Oscars 2024 recap: Biggest moments from the 96th Academy Awards

Everything that happened on Hollywood's biggest night.

The 2024 Oscars have come and gone, and "Oppenheimer" was the big winner of the night.

Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 96th Academy Awards, a ceremony which honored excellence in cinematic achievements for some of the past year's biggest films.

"Oppenheimer" earned seven Oscars from its 13 total nominations, including the top prize of the night, best picture, as well as best director for Christopher Nolan.

In the lead acting categories, "Poor Things" star Emma Stone took home the award for best actress while "Oppenheimer" star Cillian Murphy took home best actor.

"The Holdovers" star Da'Vine Joy Randolph and "Oppenheimer" star Robert Downey Jr. snagged wins in the supporting acting categories.

For all the biggest moments from the 2024 Oscars, keep reading below.


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'Oppenheimer' wins best picture

"Oppenheimer" won the Oscar for best picture.

"I think any of us who make movies know that you kind of dream of this moment," producer Emma Thomas said. "I could deny it, but I have been dreaming about this moment for so long, but it seemed so unlikely that it would ever actually happen, and now I'm standing here and everything's kind of gone out of my head."

Thomas said director Christopher Nolan -- her husband -- was the reason the film became what it was, calling him "singular" and "brilliant," before giving a shoutout to their four children.

Al Pacino presented the category in celebration of the 50th anniversary of "The Godfather Part II."

Other nominees in the category included "American Fiction," "Anatomy of a Fall," "Barbie," "The Holdovers," "Killers of the Flower Moon," "Maestro," "Past Lives," "Poor Things" and "The Zone of Interest."


Emma Stone wins best actress

Emma Stone won the best actress Oscar for her performance in "Poor Things."

In her acceptance speech, Stone acknowledged her fellow nominees in the category.

"The women in this category -- Sandra, Annette, Carey, Lily -- I share this with you," she said. "I'm in awe of you. It's been such an honor to do all of this together. I hope we get to keep doing more together."

"The other night, I was panicking -- as you can see, happens a lot -- that maybe something like this could happen," she continued. "And Yorgos said to me, please take yourself out of it. And he was right. Because it's not about me. It's about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. And that is the best part about making movies, is all of us together. And I am so deeply honored to share this with every cast member, with every crew member, with every single person who poured their love and their care and their brilliance into the making of this film."

Stone then thanked director Yorgos Lanthimos for giving her "the gift of a lifetime in Bella Baxter." She ended her speech by thanking her mom, her dad, her brother Spencer Stone, her husband Dave McCary and her daughter.

"I love you bigger than the whole sky, my girl," she said.

This is Stone's second Oscar win. She previously won best actress for 2016's "La La Land."

Stone also won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA this awards season for her work in "Poor Things."

Before the Oscar was announced, each best actress nominee was honored by previous best actress winners including Michelle Yeoh, Sally Field, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Lange.

Other nominees in the category included Annette Bening for "Nyad," Lily Gladstone for "Killers of the Flower Moon," Sandra Hüller for "Anatomy of a Fall" and Carey Mulligan for "Maestro."


Christopher Nolan wins best director

Christopher Nolan won the Oscar for best director for "Oppenheimer."

During his acceptance speech, Nolan thanked Universal Studios and the authors of the biography on which the movie is based, "American Prometheus," by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

He also thanked all the cast members including Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy, as well as his wife, "the incredible Emma Thomas … producer of all our films, and all our children. I love you."

"Movies are just a little bit over 100 years old," he continued, adding, "We don't know where this incredible journey is going from here, but to know that you think that I'm a meaningful part of it, means the world to me. Thank you very much."

In addition to best director, Nolan was also nominated tonight for best adapted screenplay, which ultimately went to Cord Jefferson for "American Fiction."

This awards season, Nolan has won a Golden Globe for best director and BAFTAs for best director and best film.

Other nominees in the best director category at the 2024 Oscars included Justine Triet for "Anatomy of a Fall," Martin Scorsese for "Killers of the Flower Moon," Yorgos Lanthimos for "Poor Things" and Jonathan Glazer for "The Zone of Interest."


Cillian Murphy dedicates best actor win to 'peacemakers everywhere'

Cillian Murphy won the Oscar for best actor for his role in "Oppenheimer."

The actor, who portrayed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, in "Oppenheimer," said he was "overwhelmed" to have won the award.

"I'm a very proud Irishman standing here tonight," he said. "We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb and, for better or for worse, we're all living in Oppenheimer's world, so I would really like to dedicate this to peacemakers everywhere."

Murphy accepted the Oscar from a group of previous best actor winners, including Nicolas Cage, Matthew McConaughey, Brendan Fraser, Ben Kingsley and Forest Whitaker.

This awards season, Murphy has won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA.

Other nominees in the category included Bradley Cooper for "Maestro," Colman Domingo for "Rustin," Paul Giamatti for "The Holdovers" and Jeffrey Wright for "American Fiction."