Oppenheimer leads the nominations for this year’s Oscars – with big nods also for box-office rival Barbie.
Christopher Nolan’s epic exploring the true story of the first atomic bomb is up for 13 Oscars, including best director and best picture, while Greta Gerwig’s feminist take on Barbie has eight nods, including best picture.
The two polar opposite films sparked the Barbenheimer phenomenon when they were both released on the same day in July last year, with many viewers watching them back-to-back. While both were huge hits, it was Barbie that won the box office battle, going on to bring in more than $1bn – and fans have this year been following their progress throughout awards season.
Image: Emma Stone has already received a Golden Globe for her performance in Poor Things. Pic: Yorgos Lanthimos/Searchlight Pictures
In the best picture category, they are up against American Fiction, Anatomy Of A Fall, The Holdovers, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things and The Zone Of Interest.
Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr and Emily Blunt are all up for acting awards, with Barbie’s Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera are also in the running – but Margot Robbie did not make the best actress shortlist.
Stars including Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro are also up for acting prizes, with Carey Mulligan and Blunt representing the British hopefuls.
The big nominees:
Oppenheimer – 13
Poor Things – 11
Killers Of The Flower Moon – 10
Barbie – 8
Maestro – 7
With Hollywood back on track after a tricky period that saw both actors and writers’ striking in 2023, the Oscars ceremony in March will celebrate the best films of the year.
Oppenheimer’s success in the Oscars race comes just days after it dominated the shortlists for the BAFTAs, and following big wins at the Golden Globes at the beginning of January.
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Image: Lily Gladstone and Martin Scorsese in Killers Of The Flower Moon. Pic: AppleTV+
For Irish actor Murphy, who plays J Robert Oppenheimer, it is his first Academy Award nod. Nolan has previously received nominations for Inception, Memento and Dunkirk, but a triumph in 2024 would be his first Oscar. He will go head-to-head with another British director, Jonathan Glazer, for his film The Zone Of Interest, about a German family who live next to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Oppenheimer’s 13 nods also include recognition for its costume design, make-up and hair, and music.
Barbie’s eight nominations include two in the best song category – for Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For and Gosling’s I’m Just Ken, as well as for costume design and adapted screenplay.
Its inclusion in the best picture category, along with Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall and Celine Song’s Past Lives, means the group contains three films written and directed by women for the first time – although only Triet made the best director shortlist.
Both Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein riff Poor Things an Martin Scorsese’s Osage epic Killers Of The Flower Moon were also widely celebrated, landing 11 and 10 nominations respectively.
Killers Of The Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone is the first Native American to be nominated for best actress, while Scorsese is nominated for best director for the 10th time. While De Niro is shortlisted for his supporting role, star Leonardo DiCaprio did not make the final five for best actor.
Movies that missed out include British film Saltburn, which went viral thanks to its graphic sexual scenes, and the critically acclaimed All Of Us Strangers, starring Irish actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
The Academy Awards ceremony will air from midnight on March 11 in the UK.
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Austria has won Eurovision 2025, with Austrian-Filipino singer-songwriter JJ taking the glass microphone.
The 24-year-old singer, who originally trained as a countertenor, represented his country with his operatic ballad Wasted Love, staged on a storm-tossed ship.
The song, which was not dissimilar to that of last year’s winner Nemo, told the story of unrequited love, with a techno breakdown near the end. Austria has won Eurovision twice before, the last time in 2014 with Conchita Wurst’s pop hit Rise Like A Phoenix.
Image: JJ singing Wasted Love for Austria. Pic: Reuters
Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who survived the October 7, 2023, attacks which were the catalyst for Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, was the runner-up with piano ballad New Day Will Rise, performed in Hebrew, French and English.
The singer was left “shaken and upset,” after two pro-Palestinian protesters rushed towards her during her grand final performance.
Organisers confirmed a backstage crew member was hit with paint but was not hurt.
A spokesman for SRG SSR said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.
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“They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”
Israel has won Eurovision four times, and last year finished in fifth place with Eden Golan’s Hurricane.
Image: Yuval Raphael performs New Day Will Rise for Israel. Pic:AP
Just as the grand final began broadcasting, Spanish broadcaster shared a message of Palestinian support which read: “When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine.”
The broadcaster had already received a warning from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over political statements reported by Israeli broadcaster Kan.
The EBU said in response to the latter incident: “We can confirm that we have spoken to RTVE regarding this matter and made it clear that commentators are expected to maintain neutrality within the broadcasts of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
During the evening, there were also pro-Palestinian protests near the centre of Basel, as well as a small group nearby protesting with Israeli flags.
Israeli National Security Council had issued a warning to Israeli civilians in the city to keep a low profile during the competition.
In a change from last year’s contest in Malmo, Sweden, the ban on certain flags being waved by the audience was relaxed which meant Palestinian symbols could be seen in the arena.
Image: Remember Monday perform What The Hell Just Happened for the UK. Pic: AP
The UK’s act – country pop trio Remember Monday – who performed in colourful Bridgerton-style outfits – avoided the dreaded “nul points”, coming in at 19th place with song What The Hell Just Happened?
However, for the second year running, the UK received no points in the public score.
The UK has had five wins at Eurovision, but in recent years have struggled to rank, with the exception being Sam Ryder with Space Man in 2022, who came second.
Last year, Olly Alexander placed 18th at Malmo, and Mae Muller was second to last the previous year in Liverpool.
The Eurovision grand final took place in the St Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland, with the winner from among the 26 performing nations decided by a mix of public voting and points from national juries.
The four-hour-long show was presented by an all-female team – stand-up comedian Hazel Brugger, TV presenter Michelle Hunziker and Eurovision veteran Sandra Studer.
There were performances by previous Eurovision runners-up Croatia’s Baby Lasagna and Finland’s Kaarija, as well as last year’s winner Nemo during the night.
Image: KAJ perform Bara Bada Bastu for Sweden. Pic: AP
Sweden had been widely tipped to win with their sauna-themed entry Bara Bada Bastu (Just Sauna), but ended up coming fourth.
Ukraine, who have made a strong showing each since they first entered the competition in 2003, and who won in 2023, came ninth.
Last year protests and politics overshadowed the singing event amid the outbreak of war in Gaza, with some calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest.
Last year also saw Dutch singer Joost Klein kicked out of the competition by the EBU over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker, which he denied.
Next year’s competition, Eurovision’s 70th, will be held in Austria.
A second man has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent after an incident at a London nightclub that allegedly involved US singer Chris Brown.
The Metropolitan Police said Omololu Akinlolu, 38, will appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Better known by his stage name HoodyBaby, the American rapper has been charged in connection with an alleged assault at the Tape nightclub in central London in February 2023.
Brown, 36, was charged on Thursday with grievous bodily harm with intent and was remanded in custody by judge in Manchester until 13 June.
He is accused of attacking music producer Abraham Diaw with a bottle during the incident in February.
During a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Brown watched intently as brief details of the case against him were outlined by prosecutor Hannah Nicholls.
She accused Brown of committing “an unprovoked attack with a weapon in a nightclub full of people”.
Brown spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, but did not enter a plea.
He will appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing in London on 13 June.
Brown – known for hits such as “Loyal”, “Run It” and “Under the Influence” – was arrested at a hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Thursday by detectives from the Metropolitan Police.
The Grammy Award-winning singer was due to tour the UK in June and July, with dates in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Birmingham.