BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) – “Oppenheimer,” the epic film about the World War Two race to build the first atomic bomb, landed a leading 13 Oscar nominations on Tuesday and will compete for the prestigious best picture trophy.
“Oppenheimer” outpaced gothic comedy “Poor Things,” which received 11 nominations for the film industry’s highest honors.
Also in the best picture contest were feminist doll adventure “Barbie,” Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” about the murders of members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma in the 1920s.
Christopher Nolan, a best director nominee for “Oppenheimer,” said it was “a real thrill” to see his film pile up so many nominations.
“I think it’s a great year for movies, and it’s a real honor to be included,” Nolan said in an interview.
The remaining nominees in the field of 10 best picture nominees were “American Fiction,” “The Holdovers,” “Past Lives,” “The Zone of Interest,” and French film “Anatomy of a Fall.”
“Barbie,” last year’s highest-grossing movie, brought in eight nominations, including supporting actress for America Ferrera and supporting actor for Ryan Gosling. Voters passed over lead actress Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig.
“Oppenheimer,” another blockbuster at movie box offices, scored a lead acting nomination for Cillian Murphy, who played scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, and for supporting cast Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr.
Ten of the 20 acting contenders were first-time nominees. Among them were “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone and Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown for “American Fiction,” the story of a Black writer fed up with publishers pushing stereotypes.
In a surprise, voters snubbed “Flower Moon” star Leonardo DiCaprio. Robert De Niro received a supporting actor nomination for the movie.
Winners of the golden Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The organization added more women and people of color to its ranks after the #OscarsSoWhite uproars of 2015 and 2016, and it increased membership from outside the United States. This year, votes came in from a record 93 countries.
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will return as host of the Oscars caremony, which will be broadcast live on Walt Disney’s ABC on March 10.
For best original song, Gosling’s sad ballad “I’m Just Ken” will compete with Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” also from “Barbie.”
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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