From Ken-tastic performances to a naked John Cena, here are the 10 best moments from the 2024 Oscars

After an amazing year of film, it is no surprise the Oscars 2024 was a wild ride, giving us some stellar fashion moments, tearful speeches, and, most importantly, some seriously hilarious moments.

Just like that, the 96th Academy Awards have been and gone, but that doesn't mean we can't look back on some of its best bits. From a perfect pooch to a naked WWE star, here are our picks of the 10 best moments from the 2024 Academy Awards. 

Messi is in the building

Who would have thought that the Oscars’ most esteemed guest would be four-legged and furry? After much debate as to whether or not the canine co-star would be allowed to attend the awards, Messi the dog from Anatomy of a Fall did in fact appear at the ceremony. The seven-year-old Border Collie even earned a shoutout from host Jimmy Kimmel during his monologue: "Messi, who even though he’s a dog, may have given the performance of the year in Anatomy of a Fall." Good boy, Messi! 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gets Kenergized 

Now, we all knew that Ryan Gosling would bring the Kengery to the 2024 Academy Awards with a pink-tastic performance of 'I’m Just Ken', but what was surprising was that some of his fellow Barbie castmates also made an appearance. Ken variations Scott Evans, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa all took to the stage in tuxedoes, as well as musicians Mark Ronson, Slash, and Wolfgang Van Halen. Not only this, but the performance took inspiration from Marilyn Monroe’s 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' performance in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, with Gosling trading Monroe’s iconic pink ballgown for a fuchsia suit. Forget beach, we think Ken’s new job should be popstar.

John Cena bares all

Talk about bringing a little bit of spice to the ceremony. Whilst introducing the category for Best Costume Design, WWE star-turned-actor John Cena threw caution (and clothing) to the wind as he stripped down on stage to present the award. This happened after host Jimmy Kimmel invited Cena onstage to pay homage to the infamous 1974 Oscars streaker incident, but, luckily for the audience, the star quickly changed into something more appropriate… a toga.  

An overwhelmed Emma Stone

It was a big night for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, which took home four awards, one being Best Actress in a Leading Role for Emma Stone. This is the second Oscar the star has won, but although it wasn't her first rodeo, the win – and the night as a whole – seemed to be a bit overwhelming for her. When it came time to accept her award, Stone seemed to be visibly shocked and lost for words, and the star had even ripped open the back of her dress, which presenter Charlize Theron tried to fix on stage. The drama continued off stage as Stone was seen rushing from the sidelines back to the ceremony when she realized another category that Poor Things was nominated in was being announced. Emma Stone, we hope you never change.

Nolan finally wins the gold

It was a clean sweep for Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer, which took home a staggering seven Oscars after being nominated in 13 categories. The wins included Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Cillian Murphy, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Robert Downey Jr. to name a few, as well as Best Director for Nolan. Although a lot of us saw this coming, this is a big deal for Nolan as this is the first Oscar the director has won in that particular category. That’s quite shocking, right? After helming iconic flicks such as The Dark Knight, Inception, Tenet, and Interstellar, it's about time the British director finally took home gold, and we are so glad to see it. 

Barbenheimer finally faces off

After the cinematic battle Barbeheimer ruled summer 2023, it felt rather serendipitous to see the two movies face off at the Oscars. Oppenheimer’s Emily Blunt and Barbie’s Ryan Gosling represented both films when they hit the stage to pay tribute to stunt performances and poke fun at their big-screen rivalry. Blunt pointed out that the 2023 contest doesn't really matter now, as the two movies were not even nominated in the same categories. 

"It's true, you guys are doing very well, congratulations, but I think I've figured out why they called it Barbenheimer and didn't call it Oppenbarbie," Gosling joked. "I think you guys are at the tail end of it because you were riding Barbie's coattails all summer." The Oppie actor made sure to have the last word with, "Thanks for Ken-splaining that to me, Mr. I-need-to-paint-my-abs-on-to-get-nominated, you don't see Robert Downey Jr. doing that. Robert Downey did not paint his abs on." Oh, what fun. 

Cult '80s and '90s movie reunions

The ceremony saw multiple movie reunions and familiar faces, but what was most exciting was seeing Beetlejuice’s Micheal Keaton and Catherine O’Hara reunite on stage thirty-five years after their Tim Burton film debuted. We don’t know about you, but that has made us extra pumped for Beetlejuice 2 releasing later this year. We also saw Keaton catch up with his Batman castmates (or should we say 'nemeses') Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played villains the Penguin and Mr. Freeze in the franchise. The two baddies locked eyes with the Bat whilst presenting, adding, "We’ll see you at the Governor's Ball!" You’d better suit up, Keaton – it looks like Gotham may be in trouble again.  

The most beautiful acceptance speeches

Unsurprisingly, the 2024 Academy Awards saw some truly moving speeches that pulled on our heartstrings, including first-time win acceptance speeches from the likes of Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy, who won Best Actor in a Leading Role, and director Christopher Nolan. But the most heartfelt was from The Holdovers' Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who won the award for Best Supporting Actress. Rudolph was already in tears when she made it to the stage, where she then thanked God, her mother, and "all the people who have stepped in my path and been there for me," adding, "I pray to God that I get to do this more than once. I thank you for seeing me." Just beautiful.  

Justine Triet is a P.I.M.P.

French director Justine Triet may have just won herself a place in the Oscars' Hall of Fame, not only for her film Anatomy of a Fall winning Best Original Screenplay, but for her choice of walkout music. To fans’ delight, Triet and writer Arthur Harari walked to the podium to a live orchestra version of a cover of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P., a song that plays a major role in the film. Once on stage, the very real Triet showed us just how relatable she is with her acceptance speech. "This is a crazy year, in contrast with what it started out as before. Stuck in the house with two kids. It was lockdown, and we hooked them up to cartoons to have peace. And there was no line, I think, between work and diapers," said an emotional Triet.

Memes galore

Now, it wouldn't be an awards ceremony without the audience at home getting involved the best way they know how: memes. And boy, is there some first-class Oscar content out there on social media right now. From unfortunate tumbles to genius movie references, we have listed some of our favorite Oscar-related memes below. 

For more, check out our list of the greatest Oscar winning movies, or get ready for next year's Academy Awards with our list of upcoming movies heading your way in 2024 and beyond.