Oscar Nominations 2026: Snubs & Surprises
- Ariana grande and Cynthia Erivo join a short list of actors who received two Oscar nods for playing the same role in two different films.
- Avatar: Fire and Ash also had a disappointing morning, landing just two nods.
- was a surefire Oscar nominee for best original song, move to the head of the class.
Everybody knew Sinners was going to clean up when the 98th Academy Award nominations were announced on Thursday (jan. 22), and the Ryan Coogler blockbuster didn’t disappoint. It received a record 16 nods.
For the ninth year in a row, Diane warren learned that she was nominated for best original song, this time for writing “Dear Me” for the documentary Diane warren: relentless. No one else in oscar history has ever been nominated in this category nine years running. The late, great Sammy Cahn had held the category record, with eight consecutive nominations from 1954 to 1961.
KPop Demon Hunters became just the 14th film – and the first in four years – to be nominated for best animated feature film and also land a nod for best original song.
For the eighth year in a row, an actor was nominated for playing a real-life musician. This time it was ethan Hawke for playing lyricist Lorenz Hart in the film Blue Moon.
Table of Contents
Ariana grande and Cynthia Erivo join a short list of actors who received two Oscar nods for playing the same role in two different films. Erivo’s chances seemed remote, in part as her role was smaller in Wicked: For Good, but Grande was thought to have a good shot at another nod. Even though that didn’t come to pass, the two Wicked films did give people more appreciation for Grande’s comic flair. Its easy to see her being nominated in the future.
Avatar: Fire and Ash also had a disappointing morning, landing just two nods. The first Avatar amassed nine nominations. The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, received four. The cool reception to Avatar: Fire and Ash hurt Miley Cyrus’ chance of landing her first Oscar nod for “dream as One,” which she cowrote with Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson and Simon franglen.At least Cyrus is getting closer to a nomination: She made the shortlist this time. Last year, she wasn’t even shortlisted for cowriting “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl. As with Grande, Cyrus can take comfort in the knowledge that the snub wasn’t personal. Their films just didn’t land with Oscar voters.
If you thought “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi! was a surefire Oscar nominee for best original song, move to the head of the class. Most were surprised that it made the final list. This is the first nomination for Nicholas Pike, an English film and television music composer who has been active as 1987.
For the first time in three years, no women composers are nominated for best original score. last year, Camille was nominated for Emilia Pérez (along with Clément Ducol). Two years The talented 20-year-old actor, singer and songwriter missed out on two nominations for his work in Sinners. Caton was thought to have a good chance at a nod for best original song for cowriting “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” with Alice Smith and an outside chance of a nod for best supporting actor. Neither came to pass. Caton, who will turn 21 in March, would have been the youngest nominee for best original song as Billie Eilish, who was just six weeks past her 20th birthday in 2022 when she was nominated for cowriting the title song to No Time to Die, which won. Dessner received good and bad news within the space of about 10 minutes. He missed out on a nomination for best original score for his acclaimed work on Train Dreams, but then he turned around and landed a nod for best original song for the title song, which he cowrote with Nick Cave. Incidentally, Cave is the third songwriter from Australia to be nominated for best original song, following John Farrar (for writing “Hopelessly Devoted to You” from Grease) and Peter Allen (for cowriting “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” from Arthur, which won). The Swedish composer is this year’s only individual who is nominated in both music categories – best original score for Sinners and best original song for “I Lied to You,” which he cowrote with Raphael saadiq. This is a personal best for Göransson, who had never previously received more than one Oscar nod in any one year. He was nominated for (and won) best original score for Black Panther, was nominated for best original song for “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and was nominated for (and won) best original score for Oppenheimer. Taylor Swift’s re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), has reclaimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart, dated January 27, 2024. The album returns to No. 1 with 116,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S.during the week ending January 19, according to Luminate. this marks the album’s second non-consecutive week at No. 1.It initially topped the chart in November 2023 following its release on October 27th. The album’s continued success demonstrates the strong fan base and ongoing interest in swift’s re-recording project, aimed at regaining ownership of her master recordings. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) includes five new “From The Vault” tracks - songs written during the original album’s sessions but previously unreleased. these additions have contributed to the album’s sustained popularity. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on a combination of conventional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Further details about the chart and complete rankings can be found on Billboard’s website.Snub: ariana Grande & cynthia Erivo
Snub: Miley Cyrus
surprise: Nicholas Pike
Snub: Women Composers
Snub: Miles Caton
Mixed Emotions: Bryce Dessner
Not a Surprise, but a Big Win: Ludwig Göransson