Oscar's 10 Best Picture Nominees (and where to watch them)

Get the popcorn ready! On Tuesday, the Academy announced its ten nominees for Best Pictures, which aligns with the Producer's Guild list for the first time since the 1990s (when there were just five nominees). It's one of the collective best lists in years.

Before the curtain rises on the awards ceremony on March 10th, here's your guide to catching these gems, kicking off with the monster that's leading the pack in nominations and poised to sweep categories from best picture, director and cinematography to supporting actor and sound.

OPPENHEIMER, 13 NOMINATIONS

From its seamlessly dizzy flow of flashbacks to its weighted introspection, every second of Oppenheimer is definitely a Nolan film. And one of his best. Telling a historical story, with accuracy respected, gives Nolan some restraint in storytelling that reduces his head-scratching tendencies (Tenet, Interstellar, Inception). Oppenheimer sits on the shelf with Nolan's Dunkirk, Memento and The Dark Knight. And this is the one that will finally win him the Oscar for directing and picture.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actor, supporting actor, supporting actress, adapted screenplay, production design, costume design, cinematography, editing, makeup and hairstyling, sound, original score.

Where to watch: Rent now on VOD (Amazon, Apple, YouTube). Coming to Peacock TV on February 16.

POOR THINGS, 11 NOMINATIONS

It's alive! If you had a woman's coming-of-age journey that borrows from Frankenstein and takes place in a saturated steampunk world on your bingo card for the second-most nominated film of the year, you should probably be a character in this film.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, The Lobster) has created an award-season monster that will probably get Emma Stone her second (deserved) Oscar for a performance that leaves all other nominated actresses and not-nominated Margot Robbie, in the dust.

Nominated for: Best picture, actress, supporting actor, director,  original score,  cinematography, adapted screenplay, production design, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, film editing.

Where to watch: In theaters now

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, 10 NOMINATIONS

Martin Scorsese took David Grann’s excellent, 2017 nonfiction page-turner and shifted its focus to create an unforgettable, historic epic. The film's strongest chance for a win is with Lily Gladstone (Reservation Dogs) as Mollie Burkhart. She shoulders the emotional narrative in a quiet performance that is unnerving.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actress, supporting actor, production design, costume design, cinematography, editing, original score, original song.

Where to watch: Stream now on Apple+.

BARBIE, 8 NOMINATIONS

Greta Gerwig (Little Bird, Little Women) didn't deliver a toy movie, but a fun, funny summer film with a universal message — and it became the cultural phenomenon of 2023. Despite the fuss about nominations, this Mattel toy blockbuster comedy is up for 8 Oscars. Margot Robbie, as producer of the film, and Greta Gerwig, for the screenplay, are still nominees despite what you may have heard on social.

Nominated for: Best picture, supporting actor, supporting actress, adapted screenplay, production design, costume design, original song (the max two nominees).

Where to watch:Stream it on MAX. Or rent it on VOD.

MAESTRO, 7 NOMINATIONS

Bradley Cooper orchestrates his passion project with high style and a bravado performance as both actor and director. The film explores the personal life of American composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein. I wanted more about his craft, but that's not the film they made. On the plus, it's gorgeous and Carey Mulligan does some of her finest work.

Nominated for: Best picture, actor, actress, original screenplay, cinematography, makeup and hairstyling, sound.

Where to watch: Stream on Netflix now.

ANATOMY OF A FALL, 5 NOMINATIONS

The winner of the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. It's not eligible for Foreign Language film, as France submitted another film, yet it still gathered five nominations. It's a murder mystery/courtroom drama that is so expertly crafted and engagingly unique that you wonder why all the others in its genre seem the same. 

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actress, original screenplay, editing.

Where to watch: Rent it now on VOD.

AMERICAN FICTION, 5 NOMINATIONS

One of the most easily enjoyable films of the year is this comedy from writer-director Cord Jefferson that rewrites the book on stereotypes to laugh-out-loud effect. The set-up follows a frustrated novelist who writes a stereotypical "black book" as satire, only for it to be published and popular. However it reveals itself in time as a family drama and character study led by American film treasure Jefferey Wright (The Batman, Asteroid City, The French Dispatch).

Nominated for: Best film, adapted screenplay, original score, supporting actor.

Where to watch: In theaters now

THE HOLDOVERS, 5 NOMINATIONS

From its film grain and vintage lenses to its wintery New England setting, this cozy must-see from director Alexander Payne (Sideways, Nebraska, The Descendants) features Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy, who are both frontrunners to win actor and supporting actress. The film follows a curmudgeonly instructor (and cafeteria manager) at a 1970s prep school as they remain on campus during winter break to babysit a handful of students including Dominic Sessa, in an excellent film debut.

This is the film I've already seen twice, and will someday in the future.

Nominated for: Best picture, actor, supporting actress, original screenplay, editing.

Where to watch: Stream it now on Peacock. Or buy it on VOD.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST, 5 NOMINATIONS

This film from Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) imagines what life next door to horror looks like as the commandant of Auschwitz and his wife strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the death camp. Obviously, there is nothing ordinary about this life or this film.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, adapted screenplay, international feature film, sound.

Where to watch: In theaters now.

PAST LIVES, 2 NOMINATIONS

Past Lives explores a story of untapped possibilities and in-yun, the universe’s way of reuniting souls who shared a connection in previous lives. Luckily, it is quite the antidote to years of repetitive movies about multiverses.

In its own quiet and distinctive manner, this film starring Greta Lee emerges as an emotionally resonant love story that stands out as one of the most impactful of this decade. It was my favorite film of 2023. 

Nominated for: Best picture and original screenplay.

Nominated for:  Trust me on this one. Rent it now on VOD.

The Ten Buck Review: All ten are worth ten bucks. Enjoy!