76th Academy Awards

Peter Jackson, Best Director winner, Best Adapted Screenplay co-winner, and Best Picture co-winner

Sean Penn, Best Actor winner

Charlize Theron, Best Actress winner

Tim Robbins, Best Supporting Actor winner

Renée Zellweger, Best Supporting Actress winner

Sofia Coppola, Best Original Screenplay winner

Denys Arcand, Best Foreign Language Film winner

Adam Elliot, Best Animated Short Film winner

Howard Shore, Best Original Score winner and Best Original Song co-winner

Annie Lennox, Best Original Song co-winner

Richard Taylor, Best Makeup and Best Costume Design co-winner

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().[18]

In September 2003, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) initially banned distribution of screeners to awards groups, citing fears of piracy.[31] Many independent film studios and prominent film directors objected to this decision charging that this would hurt smaller films for Oscar consideration since they heavily rely on screeners to lure Academy members' attention.[31] The following month, AMPAS and the MPAA reached an agreement in which Academy members would receive the screeners on the condition that they keep them out of reach from people unaffiliated with AMPAS.[32] In December 2003, a federal judge in New York overturned the ban citing that it violated federal antitrust laws.[33][34]

At the time of the nominations announcement on January 27, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees was $638 million with an average of $127 million per film.[35] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $338.3 million in domestic box office receipts.[35] The film was followed by Seabiscuit ($120.2 million), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ($85.3 million), Mystic River ($59.1 million), and finally Lost in Translation ($34.8 million).[35]

Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 45 nominations went to 10 films on the list. Only Finding Nemo (1st), The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2nd), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (3rd), Seabiscuit (16th), Something's Gotta Give (21st), The Last Samurai (23rd), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (31st), Brother Bear (32nd) Cold Mountain (37th), and Mystic River (46th) were nominated for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, or any of the directing, acting, or screenwriting.[36]

In light of the controversy surrounding the halftime show during Super Bowl XXXVIII, network ABC implemented a five-second tape delay to ensure that profanity and obscenity were not seen or heard.[37] AMPAS president Frank Pierson protested this decision in a written statement, stating, "Even a very brief tape-delay introduces a form of censorship into the broadcast—not direct governmental control, but it means that a network representative is in effect guessing at what a government might tolerate, which can be even worse."[38] In response, producer Joe Roth reiterated that censorship would only be applied to profanity and not political speeches.[39]

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Chicago Tribune television critic Steve Johnson lamented that the show "felt almost numbingly familiar and disappointingly genteel." He also criticized broadcaster ABC's decision to implement the five-second tape delay.[40] Tom Shales of The Washington Post quipped that the ceremony "was about as entertaining as watching Jell-O congeal." He also added that the lack of surprises among the awards contributed to the dull atmosphere of the telecast.[41] Columnist Tim Goodman of San Francisco Chronicle bemoaned, "The 76th annual Academy Awards dragged on without much drama or comedy, sucking the life out of the event even while it was doing justice to the masterpiece that is The Lord of the Rings."[42]

Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly praised Crystal's hosting performance saying that he "has located the perfect middle ground between Steve Martin's adroit silliness and Whoopi Goldberg's unapologetic hamminess." On the show itself, he said that it "managed to do what Hollywood may not have: convince us that this was a great year for the movies."[43] Film critic Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer wrote that the show was "the funniest and least tedious in memory." He also extolled producer Joe Roth by concluding, "As far as this old critic's concerned, Mr. Roth, you did a fine job."[44] USA Today critic Robert Bianco commented that despite the lack of suspense due to the Lord of the Rings sweep of the awards "Crystal was able to lace funny bits throughout the evening." He further lauded the show as "more glamorous and upbeat than last year's war-muted event, and decently paced."[45]

The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 43.56 million people over its length, which was a 26% increase from the previous year's ceremony.[46] An estimated 73.89 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also earned higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 26.68% of households watching over a 41.84 share.[47] In addition, it garnered a higher 18–49 demo rating with a 15.48 rating over a 38.79 share among viewers in that demographic.[47] It was the highest viewership for an Academy Award telecast since the 72nd ceremony held in 2000.[48]

In July 2004, the ceremony presentation received nine nominations at the 56th Primetime Emmys.[49] Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Louis J. Horvitz's direction of the telecast.[50][51]