The nominations for the 98th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Thursday morning, and while there were plenty of unsurprising nods — favorites like One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, Bugonia and Frankenstein all fared well, as they were expected to — there were also a handful of unexpected nominations and shocking omissions. (Justice for Guillermo del Toro!) Perhaps the biggest surprise was that Sinners made Oscar history, becoming the most-nominated film of all time with its 16 nods. How many of those the Ryan Coogler vampire film will actually nab remains to be seen, of course. We’ll be back with our official predictions ahead of the ceremony on March 15, but for now, we’ve rounded up the biggest snubs and surprises below.
Snubs
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another (Best Lead Actress)
The decision to run Chase Infiniti in the lead actress category for her excellent work in One Battle After Another instead of supporting makes sense. Though her screentime is limited to roughly 31 minutes, her character is the heart of the film in many ways. She’s also hugely important to the plot, with the last act of the movie completely centered on her. Plus, leaving her out of the supporting field guarantees that she won’t split the vote there with Teyana Taylor (who won a Golden Globe in the same category earlier this month). But it also resulted in Infiniti getting left out of an admittedly stacked category. Perhaps some Academy voters were hung up on the fact that she’s technically only in 19% of the movie, or maybe there were simply too many other strong performances.
Wicked: For Good (Everything)
Last year, Wicked earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Lead Actress (Cynthia Erivo) and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana Grande). The sequel Wicked: For Good was a big flop with the Academy, getting completely shut out of the nominations this year. It makes sense as reviews of the second installment were mediocre at best, but still, to go from 10 nods to zero is a big surprise.
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein (Best Director)
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein earned nine nominations this year — including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi — but it feels crazy to overlook the way the director was able to put his own spin on the classic novel while still staying pretty faithful to Mary Shelley’s original vision. (Some of his changes actually improved the story.) It’s especially surprising considering the Academy has historically loved del Toro; he won Best Director in 2018 for The Shape of Water.
Paul Mescal, Hamnet (Best Supporting Actor)
Paul Mescal was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes and the Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards) for his work as William Shakespeare in Hamnet, so it’s a surprise to see him ignored by the Oscars, particularly considering he’s a previous Best Actor nominee for his performance in 2023’s Aftersun. Jessie Buckley has been raking in awards for her role in Hamnet — and rightfully so — but so much of her performance is intertwined with Mescal.
The Year the Auteurs Finally Portrayed Present-Day America
2025 saw directors known primarily for their period pieces shifting to contemporary storiesNo Other Choice (Best Picture, Best International Feature)
Director Park Chan-wook’s dark comedy about a paper-making company employee who starts killing off his competition in order to keep his job was nominated for three Golden Globes — Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Lee Byung-hun). It felt like the movie was gaining awards momentum, but instead, it finds itself completely shut out of the Oscars. Best Picture is a little understandable — it’s a crowded field — but for it to not even get a Best International Feature nomination is very surprising.
Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams (Best Actor)
Train Dreams earned four nominations — Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song — so it doesn’t make sense for the Academy to overlook Joel Edgerton’s performance at the center of it. Edgerton was nominated in this category by the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards, and he’s completely arresting as Robert Grainier.
It Was Just an Accident (Best Picture)
Jafar Panahi’s film about authoritarianism and forgiveness (or lack thereof) won the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, and it made history at this year’s Golden Globes by becoming the first Iranian film to be nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It is nominated in the Best International Feature category, but given its previous accolades and the way it’s relevant to the times we’re living in, a Best Picture nomination seemed like a foregone conclusion.
Surprises
F1 (Best Picture)
The Brad Pitt racing movie is nominated in four categories: Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. The latter three, all technical awards, make sense. But for a movie with zero acting nominations to be nominated for Best Picture is rare. Consider this one a longshot when placing your Oscar bets: In the 98-year history of the Academy Awards, only 12 films with no acting nominations have actually won Best Picture.
Delroy Lindo, Sinners (Best Supporting Actor)
We expected Sinners to earn a bunch of nominations this year, but to earn 16 nods — the most ever earned by a single film — wasn’t on our bingo card. That being said, it’s thrilling to see veteran actor Delroy Lindo finally earn his first Oscar nomination, especially after he was snubbed for his excellent work in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods.
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue (Best Actress)
The trailer for Song Sung Blue doesn’t really do it justice. It appears to be a cutesy throwaway movie about a Neil Diamond cover band, but the movie is a surprisingly great depiction of real-life Milwaukee couple Mike and Claire Sardina. Hudson in particular gives a standout performance, and it’s a pleasant surprise to see her wind up with her first Oscar nomination since she first broke out with Almost Famous in 2000.
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