There were more surprises and snubs than anyone expected after the 98th Oscar nominations were revealed bright and early Thursday morning. One of the biggest shocks was that Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked for Good” was completely snubbed after the first film earned 10 nominations and took two trophies a year ago. “Wicked” wasn’t the only overlooked film or expected nominee, however. Here’s a look at some of the other unexpected twists Oscar voters delivered for 2026.
READ MORE: “Sinners” Tops “One Battle After Another” With Record 15 Oscar Nominations [Complete List]
Snub: MUBI
After a breakout year in 2025 with five Oscar nominations for “The Substance,” including Best Picture, and an International Feature nom for “The Girl with the Needle,” the relatively new US distributor had a rough 2026 with zero nods. This despite shelling out for awards season contenders such as “Die, My Love,” “The History of Sound,” “Father Mother Sister Brother,” and “The Mastermind.” The big question will be whether MUBI will continue to be a big player at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice and position itself for a comeback in 2027.
Snub: “Jay Kelly”
Despite praise for Adam Sandler, as well as Noah Bombach and Emily Mortimer’s script, the Netflix original film was completely overlooked by the Academy. Netflix’s team went above and beyond promoting the film for months, but it never had the traction that “Frankenstein” and “Train Dreams” did.
Snub: Odessa A’zion, “Marty Supreme”
Despite earning a surprise SAG Award nomination, “I Love L.A.” star was still seen as a long shot for Oscar and probably campaigned a little too late. She’ll be back in the mix soon enough, though.
Snub: Ariana Grande, “Wicked For Good”
Despite earning a slew of early critics’ group honors and a SAG Actor Award nomination, Grande, like “Wicked For Good,” didn’t make the Academy cut this time around. The Academy simply didn’t love the movie enough.
Snub: Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”
Maybe it was the fact that Mescal spent most of the fall filming Sam Mendes’ “Beatles” films and couldn’t campaign. Maybe it was the fact that he should have campaigned for Lead Actor instead of in Supporting, but his omission was one of the more horrific snubs this Oscar nomination morning. Hands down, one of the best performances of 2025 was simply overlooked.
Snub: Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Like Mescal, Infiniti may have been a victim of campaigning in the wrong category. The breakout newcomer of “One Battle” may have been better served in Supporting Actress. She was also going up against some massive competition in either case.
Surprise: Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
Fanning duplicated her SAG Actor’s Award nomination with her first Oscar nomination. A great cap to a fantastic 2025, which also saw her topline the hit Sci-Fi thriller “Predator: Badlands.”
Surprise: Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”
He did it. Despite massive competition, Lindo pulled out his first Academy Award nomination, one that put Ryan Coogler’s breakout in the stratosphere with 16 nominations.
Snub: Tessa Thompson, “Hedda”
Thompson delivered one of the best performances of the year in Nia DaCosta‘s reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler.” Thompson was recognized by numerous critics’ groups with nominations or recognition for her performance (including the BAFTA longlist), but could not crack a SAG nomination either. We’ll never really understand why Thompson’s performance didn’t resonate. Amazon MGM Studios campaigned hard for the film, but like several contenders this year, it was completely snubbed. Thompson’s time will come, however.
Snub: “Weapons” in Hairstying and Makeup
As expected, Amy Madigan landed her second Oscar nomination for her fantastic turn as Aunt Gladys inZach Cregger’s breakout summer hit. But we are still scratching our heads over the film not landing on either the Oscar shortlist or the BAFTA longlist for Hairstyling and Makeup. It is confounding on numerous levels, and we need an ESPN 30 for 30 or some massive investigation to discover what exactly went wrong.
Snub: Searchlight Pictures
For the first time in over two decades, the 20th Century Studios division woke up on Oscar nomination morning with zero nominations. This, despite having three potential contenders in the critically acclaimed “The Testament of Ann Lee,” the well-received “Is This Thing On?” and the crowd-pleasing “Rental Family.” Don’t feel that bad for Searchlight, however. Next fall, they should have new contenders from Oscar winners Tony Gilroy and Martin McDonagh, waiting in the wings.
Surprise: “Sirat”
To be fair, it’s not that much of a surprise, but Oliver Laxe’s Cannes wonder delivered on its five Oscar shortlist mentions, earning nominations in Sound and an International Film nomination. A Best Picture nomination would have been icing on the cake, but it was simply too tough an ask.
Snub: “No Other Choice”
There were always questions about how many of Neon’s International Film category contenders could make the final cut. It turns out it was only four. The film on the outside looking in was Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.” The irony is that “No Other Choice” has turned out to be the biggest domestic box office hit out of the bunch, having already earned over $6.5 million in the US so far. It may have also proved that for one distributor, having that many international films is just too much to handle. That being said, don’t feel sorry for Neon. They still landed an incredible 4 out of the 5 nominees in the category with Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” and “Sirat” making the cut.
Snub: Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia”
Plemons fought the good fight and campaigned like a pro, but was campaigning against “Blue Moon’s” Ethan Hawke, “Train Dreams'” Joel Edgerton, and “The Secret Agents'” Wagner Mora for just two slots for best actor. And Plemons, who landed a pivotal SAG Award nomination, ended up on the outside looking in, missing out on his 2nd Oscar nomination after “The Power of the Dog” four years ago.
Snub: “Avatar: Fire & Ash”
Despite the first two films in the franchise earning Best Picture nominations, James Cameron’s blockbuster couldn’t crack the code this time around. It did, however, land Visual Effects and, wait, Costume Design? Cameron and The Walt Disney Company probably saw the writing on the wall when “Fire & Ash” was snubbed by the PGA Awards earlier this month.
Snub: “Wicked for Good”
Reviews for “Wicked for Good “were certainly less enthusiastic than its predecessor, and the box office was slightly less than expectations, but it was still a big hit with many fans and industry across the world. Jon M. Chu’s movie musical also received eight mentions on the Oscar shortlist and the BAFTA longlist, respectively. Which, despite not making the PGA’s top 10, insinuated it had a good shot for a Best Picture nomination. It did not come to pass. The writing on the wall probably should have been the SAG Award nominations, where Cynthia Erivo was shut out of Best Actress, and it missed out on Ensemble.
Snub: Miley Cyrus, Original Song, “Avatar: Fire & Ash”
So the big surprise here isn’t the fact that Cyrus didn’t make it. It’s also that her co-songwriters on “Dream As One,” Andrew Wyatt and Mark Ronson, previous winners in the category, didn’t help the ballad get across the finish line. Cyrus campaigned publicly for the film. But, uh, couldn’t beat out the power of Diane Warren, and whatever mystical hold she has over her music branch peers. Also, the song wasn’t that great, either.
Surprise: Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
It’s been 25 years since Hudson’s first Oscar nomination for “Almost Famous.” In many ways, her performance in Craig Brewer’s melodrama was already a win with both Golden Globe and SAG Actor Award nominations. Instead, she surprised the world by proving “Blue” was the real awards movie Focus Features thought it could be.
Surprise: “F1”
Even though the movie’s star and producer, Brad Pitt, did basically one public event for the entire campaign, Apple Studios found a way to get Joseph Kosinski’s international blockbuster into the Best Picture 10. A rare formula of below-the-line love, and enough international voter passion to pass other contenders around that final turn towards the finish line.
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
