OSCARS 2026: Wicked 2’s brutal shutout was BIGGEST snub of this awards season & other takeaways
No one mourns the Wicked, but many may feel aggrieved Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s viral lovefest across the two-part musical won’t end with either of them holding an Academy Award.
After the first instalment earned 10 Oscar nominations last year, winning two, Wicked: For Good was shutout entirely by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when the noms were revealed on Thursday, in arguably the biggest snub of this year’s awards season.
Voters were likely spooked by middling reviews and a lower box office take that contributed to the general sense For Good couldn’t defy a lack of true showstoppers, let alone gravity.
If Wicked was the biggest loser, Sinners and its visionary director, Ryan Coogler, were undoubtedly the biggest winners, receiving an historic 16 nominations, beating the previous record of 14, which was jointly held by Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve (1950), James Cameron’s epic Titanic (1997) and Damien Chazelle’s musical, La La Land (2016).
The result confirms Sinners as the most culturally significant American movie of last year, with nominations including best actor (Michael B. Jordan), supporting actress (Wunmi Mosaku), supporting actor (Delroy Lindo) and a director nod for Coogler.
Ten of those nominations went to black artists, tying the all-time record with 2021’s Judas the Black Messiah.
In other firsts this year, Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) became the first Brazilian to be nominated for best actor and Chloe Zhao (Hamnet) became the first person of colour to become a two-time best director nominee, and just the second woman to do so.
Many of this year’s nominees across the 24 categories, which included a new casting award, went according to script, such as Aussies Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) earning recognition.
But there were some surprises. Brad Pitt’s race car movie, F1, getting a nomination for best picture felt like a throwback to a simpler time, just like Kate Hudson earning a best actress nom opposite our Hugh Jackman in Song Sung Blue, the sort of adult drama that rarely hits cinemas anymore.
Not quite as rare as a 150-minute ping-pong movie, but that didn’t stop voters bestowing nine nominations on Marty Supreme, including best picture, best director (Josh Safdie) and best actor for Timothee Chalamet, making him the youngest actor to be a three-time acting nominee.
The hit A24 film, which has made nearly $150 million globally, tied for third most nominations with Frankenstein and Norwegian film Sentimental Value, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another landing behind Sinners in second place with 13 noms.
PTA will fancy his chances of walking away with the silverware in the director category, which includes a surprise but worthy nomination for Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) and a snub for Frankenstein’s Guillermo Del Toro, a past winner.
Ireland’s Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) is the deserved favourite for best actress, but her co-star, the internet’s boyfriend Paul Mescal, was overlooked for his depiction of the Bard in Zhao’s slow-burn film.
Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) and Australia’s Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams) can also feel slighted, as lead actors of films that received best picture noms.
And, yes, KPop Demon Hunters, the most streamed Netflix movie ever, got a look in, with nominations for best animated feature and best original song for the viral banger, Golden.
It sets up an unlikely contest with Aussie Nick Cave, who earned a nom in that category for the title song of Train Dreams.
Conan O’Brien will host the ceremony for the second year in a row, from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, March 16, Australian time.
Last year’s best picture winner was Anora, one of five awards won by the Sean Baker film, including best director (Baker) and best actress (Mikey Madison), while best actor went to Adrien Brody for The Brutalist.
BEST PICTURE
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao, Hamnet
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Emma Stone, Bugonia
BEST ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Blue Moon
It Was Just An Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
It Was Just An Accident
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat
The Voice of Hind Rajab
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
BEST CASTING
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sinners
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
BEST FILM EDITING
F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Frankenstein
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
BEST SCORE
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
BEST SONG
Dear Me, Diane Warren: Restless
Golden, KPop Demon Hunters
I Lied to You, Sinners
Train Dreams, Train Dreams
Sweet Dreams of Joy, Viva Verdi
BEST SOUND
F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirat
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbour
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Butterfly (Papillon)
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
All the Empty Rooms
Armed Only With a Camera
Children No More: Were and Are Gone
The Devil is Busy
Perfectly a Strangeness
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Butcher’s Stain
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva
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