Al Pacino skipped over quite a few steps before announcing Oppenheimer as the best picture winner at the Oscars 2024.
The actor took the stage at the awards ceremony to present the top prize of the night. As is tradition, announcers will usually name all of the nominees before announcing who will be taking home the award.
#Oppenheimer wins the award for Best Picture at the 2024 #Oscars pic.twitter.com/0tjARZH4gu
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 11, 2024
Instead of announcing the nominees — which also 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 — he opened the envelope and said, “My eyes see Oppenheimer.”
Not including the recount of all the films up for best picture takes away some of the suspense of the award, as well as the projects’ final chance to get the recognition they deserve for being nominated for the highest honor in Hollywood.
Users on social media took issue with the names of the other nominees being left out. One wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Wish Al would have read all of the nominees first. I was looking forward to seeing the sizzle reels, and a bit of tension,” while another noted, “What a weird anti climactic way to reveal the winner. Everyone was like WTF!”
