Tom Cruise Is Seeing Both 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer'—But Which One

    Cruise himself has now waded into this discourse, telling The Sydney Morning Herald, "I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer. I'll see them opening weekend. Friday, I'll see Oppenheimer ...

  3. What to know about the 'Barbenheimer' double feature frenzy : NPR

    Tom Cruise, whose latest "Mission: Impossible" movie opened in theaters last week, said at his premiere that he plans to see both, likely starting with Oppenheimer. Others have endorsed his ...

  4. Tom Cruise Reveals His Schedule for Viewing 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer'

    read the accompanying tweet. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is in theaters July 12, while Barbie and Oppenheimer both open July 21. Tom Cruise already has his schedule in place ...

  5. Tom Cruise Revealed Whether He'll See "Barbie" Or "Oppenheimer" First

    — Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) June 28, 2023 @TomCruise / Twitter / Via Twitter: @TomCruise Tom posed with tickets to Indiana Jones , Oppenheimer , and Barbie alongside Mission: Impossible director ...

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    Barbie. and. Oppenheimer. Double Feature. "It doesn't get more explosive (or more pink)". By Savannah Walsh. June 28, 2023. Han Myung-Gu. When Steven Spielberg proclaimed that Tom Cruise ...

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    Tom Cruise is on a mission to watch both Oppenheimer and Barbie on their opening weekend and is opening up about how he'll make it happen. "I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer. I'll ...

  8. Tom Cruise Promotes 'Barbie' 'Oppenheimer' Double Feature

    Tom Cruise is going door-to-door spreading the gospel. The Barbie and Oppenheimer double-feature gospel, that is, a church in which Matt Damon also belongs.These two big-budget summer blockbusters ...

  9. Tom Cruise is planning a Barbie and Oppenheimer double feature

    Tom Cruise, ex-husband of AMC ad sensation Nicole Kidman, is encouraging moviegoers to flock to theaters for a 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' double feature.

  10. Tom Cruise Plans to See 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie' on Opening Weekend

    Tom Cruise 's latest mission is to single-handedly prove that movies should be seen in theaters. The Mission: Impossible star has confirmed he will see Christopher Nolan 's Oppenheimer and ...

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    Tom Cruise shared his excitement over seeing 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie,' which both hit theaters days after 'Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One'

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    Tom Cruise is all in on Barbie-Oppenheimer double feature: 'It doesn't get more explosive (or more pink)' Fans have been debating what order to see the blockbusters, which both release on 21 ...

  14. Tom Cruise Breaks Silence On Barbie vs Oppenheimer: "It Doesn't Get

    Tom Cruise shares his thoughts on the slate of summer blockbusters, including Barbie vs. Oppenheimer.The summer of 2023 will be packed with big theatrical movies, including Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on June 30 and Cruise's own extravaganza, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, on July 12.A week later, the highly anticipated box office battle between Barbie and ...

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    SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Reveals All! Here's The Order He Plans To See Barbie And Oppenheimer. Warner Bros. By Witney Seibold / July 9, 2023 7:00 pm EST. Both Greta Gerwig's ultra-pink, kid-friendly ...

  16. Tom Cruise Urges Fans to See Rival Movies 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer'

    Tom Cruise really wants you to go see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. And Barbie. And Oppenheimer . Despite his own blockbuster opening in a few weeks (that would be Mission: Impossible ...

  17. Tom Cruise Reveals Whether He's Seeing Barbie Or Oppenheimer First

    Hollywood icon Tom Cruise reveals whether he is planning to watch Barbie or Oppenheimer first. Both major releases are set to open in theaters on July 21 and have been pitted against one another in one of the biggest box office battles of recent times. The Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie, based on the Mattel toy of the same name, stars Margot ...

  18. Tom Cruise Reveals If He's Seeing 'Barbie' or 'Oppenheimer' First

    Tom Cruise has revealed if he'll be seeing Barbie or Oppenheimer first when both films open on July 21. Speaking to the The Sydney Morning Herald, Crusie confessed, "I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer."He then added,"I'll see them opening weekend. Friday I'll see Oppenheimer first and then Barbie on Saturday.". Going on to share his love of experiencing movies in a theater, Cruise ...

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    Tom Cruise is going full Barbenheimer, plans to see Oppenheimer and Barbie on opening weekend. Tom Cruise, one of the last true movie stars alive and one of the most influential people in Hollywood, has decided to put his IMAX feud with Christopher Nolan aside for the greater good of an industry he loves so much.

  20. 'Oppenheimer' wins best picture at an Academy Awards shadowed by war

    "Oppenheimer," a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan. ... dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, "Oppenheimer" brought droves of moviegoers to theaters ...

  21. Tom Cruise puts Oppenheimer over Barbie on his watch-list

    Tom Cruise has extended his support for the upcoming "double feature" of Oppenheimer and Barbie on Instagram where he posed with Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie in front of ...

  22. Tom Cruise Angry At Oppenheimer & Barbie Taking Mission: Impossible 7

    A new report suggests Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One star Tom Cruise is angry that Oppenheimer and Barbie are taking screens away from his film. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One will be the beginning of the end of Cruise's Ethan Hunt, whose last mission begins on July 12, 2023.However, just one week later on July 21, the highly anticipated Oppenheimer and Barbie ...

  23. Tom Cruise reveals what he'll watch first: Barbie or Oppenheimer

    Tom Cruise got everyone's attention recently when he promoted his summer movie rivals, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's Barbie. He said that he loves the idea of a double feature ...

  24. Tom Cruise vs Oppenheimer vs Barbie: WTW poll

    On July 12, Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, releases worldwide, then on July 21 we get the one-two punch of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's Barbie. There probably hasn't been a run of such highly anticipated movies releasing in such a short window since pre-COVID; all three ...

  25. Oscars 2024: Updates from the Academy Awards in Los Angeles

    Sunday's Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon. Awards for the ...

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    The comedian says that having hit films like Oppenheimer and Barbie in contention has made his job much easier this year, ... Why is Tom Cruise always overlooked at the Oscars? March 10 2024, 12.02am.

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    Ryan Gosling goes viral for hilarious reaction to Anatomy of The Fall dog clapping at Oscars. Story by Olivia Hebert. • 13h • 3 min read. While "Barbie" bested (and helped lift ...

  28. 'Oppenheimer' crowned best picture at an Academy Awards shadowed by war

    In anointing "Oppenheimer," the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn't done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, "Oppenheimer" brought droves of ...

  29. Can 'Barbie' Make an Oscars Comeback?

    March 7, 2024. With 18 nominations, Barbie leads the Critics Choice pack. JAAP BUITENDIJK/WARNER BROS. PICTURES. Before Barbie hit theaters, its chances as an awards player appeared—wrongly ...

  30. Tom Cruise Is The Biggest Loser Of Barbenheimer

    While Barbie and Oppenheimer's friendly competition helped propel both movies to commercial dominance, it had real consequences for Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.When Barbie and Oppenheimer were announced to be releasing on the same day, it was assumed that the two films would have to battle it out at the box office.

  31. 'Oppenheimer' crowned best picture at an Academy Awards shadowed by war

    In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, "Oppenheimer" brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled ...