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How to Watch This Year’s Oscar-Nominated Movies Without Leaving Your House

You’ve got until March 10. Here’s how to catch up starting now


spinner image Oscars 2024 best picture nominees Past Lives, Oppenheimer, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Holdovers
(Left to right) Teo Yoo and Greta Lee in "Past Lives"; Cillian Murphy in "Oppenheimer"; Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in "Barbie"; Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Killers of the Flower Moon"; Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Paul Giamatti in "The Holdovers."
Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: FlixPix/Alamy; Universal/Everett Collection; TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy; Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV; Seacia Pavao/Focus Features)

It’s almost time for the 96th Academy Awardslive on ABC at 7 p.m. ET on March 10 — so you better get moving if you want to play catch-up before Hollywood’s biggest night. The good news is this won’t feel like homework. It was actually a great year for movies, and films nominated in all the major categories are all streaming on TV. You’ll need access to a few services such as Netflix and Prime Video, but it’s a lot easier than finding them at the theater.

​Here’s how to watch the Oscar nominees for best picture, directing and acting from the comfort of your couch.

Best picture nominees

American Fiction

First-time feature director Cord Jefferson’s sensational satire tackles racial stereotypes head-on with absurd humor as a frustrated novelist (Jeffrey Wright, 58) adopts a pen name to expose hypocrisy with hilariously unexpected results.

Watch it: Buy American Fiction on iTunes, Prime Video

Anatomy of a Fall

Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, this searingly tense import investigates the death of a man found lying in the snow outside a French chalet. Was it suicide or murder? His German wife (Sandra Hüller) quickly becomes a suspect, and her only hope of acquittal rests on her 11-year-old partially sighted son.

Watch it: Rent Anatomy of a Fall on iTunes, Prime Video, YouTube

Barbie

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about this pink-hued pop phenomenon that made $1.4 billion at the global box office. Director Greta Gerwig’s giddy postmodern comedy posits what would happen if the beloved kids’ doll (in the form of a note-perfect Margot Robbie) became self-aware and got a taste of the real world with the delightfully oblivious Ken (Ryan Gosling) along for the ride.

Watch it: Stream Barbie on Max

The Holdovers

Director Alexander Payne, 63, reunites with his hangdog Sideways leading man Paul Giamatti, 56, in this dramatic comedy about a curmudgeonly history teacher who is stuck at a New England prep school over winter break with the school’s grief-stricken cook (Golden Globe winner Da‘Vine Joy Randolph) and a troublemaking student (Dominic Sessa).

Watch it: Stream The Holdovers on Peacock

Killers of the Flower Moon

In a poignant epic about greed and exploitation, Martin Scorsese, 81, adapts David Grann’s bestseller about a string of murders of Osage members after their Oklahoma tribe becomes fabulously wealthy overnight with the discovery of oil on their land — and the lengths white men will go to get their hands on that wealth. Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, 80, and Golden Globe winner Lily Gladstone star.

Watch it: Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+

Maestro

Bradley Cooper directs and stars in this soaring portrait of iconic American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, his double life as a gay man and his complicated-but-loving marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).

Watch it: Stream Maestro on Netflix

Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s, 53, bio-epic of one of the most complex figures of the 20th century, physicist and father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer (Golden Globe winner Cillian Murphy), seems to be this year’s odds-on favorite to go home with Oscar gold. It’s easy to see why. It’s a haunting, harrowing masterpiece that has already taken the Golden Globe for best motion picture — drama … a harbinger?

Watch it: Stream Oppenheimer on Peacock

Past Lives

First-time director Celine Song’s decade-spanning romance tells the story of two friends from childhood who are torn apart when one of their families emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited in this beautiful meditation on love and destiny. Starring Greta Lee and Teo Yoo.

Watch it: Stream Past Lives on Paramount+

Poor Things

A deliciously twisted Frankenstein tale filtered through the singular mind of Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite), with a bravura, Golden Globe–winning turn from Emma Stone as a young woman brought back to life — with a few small hiccups — by an unhinged scientist (Willem Dafoe, 68). The film won the Golden Globe for best motion picture — musical or comedy, so it’s got some momentum.

Watch it: Rent or buy Poor Things on Apple TV, Prime Video

The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer’s, 58, drama about real-life Nazi Rudolf Höss and his family living in the shadows of Auschwitz is a gut-punch examination of the banality of evil, as their biggest concerns seem to be building an idyllic home and tending to their garden while plumes of smoke rise from the out-of-view death camp next door. Starring Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller.

Watch it: Buy The Zone of Interest on YouTube

spinner image Oscars 2024 best director nominees ​Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Justine Triet, Yorgos Lanthimos and ​Jonathan Glazer
(Left to right) ​Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Justine Triet, Yorgos Lanthimos and ​Jonathan Glazer
Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Cindy Ord/Getty Images; Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images; Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images; Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images; Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty Images)

Best director

Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

Until now, the uncompromising stylist behind 2000’s fantastic Sexy Beast has been a bit of a divisive figure amongst critics. This is his first directing nod from the academy.

Watch it: Buy The Zone of Interest on YouTube

Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)

This is the second directing nomination for the idiosyncratic Greek filmmaker. His first was for another collaboration with Emma Stone, 2018’s The Favourite.

Watch it: Rent or buy Poor Things on Apple TVPrime Video

Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

Despite a 25-year career filled with outstanding movies, this is only Nolan’s second time being nominated for director (the other was for 2017’s Dunkirk). Will he win? Let’s consult our Magic 8 Ball. … The answer is cloudy, try again later (although he did nab the Golden Globe this year).

Watch it: Stream Oppenheimer on Peacock

Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon)

This marks the 10th time that Scorsese has been nominated for directing (he has only won once, for 2006’s The Departed). There’s certainly a lot of love for the elder statesman, but Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) could be tough to beat.

Watch it: Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+

Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)

Much to the chagrin of Greta Gerwig partisans, France’s Triet (director of 2019’s Sybil) is the only female nominee in the directing category this year, perhaps not a total shock since Anatomy of a Fall edged out Barbie at the Golden Globes. Triet is also a contender for original screenplay.

Watch it: Rent Anatomy of a Fall on iTunes, Prime Video, YouTube

spinner image Oscars 2024 best actor nominees Jeffrey Wright, Paul Giamatti, Colman Domingo, Cillian Murphy and ​Bradley Cooper
(Left to right) Jeffrey Wright, Paul Giamatti, Colman Domingo, Cillian Murphy and ​Bradley Cooper
Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Claire Folger, Seacia Pavao/Focus Features; Parrish Lewis/Netflix; FlixPix/Alamy; Jason McDonald/Netflix)

​​Best actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper (Maestro)

Cooper not only stars as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, he’s the film’s director, cowriter and producer. Needless to say, it’s a labor of love — and that passion and immersion comes across in every scene. He previously received acting nods for 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook, 2013’s American Hustle, 2014’s American Sniper and 2018’s A Star Is Born.

Watch it: Stream Maestro on Netflix

Colman Domingo (Rustin)

Until now, Domingo, 54, has been best known for his excellent work on the stage. But his fierce, fiery and occasionally fun turn as real-life civil rights activist Bayard Rustin should certainly lead to a lot more movie offers.

Watch it: Stream Rustin on Netflix

Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)

Giamatti and The Holdovers director Alexander Payne are clearly a good team — just watch their previous collaboration, 2004’s Sideways (which, by the way, is always worth watching again). But while Sideways won for screenplay and his costars got Oscar noms, Giamatti didn’t — his only previous nomination came for 2005’s Cinderella Man. He's doing better with The Holdovers, having won the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy for this performance.

Watch it: Stream The Holdovers on Peacock

Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

This is the first Oscar nomination for the Irish chameleon, although he is the only actor in his category who’s been nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award (for 2002’s cult favorite 28 Days Later). He nabbed the Golden Globe this year for his role as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Watch it: Stream Oppenheimer on Peacock

Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)

Amazingly, this is Wright’s first acknowledgment from the academy. But the actor already has a Tony and an Emmy on his mantle. If he wins the Oscar for American Fiction, he needs to get busy on recording an album — the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) will be within reach.

Watch it: Buy American Fiction on iTunes, Prime Video

spinner image Oscars 2024 best actress nominees Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan, Lily Gladstone, ​Annette Bening and Sandra Hüller
(Left to right) Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan, Lily Gladstone, ​Annette Bening and Sandra Hüller
Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Searchlight Pictures/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS; Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection/Alamy Live News; Apple TV+/Appian Way/Album; Kimberley French/Netflix; BFA/Neon/Alamy)

Best actress in a leading role

Annette Bening (Nyad)

Bening, 65, got her first Oscar nod in 1990 for The Grifters. Since then, she has been nominated four times — the latest for her tenacious and prickly turn as real-life marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, who made it from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64. Shockingly, Bening has yet to win.

Watch it: Stream Nyad on Netflix

Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)

Before her quietly strong, star-is-born performance as Mollie in Killers of the Flower Moon, Gladstone was probably best known for the 2016 indie film Certain Women. Raised on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, she is the first Indigenous actress to be nominated for an Oscar – she already nabbed this year’s Golden Globe.

Watch it: Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+

Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)

Hüller is mesmerizing as a wife and mother suspected of murdering her husband in Anatomy of a Fall. The German actress, who first appeared on most moviegoers’ radars in the delightful 2016 import Toni Erdmann, stars in another of this year’s awards contenders, The Zone of Interest. This is her first Oscar nomination.

Watch it: Rent Anatomy of a Fall on iTunes, Prime VideoYouTube

Carey Mulligan (Maestro)

Bradley Cooper’s portrait of American composer Leonard Bernstein is not a solo. It’s a duet. As Felicia Montealegre, the other half of what can only be called a complicated marriage, Mulligan is mesmerizing, whether she’s trading rat-a-tat quips with her costar or suffering in silence, using just her eyes to convey her loneliness. She was previously nominated for 2009’s An Education and 2020’s Promising Young Woman.

Watch it: Stream Maestro on Netflix

Emma Stone (Poor Things)

With a statuette already under her belt for 2016’s La La Land, Stone stands a decent chance of walking out of the Dolby Theatre with a matching bookend on Oscar night thanks to her wonderfully twisted and touchingly childlike turn as Bella Baxter, a young woman who’s brought back to life by a mad scientist. Stone was also nominated for 2014’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and 2018’s The Favourite.

Watch it: Rent or buy Poor Things on Apple TVPrime Video

spinner image Oscars 2024 best supporting actor nominees Mark Ruffalo, Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr., Robert De Niro and Sterling K. Brown
(Left to right) Mark Ruffalo, Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr., Robert De Niro and Sterling K. Brown
Photo Collage: AARP; (Atsushi Nishijima/Searchlight; Warner Bros/PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy; Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures; Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV; Claire Folger)

Best actor in a supporting role

Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction)

As Cliff, the divorced, out-of-the-closet brother of Jeffrey Wright’s repressed writer, Brown plays a character unlike anything he’s tried before, but he also does something he manages to do so often: steal scenes by the sheer force of his charisma. He’s been nominated for an Emmy three times for This Is Us, but this is his first Oscar nod.

Watch it: Buy American Fiction on iTunes, Prime Video

Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon)

There’s nothing quite as watchable as De Niro in hissable villain mode. In the latest of his many collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he plays a doozy — the greedy, amoral schemer William Hale. This marks De Niro’s eighth acting nomination. He’s won twice, for 1974’s The Godfather Part II and 1980’s Raging Bull.

Watch it: Stream Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+

Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

A lot of critics acted surprised when they saw the Iron Man star deliver such a nuanced performance as the less-than-trustworthy naval officer Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s A-bomb epic. Which prompts the question: Who have they been watching for the past four decades? Downey, 58, has always been a first-rate actor — he was just trapped in the planet’s biggest franchise for a while. In Oppenheimer, he proved that he’s back and better than ever, snagging this year’s Golden Globe for the role. He was previously nominated for 1992’s Chaplin and 2008’s Tropic Thunder.

Watch it: Stream Oppenheimer on Peacock

Ryan Gosling (Barbie)

He’s Ken. Man, is he ever. With his dim, vapid expressions and bleach-blond locks, Gosling adds a blast of laughing gas to the box office sensation of the year. As always, he makes something very, very hard look exceedingly easy. Gosling previously received Oscar nominations for his performances in 2006’s Half Nelson and 2016’s La La Land.

Watch it: Stream Barbie on Max

Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)

Caught between the eccentric poles of Emma Stone’s herky-jerky Bella Baxter and Willem Dafoe’s hideously scarred Dr. Baxter, Ruffalo, 56, does what he always does best — he anchors absurdity in reality. The actor has made a career out of his knack for realism and believability. This is Ruffalo’s fourth nomination, following 2010’s The Kids Are All Right, 2014’s Foxcatcher and 2015’s Spotlight (he should have nabbed a fifth for 2000’s You Can Count on Me).

Watch it: Rent or buy Poor Things on Apple TVPrime Video

spinner image Oscars 2024 best supporting actress nominees Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, Da‘Vine Joy Randolph, Jodie Foster and America Ferrera
(Left to right) ​Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, Da‘Vine Joy Randolph, Jodie Foster and America Ferrera
Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures; TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy; Seacia Pavao/Focus Features/Everett Collection; Kimberley French/Netflix; Warner Bos./Courtesy Everett Collection)

Best actress in a supporting role

Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer)

There isn’t a ton of room for women in Oppenheimer, but what space there is, Blunt fills to perfection. As Kitty, the scientist wife of the man behind the bomb, Blunt brings the character’s complexities and flaws to the surface in a touchingly raw performance. Hard as it is to believe, this is her first Oscar nomination.

Watch it: Stream Oppenheimer on Peacock

Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple)

Although she appeared in 89 episodes of Orange Is the New Black, this year’s musical update of The Color Purple was the first time that many moviegoers got a chance to see what Brooks could do. Needless to say, they were wowed. As Sofia (played by Oprah Winfrey in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 version of the film), Brooks is a revelation — tough, touching and ready to take on all comers. This is her first Oscar nod.

Watch it: Stream The Color Purple on Max

America Ferrera (Barbie)

Although it’s Margot Robbie, with her sunny, plastered-on smile, who plays (and playfully subverts) the title character, there are actually several Barbies in the film. But the actress who gives her a real run for her money goes by a different name — Gloria. Beautifully played by Ferrera, Gloria is a Mattel employee and single mom who has sympathy for the deliciously delusional naif in pink. She remembers what it was like to be a kid and get lost in a make-believe world of play and Malibu Dreamhouses. She gives the movie warmth. This is Ferrera’s first Oscar nomination.

Watch it: Stream Barbie on Max

Jodie Foster (Nyad)

It’s been a pretty sensational year for the sorely missed Foster, 61, what with her starring role in the latest installment of True Detective and her terrific turn as Diana Nyad’s best friend and coach, Bonnie. Bening’s abrasive swimmer doesn’t make being close to her very easy, but Foster not only gives as good as she gets, her ride-or-die willingness to buy into her pal’s dream gives the movie its heart. Foster already has two Oscars (for 1988’s The Accused and 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs) and has been nominated as an actor five times.

Watch it: Stream Nyad on Netflix

Da‘Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

As the head cook at a snooty New England prep school, Randolph’s Mary Lamb is a portrait of grief amidst all of the pettiness and privilege. Having recently lost her son in Vietnam, she’s a walking wound that will take a long time to heal. Paul Giamatti may be the film’s center of gravity, but it’s Randolph’s gorgeous, hauntingly layered performance that gives the film its emotional heft, and it has already snagged Randolph a Golden Globe, Critic’s Choice Award and BAFTA Award. This is her first Oscar nomination.

Watch it: Stream The Holdovers on Peacock

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