Despite acclaim from film scholars and movie critics throughout awards season, it was a rough Sunday night for writer-director Martin Scorsese’s historical epic Killers of the Flower Moon at the 96th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
The film — which chronicles the mysterious murders of several indigenous residents living on Oklahoma’s Osage Nation Reservation after oil is discovered on tribal land in the 1920s — suffered a complete shutout at the 2024 Oscars. Star Lily Gladstone appeared to have the best chance of winning a major Oscar going into the ceremonies with her Best Female Actor win at the 2024 SAG Awards.
Gladstone’s chief competitor Emma Stone, however, took the Best Actress trophy at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, and won again in the category at the Oscars Sunday night. Gladstone did make Oscar history, though, by becoming the first Native American performer to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar.
Oppenheimer dominated the Oscars with seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director for Christopher Nolan, Best Actor for Cillian Murphy and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr.
How many Oscars was ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ nominated for?
Including Lily Gladstone’s Best Actress nomination, Killers of the Flower Moon was nominated for 10 Oscars total, including Best Picture, Best Director for Martin Scorsese, Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro, Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” by Scott George. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best.
Killers of the Flower Moon gained awards season momentum early on when it took Best Picture honors from the National Board of Review, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle and the Chicago Film Critics Circle. In addition to the SAG Awards, Gladstone earned Best Actress honors from the National Board from the NBR, the New York Critics Film Critics Circle and the Golden Globes’ in the organization’s drama category.