Edited by ITMHollywood’s Biggest Night is right around the corner, promising to celebrate the best achievements in film over the past year. And with The Walt Disney Company leading the way with a whopping 20 nominations spanning its many content brands and platforms, here are some of the most likely wins — and snubs — we can expect to see the House of Mouse receive at this year’s ceremony.
Related: New Oscars Category Spells Success For Walt Disney Studios
When Are the Oscars 2024?
Time, date, and ways to watch
The 96th annual Academy Awards kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 10, and will once again take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. As always, the Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC. For those without cable, the show can also be streamed on services, including Hulu Live TV, YouTube, AT&T TV, and FuboTV.
This year’s presenters
Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars for the second consecutive year, having also emceed the 2017, 2018, and 2023 ceremonies. As for its A-list presenters, last year’s big winners will return to present top awards, including Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis, along with Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Mahershala Ali, and others.
Related: Marvel Star Condemns Oscar Snubs
In terms of this year’s musical performers, viewers can look forward to seeing Barbie (2023) star and Best Supporting Actor nominee Ryan Gosling take to the stage for a rendition of the oh-so-catchy “I’m Just Ken,” as well as Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, who are both up for Best Original Song with the existential anthem “What Was I Made For?” Becky G, Jon Baptiste, and Scott George and the Osage Singers will also perform live.
A Breakdown of The Walt Disney Company’s 20 Oscar Nominations
‘Poor Things’ – 11 nominations
Searchlight Pictures, which Disney acquired in 2019, landed an impressive 13 Oscar nominations this year — 11 of which are thanks to director Yorgos Lanthimos’ genre-bending Poor Things (2023). The movie, which stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe, scored big in both acting and technical categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor.
‘The Creator’ – 2 nominations
Perhaps one of the most wholly original sci-fi outings to come out of the past year was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) director Gareth Edwards’ The Creator (2023), a futuristic action flick that follows a war between humans and AI robots. Although the movie didn’t garner any Academy Award nominations in acting categories, it did earn nods for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.
‘Bobi Wine: The People’s President’ – 1 nomination
The National Geographic film Bobi Wine: The People’s President (2023) is one of the five films nominated for Best Documentary Feature, following Ugandan opposition leader and activist Bobi Wine’s efforts to end Yoweri Museveni’s oppressive 35-year regime by running in the 2021 presidential election. The documentary is currently streaming on Disney+.
‘Elemental’ – 1 nomination
After enduring one of the strangest theatrical runs in recent history, Disney and Pixar’s Elemental (2023) finally found its feet at the international box office after initially experiencing record-low ticket sales upon its release in June. And now, it’s up for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscars, marking director Peter Sohn’s first nomination.
‘Flamin’ Hot’ – 1 nomination
Flamin’ Hot (2023), director Eva Longoria’s biographical comedy-drama, is based on the true story of Richard Montanez (Jesse Garcia), the inventor of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Hilariously enough, the movie is nominated at the 2024 Academy Awards for Best Original Song with Diane Warren’s “The Fire Inside.”
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ – 1 nomination
Marvel Studios has historically not fared well at the Oscars, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) actress Angela Bassett being famously “snubbed” at last year’s ceremony. However, the Academy is honoring director James Gunn’s third and final MCU foray, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), with a Best Visual Effects nod — the same category its two predecessors were also nominated in.
‘The Last Repair Shop’ – 1 nomination
After winning Best Short Documentary award at the 8th Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, Searchlight Pictures’ The Last Repair Shop (2023) seems to be on a roll, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Film. The film follows a Los Angeles musical instrument repair shop, detailing the importance of art in the lives of young students.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – 1 nomination
Despite going down as one of the biggest commercial flops of 2023 — grossing just $384 million against an estimated production budget of $400 million — Harrison Ford’s final outing as the titular adventurer in Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) still managed to score a little love from the Academy. Unsurprisingly, maestro and 54-time nominee John Williams is nominated for Best Original Score.
‘Nai Nai & Wài Pó’ – 1 nomination
Loosely translating to “Grandma & Grandma,” Nai Nai & Wài Pó (2023) is the first installment of Disney’s “People and Places” relaunch. It follows “A filmmaker’s love letter to his grandmas, who spend their twilight years dancing, stretching, and farting their sorrows away.” The highly emotional film is nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 2024 Oscars.
Will Disney Win Any Oscars This Year?
Experts predict yes
Of course, it’s impossible to tell what members of the Academy voted for until the actual ceremony rolls around, but from the looks of it, Disney is on track to win at least a few Oscars at this year’s awards.
Pop culture analysts are predicting big wins for Poor Things, with many predicting Emma Stone will take home the trophy for Best Actress for her portrayal of Bella Baxter — if Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) star Lily Gladstone doesn’t get there first, that is. Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing would be the movie’s other best chances.
The Last Repair Shop is also leading the charge in the Best Documentary Short category, though Nai Nai & Wài Pó seems to have resonated with viewers. As for Best Documentary Feature, however, Disney will almost surely lose to the extremely timely 20 Days in Mariupol (2023).
Flamin’ Hot will, presumably, fall short of Barbie and its two powerhouse songs, with experts predicting that “What Was I Made For?” will bring home the gold for Greta Gerwig and Co. Best Visual Effects will likely go to the unexpected hit Godzilla Minus One (2024), with Best Animated Feature almost certainly being awarded to Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
Although John Williams seems like a safe bet for Best Original Score, Oppenheimer (2023) composer Ludwig Goransson could easily take the prize. In fact, Christopher Nolan’s WWII epic will probably dominate the technical categories, as well as Best Lead Actor for Cillian Murphy and, perhaps, Best Picture overall.
It’s important to remember that the Oscars always throw some sort of curveball our way, and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top at this year’s ceremony. Until then, your guess is as good as any.
Which film do you think should win Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards? Let us know in the comments below!