The Curious Case of Benjamin Button received 13 Academy Award nominations. The film led all nominees at the 81st Academy Awards, including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
David Fincher was nominated for directing the 2008 film, while Brad Pitt received a Best Actor nomination for playing Benjamin Button. Taraji P. Henson was nominated for Best Supporting Actress as Queenie, the caretaker who raises Benjamin in a New Orleans nursing home.
The film won three Oscars from its 13 nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects. Its visual-effects achievement was especially important because Pitt’s character ages in reverse, requiring digital work to portray him at multiple stages of life.
The nominations covered many major craft categories, including cinematography, costume design, film editing, adapted screenplay, and original score. A frequent mistake is to remember the three wins and report three nominations, or to confuse the film’s Oscar total with its nominations at other award ceremonies.