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 Adriana 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