The 2024 Best Production Design Oscar has been handed out for another year. The 96th Academy Awards, held yesterday, March 10, 2024, at the iconic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, was a dazzling reminder of what we have lost after a year of strikes and complete film industry annihilation and what we need to fight for as an industry. The Oscars celebrated the finest performances and the creative and technical mastery behind the year’s top films. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the ceremony shone a global spotlight on the intricate art and craft of production design, costume design, visual effects, and cinematography, highlighting the industry’s visual storytelling prowess.
The film Poor Things emerged as a standout in the design categories, securing both the Best Production Design and Best Costume Design awards. The film’s distinct Victorian-inspired aesthetic, a result of the collaborative efforts of production designer James Price, set decorator Shona Heath, and costume designer Holly Waddington, was a visual feast that left a lasting impression on the Academy and the audience alike. This victory was a testament to the meticulous attention to detail and the unique world-building that went into the film’s creation.
Oppenheimer, a film that dominated the night with a total of seven Oscars, was also lauded for its exceptional visuals. The film’s win in the Best Cinematography category, attributed to Hoyte van Hoytema’s brilliant work, demonstrated his ability to capture the intense and dramatic essence of the historical narrative. It should be noted that the precision with which production designer Ruth De Jong recreated the mid-20th century settings and Claire Kaufman’s meticulous set decoration were instrumental in the film’s success, even though Poor Things ultimately edged them out for the top honour in production design.
Not to be overlooked, Barbie made a splash in the design category with their nomination in the tight race. While it didn’t clinch the production design award, its vibrant and imaginative aesthetic, brought to life by production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer, earned significant praise. Jacqueline Durran’s costume design for Barbie was another highlight, showcasing a playful and nostalgic approach that resonated with audiences and critics alike.
In the realm of visual effects, Godzilla Minus One won a much-earned victory in their underdog story in one of the best moments of the night. In a rare moment for this category, a Japanese film with the tiniest visual effects budget by any standard took home the award after working for years to create their little Godzilla movie that could.
The evening wasn’t just about the awards but also about celebrating the craft of filmmaking itself. The Oscars stage became a platform not only for honouring the best performances and films but also for showcasing the collaborative effort behind each movie’s visual and auditory splendour. From intricate set designs to innovative costumes, the 2024 Oscars honoured the artisans and craftspeople whose work often serves as the backbone of cinematic storytelling, reminding us that movie magic is as much about the visionary artists behind the scenes as it is about the stars in front of the camera.
For a detailed list of all the winners and highlights from the 2024 Oscars, scroll below.
The 2024 Best Production Design Oscar | Complete List of Oscar Nominees & Winners Share on XThe 2024 Best Production Design Oscar Nominees and Winner
BARBIE
Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decorator: Katie Spencer
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Production Designer: Jack Fisk
Set Decorator: Adam Willis
NAPOLEON
Production Designer: Arthur Max
Set Decorator: Elli Griff
OPPENHEIMER
Production Designer: Ruth De Jong
Set Decorator: Claire Kaufman
POOR THINGS **WINNER**
Production Designer: James Price and Shona Heath
Set Decorator: Zsuzsa Mihalek
The 2024 Best Production Design Oscar Speech
The Complete List of 2024 Academy Awards Nominees and Winners
Best Picture
AMERICAN FICTION
Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers
BARBIE
David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers
THE HOLDOVERS
Mark Johnson, Producer
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers
MAESTRO
Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers
PAST LIVES
David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers
POOR THINGS
Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
James Wilson, Producer
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper in MAESTRO
Colman Domingo in RUSTIN
Paul Giamatti in THE HOLDOVERS
Cillian Murphy in OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Jeffrey Wright in AMERICAN FICTION
Actor in a Supporting Role
Sterling K. Brown in AMERICAN FICTION
Robert De Niro in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Robert Downey Jr. in OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Ryan Gosling in BARBIE
Mark Ruffalo in POOR THINGS
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in NYAD
Lily Gladstone in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Sandra Hüller in ANATOMY OF A FALL
Carey Mulligan in MAESTRO
Emma Stone in POOR THINGS WINNER
Actress in a Supporting Role
Emily Blunt in OPPENHEIMER
Danielle Brooks in THE COLOR PURPLE
America Ferrera in BARBIE
Jodie Foster in NYAD
Da’Vine Joy Randolph in THE HOLDOVERS WINNER
Animated Feature Film
THE BOY AND THE HERON WINNER
Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
ELEMENTAL
Peter Sohn and Denise Ream
NIMONA
Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary
ROBOT DREAMS
Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
Cinematography
EL CONDE
Edward Lachman
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Rodrigo Prieto
MAESTRO
Matthew Libatique
OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Hoyte van Hoytema
POOR THINGS
Robbie Ryan
Costume Design
BARBIE
Jacqueline Durran
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Jacqueline West
NAPOLEON
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
OPPENHEIMER
Ellen Mirojnick
POOR THINGS WINNER
Holly Waddington
Directing
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Justine Triet
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Martin Scorsese
OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Christopher Nolan
POOR THINGS
Yorgos Lanthimos
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Jonathan Glazer
Documentary Feature Film
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT
Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek
THE ETERNAL MEMORY
Maite Alberdi
FOUR DAUGHTERS
Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha
TO KILL A TIGER
Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL WINNER
Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath
Documentary Short Film
THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING
Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic
THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK
John Hoffman and Christine Turner
ISLAND IN BETWEEN
S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien
THE LAST REPAIR SHOP WINNER
Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó
Sean Wang and Sam Davis
Film Editing
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Laurent Sénéchal
THE HOLDOVERS
Kevin Tent
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Thelma Schoonmaker
OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Jennifer Lame
POOR THINGS
Yorgos Mavropsaridis
International Feature Film
IO CAPITANO
Italy
PERFECT DAYS
Japan
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
Spain
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE
Germany
THE ZONE OF INTEREST WINNER
United Kingdom
Makeup and Hairstyling
GOLDA
Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue
MAESTRO
Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell
OPPENHEIMER
Luisa Abel
POOR THINGS WINNER
Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
Music (Original Score)
AMERICAN FICTION
Laura Karpman
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
John Williams
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Robbie Robertson
OPPENHEIMER WINNER
Ludwig Göransson
POOR THINGS
Jerskin Fendrix
Music (Original Song)
“The Fire Inside” from FLAMIN’ HOT
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Just Ken” from BARBIE
Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
“It Never Went Away” from AMERICAN SYMPHONY
Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Music and Lyric by Scott George
“What Was I Made For?” from BARBIE WINNER
Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Production Design
BARBIE
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
NAPOLEON
Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff
OPPENHEIMER
Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman
POOR THINGS WINNER
Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
Short Film (Animated)
LETTER TO A PIG
Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter
NINETY-FIVE SENSES
Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess
OUR UNIFORM
Yegane Moghaddam
PACHYDERME
Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius
WAR IS OVER! INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OF JOHN & YOKO WINNER
Dave Mullins and Brad Booker
Short Film (Live Action)
THE AFTER
Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham
INVINCIBLE
Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron
KNIGHT OF FORTUNE
Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk
RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane
THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR WINNER
Wes Anderson and Steven Rales
Sound
THE CREATOR
Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
MAESTRO
Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE
Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
OPPENHEIMER
Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
THE ZONE OF INTEREST WINNER
Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
Visual Effects
THE CREATOR
Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
GODZILLA MINUS ONE WINNER
Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE
Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
NAPOLEON
Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
AMERICAN FICTION WINNER
Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson
BARBIE
Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach
OPPENHEIMER
Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan
POOR THINGS
Screenplay by Tony McNamara
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Written by Jonathan Glazer
Writing (Original Screenplay)
ANATOMY OF A FALL WINNER
Screenplay – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
THE HOLDOVERS
Written by David Hemingson
MAESTRO
Written by Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer
MAY DECEMBER
Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik
PAST LIVES
Written by Celine Song
The 2024 Best Production Design Oscar Speech
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