Oppenheimer reigns supreme: Five takeaways from the 96th annual Oscars

Christopher Nolan satisfies the Oscars’ cravings for meaty biopics, while protests for Gaza took to the red carpet.

It was an explosive night at the 96th annual Academy Awards, with the biopic Oppenheimer running away with the most trophies — and artists and protesters taking advantage of the spotlight to call attention to deadly conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

Outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, traffic snarled to a standstill as demonstrators called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that has been subject to a five-month-long Israeli military offensive.

And inside the auditorium, actors and artists used their wins to call for peace, drawing on themes presented in the various nominated films.

With 13 nominations, the biopic Oppenheimer was the frontrunner going into the night’s Oscar ceremony. And it made good on early predictions about its Oscar success, with seven wins in major categories.

Here are the night’s biggest takeaways.