77th Academy Awards

Clint Eastwood, Best Director winner and Best Picture co-winner

Jamie Foxx, Best Actor winner

Hilary Swank, Best Actress winner

Morgan Freeman, Best Supporting Actor winner

Cate Blanchett, Best Supporting Actress winner

Charlie Kaufman, Best Original Screenplay co-winner

Michel Gondry, Best Original Screenplay co-winner

Alexander Payne, Best Adapted Screenplay co-winner

Brad Bird, Best Animated Feature winner

Alejandro Amenábar, Best Foreign Language Film winner

Robert Richardson, Best Cinematography winner

Sandy Powell, Best Costume Design winner

Thelma Schoonmaker, Best Film Editing winner

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[16]

• Sidney Lumet — In recognition of his brilliant services to screenwriters, performers and the art of the motion picture.[17]

• Roger Mayer[18]

When the nominations were announced on January 25, the field of Best Picture nominees did not include a bona fide blockbuster at the U.S. box office. It was the first time since 1986 that none of the five films in that category were among the top ten releases in box office prior to the nominations announcement.[40] Furthermore, before the ceremony, all five films sold the lowest cumulative number of tickets sold since 1984.[41] Ray was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $73 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by The Aviator ($58.4 million), Finding Neverland ($32.7 million), Sideways ($32.4 million), and finally Million Dollar Baby ($8.4 million).[42] The combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees when the Oscars were announced was $205 million with an average gross of $41.3 million per film.[42]

Among the rest of the top 50 releases of 2004 in U.S. box office before the nominations, 44 nominations went to 14 films on the list. Only Shrek 2 (1st), The Incredibles (4th), Shark Tale (11th), Collateral (22nd), Ray (37th), and The Aviator (49th) were nominated for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, directing, acting, or screenwriting.[43] The other top 50 box office hits that earned the nominations were Spider-Man 2 (2nd), The Passion of the Christ (3rd), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (5th), The Polar Express (10th), I, Robot (12th), Troy (13th), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (18th), and The Village (20th).[43]

During his monologue, host Rock joked, "Clint Eastwood's a star, OK? Tobey Maguire's just a boy in tights," He also added, "You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait. You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. Alexander is not Gladiator." In response, Sean Penn rebutted Rock's remarks praising Law as one of his generation's "finest actors".[44] Over a year later, Law expressed his anger toward Rock in The New York Times telling columnist Craig Modderno, "At first I laughed because I didn't think he knew who I was. Then I got angry as his remarks became personal. My friends were livid. It's unfortunate I had five or six films come out at the same time."[45]

Robin Williams initially wanted to sing a humorous song written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman during the presentation of the Best Animated Feature award satirizing the controversy regarding Focus on the Family and a music video sponsored by We Are Family Foundation featuring animated characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants singing the song "We Are Family". The song contained lyrics such as "Pinocchio's had his nose done! Sleeping Beauty is popping pills!/ The Three Little Pigs ain't kosher! Betty Boop works Beverly Hills!"[46] However, Cates and ABC officials deemed the song overly vulgar and offensive for the telecast and was dropped altogether after writers Shaiman and Wittman had trouble rewriting more appropriate lyrics.[47] Williams eventually presented the Best Animated Feature award as scheduled, but silently mocked the debacle by entering the stage with duct tape over his mouth before speaking.[48]

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show and Rock's performance as host. USA Today television critic Robert Bianco wrote, "Loud, snide and dismissive, he wasn't just a disappointment; he ranks up there with the worst hosts ever." He also called the decision to have several nominees of several technical categories stand on stage embarrassing and disrespectful.[49] Columnist Robert. P. Lawrence of the San Diego Union Tribune commented, "It was a frustratingly average, three-hour-12-minute exhibition of mutual admiration in the inimitable Hollywood style." He later said that despite Rock's edgy and provocative opening, his humor and energy diminished as the night wore on.[50] Vince Horiuchi of The Salt Lake Tribune wrote of Rock's performance, "He was bound by stale jokes (none of the winners "tested positive for steroids"), a rigid opening monologue (he didn't even make reference to his prior controversial comments about the Oscars), and tired comedy bits (Rock playing like Catherine Zeta-Jones with Adam Sandler)." He also described the cast and production of the ceremony as "moribund" and "clumsy".[51]

Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Film critic Roger Ebert noted that Rock "opened on a high-energy quick-talking note" He also added, "Chris Rock hit a home run with his opening monologue, which was surprisingly pointed, topical, and not shy of controversy."[52] Television critic Frazier Moore commented that Rock's performance was a "needed pick-me-up, presiding over the broadcast with saucy finesse." He added, "In sum, the broadcast felt brisk, though not rushed. It felt modern and refreshingly free of chronic self-importance."[53] Brian Lowry of Variety gave an average review of Rock but remarked, "For all the hand-wringing about the awards descending into the muck, the 77th Academy Awards proved a classy affair, with precious little red meat to satiate Hollywood bashers."[2]

The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 42.14 million people over its length, which was a 3% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[54] The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the two previous ceremonies with 25.4 of households watching over a 38 share.[54][55] It also drew a lower 18–49 demo rating with a 15.1 rating over a 34 share among viewers in that demographic.[54]