96th Annual Oscar Nominations Announced: Barbie Snubbed and History Made

On January 23, actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the nominations for the 96th Annual Academy Awards (The Oscars).

Following the Golden Globes, as well as the recently announced Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations, it’s no surprise that Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” led with an impressive 13 noms.

“Poor Things” followed close behind with 11, while “Oppenheimer’s” box office competitor “Barbie” earned only eight.

One of “Barbie’s” eight nominations was Best Picture. For the first time in Oscar history, three of the films nominated in this category were directed by women: “Barbie,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Past Lives.” However, only Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”) earned a best director nomination.

Margot Robbie, who starred as Barbie in the film, was also noticeably absent from nominations in the Best Actress category. However, Robbie earned a nomination as producer.

Ryan Gosling received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Barbie’s Ken.

In a statement, Ryan Gosling expressed his disappointment in the omissions, “I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films. And I never thought l’d being saying this, but I’m also incredibly honored and proud that it’s for portraying a plastic doll named Ken.

But there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.
No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius.
To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.


Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.

Having said that, I am so happy for America Ferrera and the other incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this such a groundbreaking film.”

Gosling was joined by America Ferrera who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “Barbie.”

Historic nominations continued with “Killers of the Flower Moon’s” Lily Gladstone who was recognized in the Best Actress category. If she were to win, she would become the first Native American performer to win the prize.

“Killers of the Flower Moon’s” Director, Martin Scorsese also became the oldest nominee in the Best Director category at 81 years of age.

Another nomination of great significance was Best Actor recognition for Colman Domingo for his portrayal of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in “Rustin.” Domingo’s nomination makes him only the second openly gay man to be nominated for playing a queer character. Domingo follows Ian McKellen who won in 1999 for his portrayal of James Whale in “Gods and Monsters.”

Colman told the Hollywood Reporter, “It’s exciting to me, too, because I know that this is history-making, in many ways. And I’m glad people could see the craftsmanship and see the work ethic and see the work in it. I’m overwhelmed in so many ways. But the most extraordinary way, for me, is I love that the more people know my name, the more they know Bayard Rustin’s name.”

See who wins at the Academy Awards on March 10 at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST on ABC.

Full List of Nominations Below:

Best picture

  • “American Fiction”
  • “Anatomy of a Fall”
  • “Barbie”
  • “The Holdovers”
  • “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • “Maestro”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Past Lives”
  • “Poor Things”
  • “The Zone of Interest”

Best actor

  • Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
  • Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
  • Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
  • Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”
  • Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Best actress

  • Annette Bening, “Nyad”
  • Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”
  • Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”
  • Emma Stone, “Poor Things”

Best supporting actor

  • Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”
  • Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
  • Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
  • Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”

Best supporting actress

  • Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
  • Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
  • America Ferrera, “Barbie”
  • Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
  • Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”

Best director

  • Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”
  • Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
  • Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
  • Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”

International feature film

  • “Io Capitano,” Italy
  • “Perfect Days,” Japan
  • “Society of the Snow,” Spain
  • “The Teachers’ Lounge,” Germany
  • “The Zone of Interest,” United Kingdom

Animated feature film

  • “The Boy and the Heron”
  • “Elemental”
  • “Nimona”
  • “Robot Dreams”
  • “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

Adapted screenplay

  • “American Fiction”
  • “Barbie”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”
  • “The Zone of Interest”

Original screenplay

  • “Anatomy of a Fall”
  • “The Holdovers”
  • “Maestro”
  • “May December”
  • “Past Lives”

Visual effects

  • “The Creator”
  • “Godzilla Minus One”
  • “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
  • “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
  • “Napoleon”

Original score

  • “American Fiction”
  • “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
  • “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”

Original song

  • “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
  • “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”
  • “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
  • “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
  • “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Documentary feature film

  • “20 Days in Mariupol”
  • “Bobi Wine: The People’s President”
  • “The Eternal Memory”
  • “Four Daughters”
  • “To Kill a Tiger”

Cinematography

  • “El Conde”
  • “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • “Maestro”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”

Costume design

  • “Barbie”
  • “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • “Napoleon”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”

Animated short film

  • “Letter to a Pig”
  • “Ninety-Five Senses”
  • “Our Uniform”
  • “Pachyderme”
  • “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko”

Live action short film

  • “The After”
  • “Invincible”
  • “Knight of Fortune”
  • “Red, White and Blue”
  • “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”

Documentary short film

  • “The ABCs of Book Banning”
  • “The Barber of Little Rock”
  • “Island in Between”
  • “The Last Repair Shop”
  • “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó”

Film editing

  • “Anatomy of a Fall”
  • “The Holdovers”
  • “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”

Sound

  • “The Creator”
  • “Maestro”
  • “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “The Zone of Interest”

Production design

  • “Barbie”
  • “Killers of the Flower Moon”
  • “Napoleon”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”

Makeup and hairstyling

  • “Golda”
  • “Maestro”
  • “Oppenheimer”
  • “Poor Things”
  • “Society of the Snow”