The 2024 Academy Award nominations were announced on Tuesday morning, so awards season has now truly begun. One of the best parts of awards season is that it reminds us to watch all the films we missed that have now been honored with nominations. It’s a helpful tip of the cap to everyone that these films are worth a watch.
While you could exhaust the entire list of nominees, not everyone has that kind of time, so the easiest one to knock out, of course, is the list of films that have been nominated for Best Picture. For the 2024 Oscars, the following films have received the honor:
- American Fiction
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Barbie
- The Holdovers
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Maestro
- Oppenheimer
- Past Lives
- Poor Things
- The Zone of Interest
Now that we know the list, let’s find out how we can watch these films before we forget any of them after the Academy Awards wrap up in March.
American Fiction
American Fiction is Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut and stars Jeffrey Wright as a novelist who writes an outlandish “Black” book as a prank but then gets caught up in Hollywood after they show interest in adapting it into a movie.
AMERICAN FICTION is Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Unfortunately, you can’t watch American Fiction on any streaming service just yet. However, since the film is coming from MGM Studios, it should hit Amazon Prime Video soon.
Anatomy of a Fall
In Anatomy of a Fall, “a woman is suspected of her husband’s murder and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.” The film is directed by Justin Triet and stars Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, and Milo Machado Graner.
For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide. Samuel’s suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. What follows is not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel’s death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel’s conflicted relationship.
While Anatomy of a Fall isn’t on any streaming services just yet, you can buy or rent the film through a number of services like Apple TV, YouTube TV, and Prime Video.
Barbie
We’re all just Ken, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get to enjoy the Barbie movie again. The smash hit from Greta Gerwig stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken and made over $1 billion at the box office, taking on the Harry Potter franchise as one of Warner Bros.’ most successful films ever.
To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.
Thankfully, you can stream Barbie on Max.
The Holdovers
The Holdovers, which is directed by Alexander Payne and stars Paul Giamatti, tells the story of of a prep school instructor and the bond he forms with the kids who stay at the school over the Christmas holiday.
From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
The Holdovers is streaming now on Peacock. You can also rent or buy the film on any number of digital film services.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon is directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert DeNiro.
At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal.
You can stream Killers of the Flower Moon now on Apple TV+.
Maestro
Maestro follows the relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. According to Josh Singer, who co-wrote the script with Bradley Cooper, the film will show “the many forms love can take.” Cooper also directs and stars in the film.
Maestro is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.
Maestro is streaming now on Netflix.
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer is already a huge hit and has the most Oscar nominations out of any film. The film has also already won five Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Score – Motion Picture. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Cillian Murphy.
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX®-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.
While it is not streaming yet, Peacock revealed that Oppenheimer will start streaming exclusively on the service on February 16th.
Past Lives
Past Lives is written and directed by Celine Song and stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro. The film tells the story of two friends who are reunited in New York City for a week after being kept apart for two decades.
Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.
Past Lives will eventually start streaming on Max, but for now, the film is available to purchase or rent through services like Apple TV and Prime Video.
Poor Things
Poor Things is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe. The film tells the story of a young woman brought back to life with a child’s brain.
From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Poor Things is expected to come to Hulu at some point this year, but the only way to watch the film right now is by going to the theater.
The Zone of Interest
The Zone of Interest is written and directed by Jonathan Glazer and stars Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel. It tells a disturbing story of a couple who build a home next to Auschwitz.
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
The Zone of Interest is not yet available to stream, but it is expected to come to Max.
