Jimmy Kimmel returned for a fourth time to host the 96th Academy Awards Sunday night, held at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre. After a season of hosting ups and downs, and much hand-wringing overall about the role of awards show hosts as many of the broadcasts have struggled with ratings, Kimmel was widely viewed as a safe and reliable choice for the evening, whose popular past hosts have included Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and the especially prolific Bob Hope.
In his monologue this year, Kimmel started off by calling out the Academy Awards for snubbing Barbie director and star, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, but said they've already won something more important:"the genetic lottery." Kimmel also joked about the lengthy movies up for awards this year, saying the more than three-hour-long Killers of the Flower Moon is so long, "you could drive to Oklahoma and solve the murders yourself."
Dog lovers will appreciate that the cameras panned to the bow-tie-wearing dog Messi—who stole the show in the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall—and Kimmel joked that he hadn't seen a French actor eat vomit since Gerard Depardieu.
Leading a round of applause for German actor Sandra Huller, who starred in two best picture nominees, including Anatomy of a Fall and the Holocaust film The Zone of Interest, Kimmel joked that while the films' subject matter is heavy for Americans, they're considered "rom-coms" in Germany.
Read more: The Best, Worst, and Most Memorable Moments of the 2024 Oscars
According to Variety, other four-time hosts in Oscars history include Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon.
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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com