87th Academy Awards

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Best Director winner, Best Original Screenplay co-winner, and Best Picture co-winner

Eddie Redmayne, Best Actor winner

Julianne Moore, Best Actress winner

J. K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor winner

Patricia Arquette, Best Supporting Actress winner

Paweł Pawlikowski, Best Foreign Language Film winner

Laura Poitras, Best Documentary Feature co-winner

Alexandre Desplat, Best Original Score winner

Common, Best Original Song co-winner

John Legend, Best Original Song co-winner

Milena Canonero, Best Costume Design winner

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().[23]

The Academy held its 6th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 8, 2014, during which the following awards were presented:[11][24]

Honorary Academy Awards

• Jean-Claude Carrière — Whose elegantly crafted screenplays elevate the art of screenwriting to the level of literature.[25]
• Hayao Miyazaki — A master storyteller whose animated artistry has inspired filmmakers and audiences around the world.[25]
• Maureen O'Hara — One of Hollywood's brightest stars, whose inspiring performances glowed with passion, warmth and strength.[25]

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• Harry Belafonte — For a lifetime of demonstrating how art is ennobled by ceaseless courage and conscience.[25]

For the first time since 2007, none of the Best Picture nominees had grossed $100 million before the nominations were announced (compared with three from the previous year).[38][39] The combined gross of the eight Best Picture nominees at the American and Canadian box offices was $205 million, with an average of $25.6 million per film.[37]

None of the eight Best Picture nominees was among the top 50 release in box office during nominations. When the nominations were announced on January 15, 2015, The Grand Budapest Hotel was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $59.1 million in domestic box office receipts.[37] The Imitation Game was the second-highest-grossing film with $42.7 million; this was followed by Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) ($26.6 million), The Theory of Everything ($26.2 million), Boyhood ($24.3 million), Selma ($16.5 million), Whiplash ($6.2 million), and finally American Sniper ($3.3 million).[37]^[A]

Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 23 nominations went to 13 films on the list. Only Big Hero 6 (9th), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (16th), and Into the Woods (25th) were nominated for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature or any of the directing, acting or screenwriting awards. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Guardians of the Galaxy (1st), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (3rd), The Lego Movie (4th), Maleficent (6th), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (7th), X-Men: Days of Future Past (8th), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (10th), Interstellar (15th), and Unbroken (27th).[40]

Shortly after the nominations were announced, many news media outlets highlighted the lack of racial diversity amongst the nominees in major award categories.[41][42][43] According to Tatiana Siegel of The Hollywood Reporter, it was the second time since 1998 that all 20 acting nominees were of Caucasian descent.[44] The New York Times columnist David Carr pointed out the omission of Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo in directing and lead acting categories. He also noted that these nominations heavily contrasted last year's nominations that included Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave and Best Supporting Actress winner Lupita Nyong'o.[45]

As a result, the Academy was ridiculed by the Black Twitter community and became the target of hashtag movements such as #OscarsSoWhite and #WhiteOscars.[46][47] In addition, U.S. Democratic Party Congressman Tony Cárdenas wrote a letter voicing his concerns regarding AMPAS and diversity, stating: “While the issue of diversity in the entertainment industry is a much deeper problem, without an easy solution, it is unfortunate to see such a revered American institution fail to fully reflect our nation.” Cárdenas went on to say that he was willing to work with Academy officials in making the entertainment industry more representative of different ethnicities.[48]

In response to criticism about lack of diversity, AMPAS President Isaacs told reporter Sandy Cohen from the Associated Press that the Academy was "committed to seeking out diversity of voice and opinion."[49] She refrained from addressing the lack of diversity of that year's nominees, although stated that she was proud of all the nominees and praised Selma as a "fantastic motion picture".[49]

Several days before the awards gala, the National Action Network led by civil rights activist Al Sharpton and several other organizations planned to demonstrate near the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre before and during the telecast.[50] However, the protest was canceled in light of DuVernay pleading with black activists to instead pursue a direct dialogue with Academy leadership.[51]

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. HitFix television columnist Alan Sepinwall commented, "It ran on and on and on and on so much that when host Neil Patrick Harris finally got around to paying off a running gag about his Oscar predictions being locked in a box on stage left, he had to stop to explain the bit to us all over again." In addition, he observed, "Either the production consumed Harris, the writing failed him, or he picked a very strange night to go off-brand."[52] Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel wrote, "Harris headlined a blah production number to start the show. His running shtick about Oscar predictions grew tiresome." He concluded his review saying, "The music saved this Oscar telecast, but it was still a long, tedious show. The highlight reel will make it look better than it was."[53] Television critic Alessandra Stanley from The New York Times said, "Oscar nights almost always drag on too long, but this one was a slog almost from the very beginning." She also quipped, "The political speeches were somber, but they turned out to be more lively and bracing than any of Harris' skits."[54]

Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television critic Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe commented, "Neil Patrick Harris was very Neil Patrick Harrisy Sunday night in his first round as Oscars host. He was calm and cheerful and vanilla as usual, always ready with a lightly snarky joke and always eager to jump into a big production number involving old-timey choreography. He’s a pro at hosting, after his Tony and Emmy gigs, and it showed during the ABC telecast in his endlessly relaxed and open energy." He also wrote despite several production gaffes and an uneven pace, the show moved along "with a minimum of pain."[55] The Times-Picayune columnist Dave Walker wrote, "Harris played it like he was basically born to do it—light on his feet working the crowd or at center stage without his pants, winkingly self-deprecating, moving-right-along when his prepared material didn't land (which was too often)—and he now may have a job for life if he wants it." Furthermore, praised the cast and several musical numbers from the show.[56] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter quipped, "Harris displayed winning charm and appealing insouciance, sprinkling the gags with moments of self-deprecation." In addition, he remarked that several of the acceptance speeches and musical numbers provided a mix of humor, fun, and sincerity.[57]

The American telecast on ABC drew in an average 37.26 million people over it length, which was a 15% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[6] An estimated 63 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards.[58] The show also earned lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 20.6% of households watching over a 33 share.[7] In addition, the program scored a lower 18–49 demo rating with an 11.0 ratings over a 26 share.[59] It was the lowest viewership for an Academy Awards telecast since the 81st ceremony held in 2009.[60]

In July 2015, the ceremony presentation received eight nominations for the 67th Primetime Emmys.[61] The following month, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Outstanding Technical Direction, Camera Work, and Video Control for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special (Technical Directors: Eric Becker, Rick Edwards, John Pritchett, and Rod Wardell; Cameras: Rob Balton, Danny Bonilla, Robert Del Russo, David Eastwood, Suzanne Ebner, Pat Gleason, Ed Horton, Marc Hunter, Jay Kulick, Brian Lataille, Tore Livia, Steve Martyniuk, Lyn Noland, Rob Palmer, David Plakos, Camera, Jofre Romero, Danny Webb, Mark Whitman, and Easter Xua; Video Control: Terrance Ho, Guy Jones, and Keith Winikoff).[62]