2026 Oscars Snubs & Surprises: Wicked and George Clooney Face Disappointment, F1 and Delroy Lindo Race Ahead

The 2026 Oscar nominations featured a lot of good news for the folks at Warner Bros., with Sinners receiving 16 nominations (smashing the record for most nominations for a single film) and One Battle After Another on its heels with 13. As always with awards season, though, there was plenty of disappointment elsewhere, with many contenders receiving zero Academy Award nominations on Thursday.

Trying to guess what a group of over 10,000 voters from across the film industry might consider to be the most award-worthy movies of the year can feel a bit foolish at times. Still, it’s one of the most fun parts of awards season. Below, we break down 15 of the biggest snubs and surprises we noticed amongst this year’s nominees, including recognition for deserving underdogs and some sad omissions.

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SNUB: No One Mourns for Wicked: For Good

Despite a heavy awards push, Wicked: For Good was snubbed across the board this year, despite part one of the musical adaptation receiving 10 nominations last year. It was even overlooked for Best Song, despite composer Stephen Schwartz writing two new songs — “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl In the Bubble” — for the movie just so it would qualify for the category. While the total shutout is a bit of a surprise (again, two new songs!), sometimes these things happen when a movie isn’t that great.

SURPRISE: F1 Zooms Into the Best Picture Race

It felt pretty certain that Joseph Kosinski’s ode to driving around in circles real fast would perform in technical categories this year, and it did in fact get recognized for editing, sound, and visual effects. However, F1 also edged its way into Best Picture, making it one of the category’s underdogs.

SNUB: George Clooney as a Fictional Movie Star Didn’t Have the Juice

Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly painted a portrait of a movie star attempting to confront the sins of his past, but despite a raw and honest performance from George Clooney, the Netflix film failed to make an impact with voters. This included Adam Sandler’s remarkably subdued and nuanced work as the titular star’s loyal agent — one of the movie’s sweetest scenes involved the two men grooming each other.

SURPRISE: Rose Byrne Gets the Nomination She Deserves for Stressing Us All Out

While ASAP Rocky and Conan O’Brien both turned in solid supporting work in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Rose Byrne owned every frame of writer/director Mary Bronstein’s tense-as-hell portrait of motherhood. It’s the kind of smaller movie that often goes overlooked come Oscar time (see Nightbitch as a previous example) but this year proved undeniable — at least in the Best Actress race. It’s searing work from Byrne, and very well-deserved. Congrats also go to Kate Hudson, nominated for playing a Neil Diamond fan with a dream in Song Sung Blue.

SNUB: Voters Turned Off by Is This Thing On?

Bradley Cooper’s first two movies as director, A Star Is Born and Maestro, both received plenty of recognition from the Academy. Cooper’s follow-up about a man who finds emotional catharsis through stand-up wasn’t so lucky, though, despite top-tier work from the always incredible Laura Dern (a previous winner for Marriage Story).

SURPRISE: The Academy Didn’t Forget About Delroy Lindo This Time

One of the 21st century’s most egregious Oscar snubs occurred in 2021, when Delroy Lindo failed to be recognized by the Academy for his stunning work in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. Thankfully, this time the acclaimed actor’s heartbreaking work in Sinners didn’t escape their notice. Lindo wasn’t heavily favored on prognosticators’ lists and was totally ignored by the Globes. But at 73 years old, he has now received his first Academy Award nomination.

SNUB: Paul Mescal Didn’t Make the Cut

There were few sure things going into Oscars morning, but Paul Mescal’s performance as a grieving William Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet felt relatively likely. However, he didn’t end up getting recognized for Supporting Actor. (Don’t feel too bad for him — he’s a previous nominee for 2022’s Aftersun.)