96th Academy Awards shortlists revealed: 10 categories, from animated short films to visual effects!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live action short film, sound and visual effects.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

For the 96th Academy Awards, 15 projects have been shortlisted in the animated short film category. A total of 93 films qualified in the category. Members of the short films and feature animation branch voted to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • Boom
  • Eeva
  • Humo (Smoke)
  • I’m Hip
  • A Kind of Testament
  • Koerkorter (Dog Apartment)
  • Letter to a Pig
  • Ninety-Five Senses
  • Once upon a Studio
  • Our Uniform
  • Pachyderme
  • Pete
  • 27
  • War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
  • Wild Summon

VISUAL EFFECTS

A total of 10 films remain in the running in the visual effects category for the upcoming awards. The visual effects branch executive committee determined the shortlist. All members of the visual effects branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on 13 January 2024. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • The Creator
  • Godzilla Minus One
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
  • Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
  • Napoleon
  • Poor Things
  • Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire
  • Society of the Snow
  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

15 films will advance in the live-action short film category. 187 films qualified in the category. For the first time, Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • The After
  • The Anne Frank Gift Shop
  • An Avocado Pit
  • Bienvenidos a Los Angeles
  • Dead Cat
  • Good Boy
  • Invincible
  • Invisible Border
  • Knight of Fortune
  • The One Note Man
  • Red, White and Blue
  • The Shepherd
  • Strange Way of Life
  • The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
  • Yellow

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

A total of 15 films will advance in the documentary feature film category for the 96th Academy Awards. 167 films were eligible in the category. Members of the documentary branch voted to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • American Symphony
  • Apolonia, Apolonia
  • Beyond Utopia
  • Bobi Wine: The People’s President
  • Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
  • The Eternal Memory
  • Four Daughters
  • Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
  • In the Rearview
  • Stamped from the Beginning
  • Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
  • A Still Small Voice
  • 32 Sounds
  • To Kill a Tiger
  • 20 Days in Mariupol

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

The documentary short film category also has 15 selected films. A total of 114 films qualified in the category. Members of the documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • The ABCs of Book Banning
  • The Barber of Little Rock
  • Bear
  • Between Earth & Sky
  • Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games
  • Camp Courage
  • Deciding Vote
  • How We Get Free
  • If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis
  • Island in Between
  • The Last Repair Shop
  • Last Song from Kabul
  • Oasis
  • Wings of Dust

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

The international feature film category has 15 films going to the next round of voting. Films from 88 countries and regions were eligible in the category.

Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

  • Armenia, Amerikatsi
  • Bhutan, The Monk and the Gun
  • Denmark, The Promised Land
  • Finland, Fallen Leaves
  • France, The Taste of Things
  • Germany, The Teachers’ Lounge
  • Iceland, Godland
  • Italy, Io Capitano
  • Japan, Perfect Days
  • Mexico, Totem
  • Morocco, The Mother of All Lies
  • Spain, Society of the Snow
  • Tunisia, Four Daughters
  • Ukraine, 20 Days in Mariupol
  • United Kingdom, The Zone of Interest

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING 

For the makeup and hairstyling category, there are 10 selected films.  All members of the Academy’s makeup artists and hairstylists branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on 14 January 2024. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • Beau Is Afraid
  • Ferrari
  • Golda
  • Killers of the Flower Moon
  • The Last Voyage of the Demeter
  • Maestro
  • Napoleon
  • Oppenheimer
  • Poor Things
  • Society of the Snow

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

In the original score category for the 96th Academy Awards, 15 scores are going forward. A total of 148 scores were eligible in the category.  Members of the music branch voted to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are:

  • American Fiction
  • American Symphony
  • Barbie
  • The Boy and the Heron
  • The Color Purple
  • Elemental
  • The Holdovers
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
  • Killers of the Flower Moon
  • Oppenheimer
  • Poor Things
  • Saltburn
  • Society of the Snow
  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
  • The Zone of Interest

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

The original song category has 15 shortlisted songs.  A total of 94 songs were eligible in the category.  Members of the music branch voted to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:

  • It Never Went Away from American Symphony
  • Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven) from Asteroid City
  • Dance The Night from Barbie
  • I’m Just Ken from Barbie
  • What Was I Made For? from Barbie
  • Keep It Movin from The Color Purple
  • Superpower (I) from The Color Purple
  • The Fire Inside from Flamin’ Hot
  • High Life from Flora and Son
  • Meet In The Middle from Flora and Son
  • Can’t Catch Me Now from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
  • Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon
  • Quiet Eyes from Past Lives
  • Road To Freedom from Rustin
  • Am I Dreaming from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

SOUND

A total of 10 films have been selected in the sound category. All eligible members of the sound branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from each of the shortlisted films beginning 11 January 2024, in the San Francisco Bay area, followed by London, Los Angeles and New York.  Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • Barbie
  • The Creator
  • Ferrari
  • The Killer
  • Killers of the Flower Moon
  • Maestro
  • Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
  • Napoleon
  • Oppenheimer
  • The Zone of Interest

Nominations voting begins on 11 January 2024 and concludes on 16 January 2024. Nominations for the 96th Academy Awards will be announced on 23 January 2024. The 96th Oscars will be held on 10 March 2024 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.