Get your gladrags on and prepare those speeches – last night was the biggest night in the Hollywood calendar, the 96th Academy Awards, and it was a starry evening full of heart, humour, and... huge lizards? The 2024 Oscars was a pretty seamless affair, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and featuring genuinely funny (yes, we were shocked too) skits from nominees, presenters and audience members alike. The big awards went in mostly expected directions, but there were some delightful surprise wins in there too. Take a look at our highlights of the night below...
Godzilla hits the red carpet
Nominated for Best Visual Effects, the Godzilla Minus One team arrived – with not one, not two, but four little versions of the big lizard himself. And look, the gold one has a little bow tie! The film would go on to win the award later in the night – huge news for aspriring kaiju actors everywhere.
Messi dons his bow tie
The biggest canine star that everyone was looking forward to seeing tonight – Messi, star of Anatomy Of A Fall – was at the ceremony! He even dug out a bow tie for the occasion. What a good boy.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins Best Supporting Actress
There was not a dry eye in the house as Da'Vine Joy Randolph gave her acceptance speech for the Best Supporting Actress award, for her performance in The Holdovers. “I didn’t think I was supposed to be doing this as a career,” she said. “I started off as a singer, and my mother said to me, ‘Go across that street to that theatre department. There’s something for you there.’” Paul Giamatti even shed a tear in the audience. “For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different,” she says. “And now I realised, I just need to be myself.”
Cord Jefferson’s Adapted Screenplay speech
American Fiction writer and director Cord Jefferson delivered a great speech when accepting his award, talking about how the industry needs to make more room for new voices, and take more risks: “This means the world to me, thank you so much. I’ve been talking a lot about how many people passed on this movie – it’s a plea to acknowledge and recognise that there are so many people out there who want the opportunity that I was given. I understand this is a risk-averse industry – but instead of making one $200 million movies, try making ten $20 million movies. The next Scorsese is out there, the next Nolan is out there; they just want a shot.”
Billie Eilish and Finneas perform ‘What Was I Made For’
You could hear a pin drop in the Dolby Theatre as Billie Eilish and Finneas performed their gorgeous Barbie track and Best Song nominee (and eventual winner), against an on-theme pink backdrop. Spine-tingling stuff.
John Cena bares all
In one of the funniest Oscars skits in recent memory, Jimmy Kimmel reminded us of the time the awards were interrupted by a streaker, before John Cena emerged from the set, completely unclothed. After some nerves and gentle encouragement from Kimmel, Cena stepped out onto the stage, with only the envelope for the Best Costume Design hiding his manhood. Bravo, Mr. Cena, for your whole-hearted commitment to the bit.
The Academy honours the stunt community
There may not be an official award category for it yet, but those who bring stunts to our screens did get a major nod at the ceremony this year, with The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt taking to the stage. After a highly amusing bit about the Barbenheimer box-office rivalry, they introduced a montage of great stunt cinema moments, including glimpses of John Wick, Buster Keaton, All Quiet On The Western Front, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Titanic, Indiana Jones, Ben-Hur and much more. In their words: stunt performers and coordinators, we salute you.
Robert Downey Jr. wins Best Supporting Actor
As expected, the Best Supporting Actor Oscar went to Robert Downey Jr. for his performance in Oppenheimer. It's an honour that's been a long time coming for the actor, and marks an incredible personal journey. And if there's one thing you can count on RDJ for, it's a lively acceptance speech. “I’d like to thank my terrible childhood, and the Academy. In that order,” he deadpans. “I’d like to thank my veterinarian. I mean, wife – Susan Downey. She found me as a snarling rescue pet, and loved me back to life.” And he paid tribute to what the role has meant to him. “I needed this job, more than it needed me. Chris knew it,” he says of his director. “I stand here before you a better man because of it.”
Ryan Gosling performs ‘I’m Just Ken’
It's the Best Original Song performance we were all waiting for. Yes, Barbie's Ryan Gosling donned a hot pink suit, a cowboy hat and some sunglasses, and belted out 'I'm Just Ken' on the Oscars stage. It was an incredible show, featuring some Busby Berkeley-esque choreography, a gaggle of other Kens joining him (including Ncuti Gatwa, Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir), Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and America Ferrera singing along, Gosling taking the cameraman by the hand, and more. He's just Ken, and he's enough. And judging by that performance, he really is great at doing stuff.
Steven Spielberg presents Christopher Nolan with the Best Director gong
Real cinema history-making moment, this felt like. The one and only Steven Spielberg was presenting the Best Director award, and handed it over to Christopher Nolan (his first win after several nominations) for Oppenheimer. Two of our greatest living directors, on the biggest stage there is.
Emma Stone gets emotional
It was probably the closest, hardest-to-predict category – but Emma Stone was the Best Actress winner, for her bold, brave turn in Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things. Stone seemed overcome as soon as she took the stage, hugging those presenting her with the award and letting the audience know that her dress was broken. ("I think it happened during 'I'm Just Ken'," she said.) She went on to give a heartfelt thanks to those who made Poor Things a reality: “The other night I was panicking that this could happen, and Yorgos said, ‘Take yourself out of it’. And he’s right. This is about a team that came together to make something bigger than the sum of its parts. I’m so deeply honoured to share this with every person who poured their love and brilliance into this film. Thank you, Yorgos, for giving me the part of a lifetime in Bella Baxter.”
Oppenheimer takes Best Picture… we think?
Last time Emma Stone won the Best Actress Oscar, the whole La La Land-won-Best-Picture, no-wait-Moonlight-did kerfuffle happened. Thankfully, there wasn't a mishap quite like that this time, although presenter Al Pacino did take a slightly odd approach to announcing the film taking the biggest gong of the night. "My eyes see Oppenheimer," he said. We took that to mean the Nolan biopic had in fact nabbed Best Picture, making it the biggest winner of the night, with a total of seven awards.