Happy Oscar nomination morning! Along with all these shocking omissions, there’s also plenty to celebrate, so let’s celebrate (briefly) before we get angry. “Sinners“didn’t just break the absolute record for nominations; it broke it tworracking up an incredible 16 nominations and showing up in every category where he had even a slim chance. It was also a great morning for those who still want to believe that the Oscars can throw a big curveball, with “F1“, earning a surprise nomination for Best Picture.
Unfortunately, this “F1” surprise meant that the Best Picture field, which would likely feature three international films, was limited to two. While international cinema had a good morning by the standards of almost any other Oscar year, international films were also responsible for several of the morning’s more shocking omissions. And we have to start with the winner of the 2025 Palme d’Or.
Since “Parasite” won Best Picture six years ago, it seems like we’ve entered a new era where the winner of the Cannes Film Festival automatically becomes a Best Picture contender every year. And given the powerful and timely relevance of “It Was Just an Accident” — and the real-life story behind Jafar Panahi’s directing — presuming the film would be a major player at the Oscars since it won the Palme d’Or last May seemed like a no-brainer. But it ultimately only received two nominations (for best international film and best original screenplay), while missing two major categories where it was expected to be a sure bet (best film and best director).
So what went wrong? It seems unlikely that voters didn’t watch the film, given the enormous exposure it’s had all season, so perhaps the most obvious answer is that voters simply weren’t as impressed with the film as awards experts (in our infinite wisdom) thought. But another possibility is that Neon’s total monopoly on the best international films of 2025 turns out to be a disadvantage. And the fact that four of the five Neon films juggled campaigns only to come up short in the categories they were supposed to compete in suggests that a distributor trying to exert total control over an entire stratum of the cinematic landscape may not be a good idea.
And here’s Exhibit B: “No Other Choice” was the most financially successful of Neon’s big five international features at the U.S. box office, but that apparently doesn’t matter to Oscar voters. “No Other Choice” became the latest Park Chan-wook film to be ignored by the Academy, and somehow the master auteur behind “Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden” and “Decision to Leave” has still never seen one of his films get a single Oscar nomination. After “Parasite” became the first Korean film to be nominated for an Oscar (let alone win one), we collectively thought it would open the door for other great Korean filmmakers like Park. But six years later, “Parasite” is still one of a kind.
Chase Infiniti (& Regina Room)
“One Battle After Another” received 13 nominations this morning, so it’s hard for fans of the film to find anything to be sad about. And yet, the young discovery who largely carries the film’s third act, Chase Infiniti, was passed over by the Academy, despite being nominated by all the major precursor awards bodies. In a way, it’s not a huge shock (I predicted it), because all season, Best Actress seemed like one of those categories where six major contenders were trying to squeeze into five spots. One of them must have missed, but it’s sad to see this happen to someone who was such an exciting new addition to the cinematic landscape. (It’s also a shame that Regina Hall wasn’t recognized for her underrated work in the film.)
Perhaps it’s a sign that the Academy actually did a great job of spreading the love of acting this year, as almost every major Best Picture contender (with the exception of “Sentimental Value”) was nominated for one of the acting nominations they were hoping to land. For “Hamnet,” it was Paul Mescal, which makes sense given how much the film focuses on his emotional absence. On paper, you’d think playing William Shakespeare would be catnip to Oscar voters, but Joseph Fiennes wasn’t nominated for “Shakespeare in Love,” either. As with that film, the Bard’s love interest proved to be the real magnet for attracting the Academy’s attention.
Last year, Timothée Chalamet was the rising tide of “A Complete Unknown,” helping Monica Barbaro and Edward Norton earn nominations of their own. This year, in typical Marty Mauser fashion, Timmy stole all the glory. While the incredible “Marty Supreme” ensemble was rewarded with a nomination in the inaugural Best Cast category, none of Timothée Chalamet’s co-stars received a nomination of their own. That’s bad news for Odessa A’zion, who was a perfect match for Chalamet’s manic energy in the film, and for Gwyneth Paltrow, whose pretension never really came through.
There’s always one movie that Oscar pundits seem to flock to at the last minute, believing in a sudden surge of discord because the right person called it out at the right time. It memorably happened with the immortal “To Leslie” social media campaign two years ago, and it looked like it might happen again this year when Julia Roberts used the Golden Globes stage to implore everyone to see Eva Victor’s wonderful directorial debut, “Sorry, Baby.” Unfortunately, that endorsement didn’t result in any nominations (not even in the Best Original Screenplay category, where it became a fashionable late prediction), but looking at Victor’s face in the Globes crowd while Julia Roberts raved about his film, it’s easy to say that the endorsement was a reward in itself.
Electronic music
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the craft categories was not a specific absence, but the complete absence of a certain type of thing. Namely electronic music. Among the most common praise for “Marty Supreme” and “Sirāt” (two films that received no shortage of praise) was for their largely electronic music. Likewise, those who praised the much-maligned “Tron: Ares” focused on its killer score by Nine Inch Nails (and its superb original song, “As Alive As You Need Me to Be”). But the Academy’s music arm can often be traditional to a fault, and that was certainly the case this year as it skipped all three films.
Franchise films
For most of 2025, Oscar pundits had essentially reserved two spots on their best-picture lists for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Wicked: For Good.” Both films received Best Picture nominations for their previous installments, as well as semi-dominant showings in the craft categories. But lukewarm reviews of their latest installments flipped the script at the Oscars, and the Academy all but ignored them. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” still picked up two nominations, for best visual effects and best costume design, but a missing James Cameron film in the best sound category might have been the biggest surprise in the craft categories this morning.
“Wicked: For Good,” on the other hand, received no nominations, which is a shocking turn of events for a film whose previous installment received 10 Oscar nominations just a year ago. While it wasn’t surprising that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were no longer in the running for a sequel that received disappointing reviews, it was still a shock to see the franchise go from seven nominations in craft categories to zero in just one year. (Another notable omission from the franchise: “Wake Up Dead Man” became the first “Knives Out” film not to receive a screenplay nomination.)
