LOS ANGELES (AP) โ Hi, โOppenheimer.โ
When Hollywood gathers for the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday,ย the blockbuster biopicย is widely expected to overpower all competition โ including its release-date companion, โBarbieโ โ at an election-year Oscars that could turn intoย a coronation for Christopher Nolan.
Theย Oscars,ย kicking off on ABC at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday, areย springing forward an hourย earlier than usual due to daylight saving time. But aside from the time shift, this yearโs show is going for many tried-and-true Academy Awards traditions.ย Jimmy Kimmel is back as host. Past winners are flocking back as presenters. And a big studio epicย is poised for a major awards haul.
Still, much is circling around this yearโs show. Demonstrators are expected to protestย the Israel-Hamas warย near the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Police have beefed up their already extensive presence. Theย war in Ukraineย will be on some attendeesโ minds, particularly those of the journalist filmmakers behind the documentary favorite,ย โ20 Days in Mariupol.โย And withย the presidential electionย in full swing, politics could be an unavoidable topic despite an awards season thatโs played out largely in a vacuum.
Hollywood also has plenty of its own storm clouds to concern itself with.
The 2023 movie year was defined byย a prolonged strikeย over the future of an industry thatโs reckoning with the onset of streaming, artificial intelligence andย shifting moviegoer tastesย that have tested even the most bankable brands. The academy, while also widely nominating films likeย โKillers of the Flower Moonโย andย โPoor Things,โย embraced both โOppenheimer,โย the lead nomineeย with 13 nods, andย Greta Gerwigโs โBarbie,โย the yearโs biggest hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales and eight nominations.
HOW TO WATCH
Ahead of the broadcast on ABC, a red carpet preshow will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT. E! will kick off its red-carpet coverage at 4 p.m. EDT andย arrivals are being streamedย on YouTube by The Associated Press.
The show will be available to stream via ABC.com and the ABC app with a cable subscription. You can also watch through services including Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
WHATโS IN STORE FOR THE TELECAST
Five past winners in each acting category will together announce winners for the first time since 2009. Among the many announced presenters are: Zendaya, Al Pacino, Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Yeoh, Steven Spielberg, Dwayne Johnson, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyongโo, Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage and Bad Bunny.
All of the best original song nominees will be performed, including the most likely winner,ย โWhat Was I Made Forโ from โBarbie,โย to be performed by Billie Eilish and Finneas OโConnell. The others are: โIโm Just Ken,โ with Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson; โThe Fire Inside,โ from โFlaminโ Hot,โ to be performed by Becky G; Jon Batisteโs โIt Never Went Awayโ from โAmerican Symphonyโ; and โWahzhazhe (A Song for My People),โ from โKillers of the Flower Moon,โ to be performed by Scott George and the Osage Singers.
WHO ARE THE FAVORITES?
โOppenheimerโ comes in having won at theย producers, directors andย actors guilds,ย making it the clear front-runner for best picture. The film is widely expected to win in a number of other categories, too. Nolan is tipped to win his first best director Oscar, whileย Robert Downey Jr.ย (best supporting actor) andย Cillian Murphyย (best actor) are also predicted to win their first Academy Award.ย Paul Giamattiย (“The Holdovers”) could challenge Murphy.
With the forecasted โOppenheimerโ romp, the nightโs biggest drama is in the best actress category. Emma Stone (โPoor Thingsโ) andย Lily Gladstoneย (โKillers of the Flower Moonโ) are nearly even-odds to win. While an Oscar for Stone, who won for her performance โLa La Land,โ would be her second statuette, an win for Gladstone would make Academy Awards history. No Native American has ever won a competitive Oscar.
While โBarbieโ bested (and helped lift) โOppenheimerโ at the box office, it appears likely it will take a back seat to Nolanโs film at the Oscars. Gerwig was notably overlooked for best director, sparking an outcry that some, even Hillary Clinton, saidย mimicked the patriarchy parodied in the film.
In supporting actress, Da’Vine Joy Randolph has been a lock all season for her performance inย Alexander Payne’s โThe Holdovers.โ
WHAT ELSE TO LOOK FOR
Composer John Williams, 92, is expected to attend the ceremony where he’s nominated for the 49th time for best score, forย โIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyย ” Meanwhileย Godzilla is going to the Oscarsย for the first time, with โGodzilla Minus Oneโ notching a nomination for best visual effects.
Also for the first time, two non-English language films are up for best picture: the German-language Auschwitz dramaย โThe Zone of Interestโย and the French courtroom dramaย โAnatomy of a Fall.โย โThe Zone of Interestโ is the heavy favorite to win best international film.
Historically, having big movies in the mix for the Oscarsโ top awards has been good for broadcast ratings. The Academy Awardsโ largest audience ever came when James Cameronโs โTitanicโ swept the 1998 Oscars.
Last yearโs ceremony, where a very different best-picture contender inย โEverything Everywhere All at Onceโ triumphed,ย was watched by 18.7 million people, up 12% from the year prior. ABC and the academy are hoping to continue the upward trend afterย a nadir in 2021,ย when 9.85 million watched a pandemic-diminished telecast relocated to Los Angelesโ Union Station.
