Apple Scores Record 13 Academy Award Nominations

Apple was recognized with a record 13 Academy Award nominations, including 10 for Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Lily Gladstone), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, and Best Cinematography.

With landmark representation for Indigenous artists, Gladstone makes history as the first Native American to land a nomination for Best Actress, and Indigenous artists Robbie Robertson and Scott George are recognized with first-ever nominations in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories, respectively.

Additionally, George is the first member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award. Scorsese also makes history as he becomes the most-nominated living director, bringing his total to 10 total lifetime Academy Award nominations for Best Director.

Apple Original Films’ epic feature Napoleon, from Ridley Scott, earned three Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Visual Effects.

“Thank you to the Academy for these nominations that celebrate both Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese’s powerful film that has moved and inspired audiences across the globe, and Ridley Scott’s spectacular epic Napoleon, two stories that illuminate the human experience,” said Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s head of Worldwide Video. “From the dynamic and complex performances of Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, and the gorgeous cinematography, design, editing, and soundscape that immersed viewers in the world of the Osage Nation, to the majestic costumes, sets, and visual effects that brought Napoleonic France to vibrant life on screen, it is wonderful to see so many members of these brilliant creative teams recognized today. We applaud you all.”

“It has been such a rewarding experience to see the exceptional work of so many incredibly gifted artists from Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleonnominated this morning,” said Jamie Erlicht, Apple’s head of Worldwide Video. “We are greatly appreciative to the Academy for these honors. At Apple, we are passionate about bringing stories to the screen that push creative boundaries and make a difference in our world, and we are thrilled for the recognition that has been given to these two special films with these nominations.”

With 13 nominations in total, Apple more than doubles its record for Academy Award nominations in a single year, and is among this year’s most-nominated studios since its launch just over four years ago.

This year’s historic Academy Award nominations for Killers of the Flower Moonfollow Apple’s history-making wins at the 2022 Academy Awards, as CODAbecame the first motion picture starring a predominantly Deaf cast in leading roles to win Best Picture, and the first-ever film from a streaming service to land Best Picture. CODA star Troy Kotsur was the first Deaf male actor to win Best Supporting Actor, and writer-director Siân Heder landed her first-ever Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2023, beloved Apple Original Film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Broadly hailed as a “masterpiece,” Killers of the Flower Moon recently received nine BAFTA Film Award nominations, including Best Picture, and has been honored as the Best Film of the Year by the National Board of Review, which named star Lily Gladstone as Best Actress, Martin Scorsese as Best Director, and Rodrigo Prieto for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, as well as being named to the American Film Institute’s list of Motion Pictures of the Year. The film has also received over 200 accolades, in addition to recognition from over 30 critics groups globally, and has been named the No. 1 Best Film of 2023 by The New York Times and The New Yorker, and Best Film by the New York Film Critics Circle. Gladstone recently made history as the first Indigenous actress to win Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards. Killers of the Flower Moon is now streaming globally on Apple TV+ following its worldwide theatrical run.

Following its debut in theaters, Napoleon has landed nominations from the BAFTA Film Awards, including Outstanding British Film, Costume Designers Guild Awards for Excellence in Period Film, Art Directors Guild for Excellence in Production Design for Period Film, and VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects, among others.

The winners will be revealed at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 10, 2024.

Apple Original Films were nominated for 13 Academy Award nominations in total:

Killers of the Flower Moon

  • Best Picture
  • Best Director: Martin Scorsese
  • Best Actress in a Leading Role: Lily Gladstone
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert De Niro
  • Best Costume Design: Jacqueline West
  • Best Production Design: Jack Fisk, Adam Willis
  • Best Original Score: Robbie Robertson
  • Best Original Song: “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” — Scott George
  • Best Film Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
  • Best Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto

Napoleon

  • Best Costume Design: Janty Yates, David Crossman
  • Best Production Design: Arthur Max, Elli Griff
  • Best Visual Effects: Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco, and Neil Corbould

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon is set at the turn of the 20th century, when oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), Killers of the Flower Moon is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. Also starring Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons, Killers of the Flower Moon is directed by Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, based on David Grann’s bestselling book.

Napoleon

Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.

Apple Original Films

Momentum around the Apple Original Films slate continues to grow since the debut of Apple TV+ four years ago. In addition to Apple making history as the first streaming service to land the Academy Award for Best Picture with CODA, Apple Original Film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse also recently earned the Academy Award for Best Animated Short, and recently debuted Napoleon, from director Ridley Scott, and The Family Plan starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan.

Upcoming Apple Original Films include the star-studded spy thriller Argylle, with Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, and Samuel L. Jackson; an upcoming Jon Watts thriller starring Academy Award winners George Clooney and Brad Pitt, who will both produce under Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures and Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment; Blitz, from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sir Steve McQueen; an untitled Formula 1 feature film starring Brad Pitt from director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer; and more.

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honored with 452 wins and 2,057 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy Ted Lasso and historic Oscar Best Picture winner CODA.