Hollywood is gathering for the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday. This year, the ceremony started an hour earlier than usual due to daylight saving time. But aside from the time shift, this year’s show is going for many tried-and-true Academy Awards traditions. Jimmy Kimmel is back as host. Past winners are flocking back as presenters. And a big studio epic is poised for a major awards haul.
The academy, while also widely nominating films like "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "Poor Things," embraced both "Oppenheimer," the lead nominee with 13 nods, and Greta Gerwig’s "Barbie," the year’s biggest hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales and eight nominations.Last year’s ceremony, where a very different best-picture contender in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" triumphed, was watched by 18.