The ninety-sixth Academy Awards will honor the best films of 2023 on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The awards ceremony will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Oscars’ name can be traced back to the Academy’s first librarian. According to Biography, “The most famous and widely accepted origin story for the name Oscar is credited to Margaret Herrick, the Academy’s first librarian. The story goes that Herrick saw one of the awards sitting on an executive’s desk and remarked, ‘He reminds me of my Uncle Oscar,’” which then became the name of the award (biography.com).

Oppenheimer received the most Oscar nominations, leading the film ceremony with 13 nominations. The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, according to The New York Times (nytimes.com).

Senior Angela Hammett believes Oppenheimer will be the one to reap the most success come awards night. Hammett said, “While I haven’t seen all of the movies nominated this year, I believe that [Director] Christopher Nolan and Oppenheimer will win for Best Director and Best Picture respectively, two of the biggest awards of the night. Nolan has consistently made great, visually outstanding movies that have been nominated many times before at the Oscars, yet he has never won. I think it’s about time that Nolan receives his recognition, particularly for a film like Oppenheimer.”

Only second to Oppenheimer in nominations, Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things is a major competitor in various races. The film won two Golden Globe Awards, Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Actress Emma Stone. According to ABC News, “Stone is nominated at the Ninety- sixth Academy Awards for Best Picture for producing the film as well as Best Actress for playing the central character, Bella Baxter” (abcnews.go.com).

What some would argue is the most culturally influential film in the lineup, Barbie, was nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and two Best Original Song nods, according to The New York Times. The film has good chances of picking up the latter two awards, with Artist Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” being the likely victor in the Original Song contest (nytimes.com).

Hammett, a strong critic of the film ceremony, believes that the Oscars can serve as a way to give exposure to good filmmaking and attention to lesser- known movies outside of the mainstream blockbusters. “I don’t know if I can say the awards are actually worthwhile in evaluating what is the ‘best’ movie. Art is supposed to be subjective, but the very concept of awarding a prize to the ‘best’ film over others defeats that idea,” said Hammett.

Hammett added, “Considering Oppenheimer’s success with previous award shows and its high number of nominations, I think it will most likely, deservedly, go home with the most awards. In addition, I think Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things have equally good chances at winning many categories.”

Winning an Oscar can largely change the career of anyone in the film industry. Besides the trophy and praise, the recognition and opportunities that come with it can put an up-and-coming talent on the map. Tune in to the Oscars ceremony to see some of 2023’s standout work recognized, alongside a celebration of the many facets of film.