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As the world waited with bated breath to see which movie won Best Picture at the 2024 Oscars, Al Pacino decided to end the agony a few minutes earlier by announcing the winner as Oppenheimer. However, he did so without following tradition and announcing the list of nominees before the winner.
The Godfather star was tasked with presenting the award at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, held at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre on May 10, and decided to do so with no fanfare, sparking a memefest online. Netizens were tickled as Al Pacino jumped the gun to announce the winner, with one user tweeting that the announcement:
"Couldn’t have been more chaotic"
Al Pacino's Oscars blunder turns into a memefest on X
The much-awaited awards season came to an end with the 96th Annual Academy Awards, a star-studded affair attended by the top names in Hollywood. However, it was not without its hilarious moments.
The Best Picture category at the Oscars has famously been plagued by blunders on stage, with the unforgettable La La Land/Moonlight mixup in 2017, when the musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds was mistakenly announced as the winner instead of the coming-of-age drama.
Al Pacino calling out the winner in the category without announcing the nominees first is another one for the books in what may become an iconic moment in Oscars history. The hilarious bit quickly went viral online, and netizens were left in stitches, as Al Pacino casually announced the winner by opening the envelope, saying:
"Uh, I have to go to the envelope for that. And I will. Here it comes. And my eyes see Oppenheimer."
Needless to say, netizens have since been spamming X with their jokes and memes.
Oppenheimer sweeps the Oscars with seven wins
As per Sky News, Christopher Nolan's biopic emerged as a big winner at the 2024 Oscars, sweeping seven wins including Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. and Best Director for Nolan, who were all first-time Oscar winners. It also won Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson.
Announced Best Picture by Al Pacino, the movie beat The Holdovers, American Fiction, The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Poor Things, Past Lives, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro, and Killers of the Flower Moon. Emma Thomas, one of Oppenheimer's producers and Nolan's wife, said in her acceptance speech:
"The thing that's fantastic about our jobs is that it's about collaboration, it's about teamwork and our team was just incredible in this movie, so thank you to all of them, both cast and crew."
Meanwhile, Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things took home five golden statues, including Best Production Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Actress for Emma Stone, making this her second win in this category after La La Land.
On the other hand, Greta Gerwig's summer blockbuster Barbie walked away with one award, as Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas, won Best Original Song for What Was I Made For?, making her the youngest person to become a two-time Oscar winner, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Eight-time nominee Wes Anderson finally won an Oscar for his live-action short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, starring Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Dev Patel.
