The Biggest Surprises and Snubs in the 2026 Academy Award Nominations

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Michael B. Jordan and a young man looking ahead with emotional expressions in Sinners.

Published 16 minutes ago

Ross Bonaime is the Senior Film Editor at Collider. He is a Virginia-based critic, writer, and editor who has written about all forms of entertainment for Paste Magazine, Brightest Young Things, Flickchart, The Free Lance-Star, and more. Ross graduated from George Mason University with a focus in communications and journalism and a minor in film and video studies.

Ross is a Tomatometer-approved critic, a member of the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, and a member of the Critics Choice Association. He has loved movies ever since he saw Cinderella in the theater as a kid, he can quote 10 Things I Hate About You and Wet Hot American Summer from memory, and is fascinated by all things Georges Méliès and Charlie Chaplin.

No matter how many predictions and prognostications you can make, the Academy Award nominations are always going to throw in some huge surprises. This year, one of the biggest films of 2025 became the most nominated movie at the Oscars ever, while another box-office success earned zero nominations. A surprise film made its way into the Best Picture race, and plenty of movies earned a ton of awards. Sinners leads the pack with 16 nominations, and One Battle After Another follows behind with 13 nominations. Tied for third are Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value, each getting nine nominations.

Even though many of these nominations aren't shocking, there are still some major surprises to unpack. Here are 10 of the biggest surprises and snubs from the 2026 Oscar nominations.

‘Sinners’ Makes Oscar History by Becoming the Most Nominated Film Ever

We all knew that Sinners was going to do well at the Oscar nominations, as it was by far one of the most acclaimed films of 2025 from audiences and critics alike. But Sinners didn’t just do well — it smashed a major Oscar record with its 16 nominations. Previously, the most nominated films in Oscar history were two indisputable classics: All About Eve in 1950 and Titanic in 1997, each with 14 nominations. As of right now, Sinners doesn’t seem on track to beat the record of the most wins at a ceremony, which is currently a three-way tie between The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic, and Ben-Hur, but it’s an incredible feat that puts Ryan Coogler’s film in the annals of Academy Award history.

Sinners receiving a record-breaking 16 nominations also shows just how far the Academy has come in the last decade by expanding its voting pool and getting more diverse viewers and films into the nominations. A few years ago, it would’ve seemed wild that something like Bugonia would earn a Best Picture nomination, or in recent years, for The Substance to get a Best Picture nom, or for Everything Everywhere All at Once and Parasite to win Best Picture. A vampire musical earning 16 nominations this year isn’t just a pleasant surprise; it’s a great sign that the times are changing for the Oscars — and for the better.

‘F1’ Races Into the Best Picture Category

Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as Sonny Hayes and Joshua "Noah" Pearch in their racing uniforms in F1.

Building up to the Oscar nominations, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, and Sentimental Value all seemed like sure things for Best Picture, with a few uncertainties near the bottom of prognostications (Train Dreams, The Secret Agent, Bugonia). But the real question was how many international features was Neon going to get into the Best Picture race? Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent seemed like locks, but It Was Just an Accident kept losing speed, with The Secret Agent essentially picking up the slack. Because of that, it seems Jafar Panahi’s excellent drama missed out on a spot among the 10 nominees, only to be replaced by… F1?

While F1 hasn’t necessarily hit all the award prerequisites that other nominees have, its slow build to the Best Picture race kind of makes sense. F1 made the National Board of Review’s Top 10 Films of the year, it’s been nominated for Best Theatrical Motion Picture by the Producers Guild of America Awards, and it’s one of Brad Pitt's highest-grossing films ever. F1 is an old-school crowdpleaser that everyone can enjoy and has already racked up plenty of technical awards, and with films like Avatar: Fire and Ash and Wicked: For Good not making the cut, F1 had the perfect opportunity to drift right into that 10th spot.

‘Wicked: For Good Gets Completely Shut Out

Last year, Wicked was one of the major competitors at the Academy Awards, earning 10 nominations and winning two, and left many thinking it had a real shot in the Best Picture race. Wicked: For Good, however, hasn’t had nearly the same acclaim or box-office success, and yet still, one of the biggest surprises was Wicked: For Good getting completely shut out in all categories — even the ones where it seemed obvious it would get nominated. Best Costume Design? Nope, Avatar: Fire and Ash instead. Makeup and Hairstyling? Sorry, Kokuho and The Ugly Stepsister made the cut. Not even “The Girl in the Bubble,” the song that was apparently made specifically so Wicked: For Good could make it into the Best Song category, didn’t get a nom (Diane Warren, naturally, still made it in, as is always the case). Even the most dire predictions had Ariana Grande as a potential nominee in Best Supporting Actress, but instead, Sentimental Value earned two nominations. Considering how well Wicked did, it’s a bit of a shame that Wicked: For Good fizzled out to the point that it received no recognition at all.

Delroy Lindo Finally Gets an Oscar Nomination for 'Sinners'

Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) has a worried look on his face in Sinners.

Back at the 2020 awards, one of the hugest snubs was that Delroy Lindo didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for his tremendous work in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods — a film that was also shut out. Lindo is always great in everything he does, from his work with Lee in films like Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Clockers, to phenomenal supporting roles in The Harder They Fall, Get Shorty, and The Cider House Rules. It’s about time Lindo was recognized by the Academy, and his nomination for Best Supporting Actor was one of the biggest Sinners-related surprises. Lindo ended up beating out such heavy hitters as Paul Mescal for Hamnet, Adam Sandler for Jay Kelly, and his Sinners co-star Miles Caton. But after all these years and an incredible career, it’s fantastic to see Lindo nominated alongside Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and Jacob Elordi.

One of 2025's Most Twisted Horror Films Is an Oscar Nominee

Lea Myren with a nose mask on it in The Ugly Stepsister

The Makeup and Hairstyling category can throw in some wild curveballs that no one was expecting. In recent years, this category has nominated such films as 2023’s Golda, 2020’s Hillbilly Elegy, and 2018’s Border. Also, lest we forget, in 2013, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa became an Oscar nominee (and should’ve won, by the way). This year sees two surprises in the category, with TOHO’s Kokuho as well as the absolutely horrific, wild, and completely unhinged horror retelling of Cinderella, The Ugly Stepsister, by director Emilie Blichfeldt. Again, it’s a great sign that the Academy is being more open with these categories, instead of just giving more nominations to One Battle After Another and Marty Supreme. And with the exception of The Substance last year, the last time a horror film was nominated in this category was 2010’s The Wolfman (where it won). The Ugly Stepsister absolutely deserves its nomination in this category, especially for its levels of body horror and extreme choices. Have mercy on the Oscar completionists who have a weak stomach but attempt to watch The Ugly Stepsister anyway.

A Film With Only 6 Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes Makes It Into Best Original Song

Speaking of categories where unexpected titles can get in, Best Original Song has also been a bit of a strange one. When the Academy released the shortlist for 12 of the categories, most people saw that Viva Verdi! made the cut in Best Original Song and thought, “huh?” As of right now, Viva Verdi! only has six reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for this documentary about a retirement home that was built by composer Giuseppe Verdi in 1896. The film has screened at a few film festivals, but as of right now, it has yet to receive a wider release. Viva Verdi! managed to beat out both new songs written for Wicked: For Good, as well as songs by Miley Cyrus, Billy Idol, Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlisle, John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Nine Inch Nails, just to name a few. Hopefully, Viva Verdi! will be more widely available before the awards are given out, but look, it’s all sort of irrelevant, considering this category is “Golden” all the way.

Documentary Favorite ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ Doesn’t Make the Cut

The Oscars documentary category usually throws in some wild surprises as well, but it's actually more conventional than usual this year. Favorites like The Alabama Solution, Come See Me in the Good Light, and The Perfect Neighbor all received nominations in a category that usually ignores the big-name favorites. But even though it made the shortlist, 2000 Meters to Andriivka felt like a bit of a shock when it didn’t receive a nomination. Mstyslav Chernov’s jarring doc takes a first-person view of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, and it’s one of the most terrifying films to come out last year. What's even stranger is that Chernov’s last documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol, won this category just a few years ago. This is always going to be a weird category (other favorites like Cover-Up and My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow also made the shortlist but didn’t get noms), but despite that, it’s almost unexpected how normal this category is this year.

The Academy Continues Not To Care About Park Chan-wook

While this year’s nominees were a huge success for international features like Sentimental Value, Sirât, The Secret Agent, and It Was Just an Accident, one of Neon’s big international features from this year, No Other Choice, didn’t receive a single nomination. Even though it seemed like a possibility it could make the cut in Best International Film or even Best Adapted Screenplay, No Other Choice walked away empty-handed. But even more disappointing is how this has become a trend with Park Chan-wook, as the South Korean filmmaker has made such great films as Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave, yet not a single one has earned a nomination in any category. Snubbing Decision to Leave and The Handmaiden felt particularly egregious at the time, and No Other Choice is similarly odd, despite other solid films making it into the International and Adapted Screenplay categories. Hopefully, one day, the Academy will give Park Chan-wook the appreciation he deserves.

Kate Hudson Beats Out Chase Infiniti and Amanda Seyfried in the Best Actress Race

Claire and Mike Sardina singing together on stage in glittery red and black outfits.

Here’s another case of one movie gaining steam while others start to lose it. For the most part, it seemed like four of the nominees for Best Actress were set in stone: Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Renate Reinsve, and Emma Stone, with the fifth a bit of a mystery. Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another seemed like a likely scenario, while the praise for Amanda Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee also made her a possibility. Even Cynthia Erivo felt like she had a chance. But when Song Sung Blue earned Kate Hudson a nomination at the Golden Globes, that seemed to push her to her first nomination since Almost Famous in 2001. A few months ago, it didn’t seem like Song Sung Blue would have what it takes to get any nominations, but here we are, with Hudson in one of the top categories.

‘Frankenstein’ Receives 9 Nominations, but Guillermo del Toro Misses Out on Best Director

Jacob Elordi, in his Creature makeup, watching a monitor with Guillermo del Toro on the set of Frankenstein.

If you watched the live announcement of the Academy Award nominations this morning, there were a few titles that kept popping up. While it was expected Frankenstein would do well, nine nominations ended up tying it with Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value as the third most-nominated films. Best Director has been pretty locked-in for Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler, Chloé Zhao, and Joachim Trier, but the fifth slot felt up for grabs. Could Panahi make the cut, or would Josh Safdie get in? Guillermo del Toro also seemed more and more likely as the nominations were announced, especially as a previous winner in this category for The Shape of Water and considering that his last film, 2021’s Nightmare Alley, was also a bit of a surprise in the Best Picture category. Alas, Frankenstein and del Toro didn’t make it into the Best Director competition, with Safdie earning the fifth spot, but still, it's a pretty incredible showing for Frankenstein overall.