The Queue

2026 Oscars: The biggest snubs and surprises

Oscar nominations are here — see the biggest surprises and snubs, plus must watch titles.

"One Battle After Another," "Sinners," and "Hamnet" are all in the running for potential Oscar nominations."

January 23, 2026

4 minutes to read

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Happy Oscar nominations weekend, everyone! (Don’t tell me that’s not a real thing people celebrate, I’m not listening.)

I was pretty pleased with the 2026 nominations: My pick for the best movie of 2025, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” got 13 nominations, and another film in my top five, “Sinners,” set an Oscars record with 16 nods.

But as usual, the Academy accompanied its rational, deserving votes with some truly shocking decisions. Here’s a rundown of what happened.

2026 Oscars: The biggest winners, losers, surprises, and snubs

Winners

“Sinners”: I’ll admit, I was slightly worried about the Oscar prospects for “Sinners.” Ryan Coogler’s genre-spanning vampire epic took home the lesser “Box Office Achievement” award at the Golden Globes, and its only other win, for Ludwig Göransson’s musical score, was rudely given during a commercial break. Instead of fizzling out, “Sinners” made history.

“The Secret Agent:” If Academy voters learned one thing last year, it’s that Brazilians go HARD when supporting their stars. Anyone watching the nomination livestream on YouTube Thursday morning was treated to a torrent of Brazilian flags and all-caps messages of support for Wagner Moura and this film, which landed 4 nominations, including Best Picture.

Warner Bros. Pictures: Everyone knew that WBP’s “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” would be among the most-heralded movies, but no one expected a record-breaking day for the latter. A message to Netflix and Paramount: To quote Marlo Stanfield, the price of WB just went up.

Losers

Amazon and Paramount: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky. “That’s OK, I’m taking my ball and going home.” – Amazon and Paramount, apparently. Aside from a few half-hearted campaigns that didn’t pan out (Tessa Thompson in “Hedda,” “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” in all of the technical categories), the two studios were content to sit this awards season out.

“Wicked: For Good”: What a fall from grace for this musical Wizard of Oz sidequest, which went from 10 nominations for “Part One” last year to zero nominations for the inferior second half of the story.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The writing was on the wall for “The Smashing Machine,” but it still must’ve been disappointing for Johnson that his first foray into serious acting was only recognized for its makeup and hair.

Surprises

“F1” in Best Picture: Don’t get me wrong: Brad Pitt’s Formula One racing drama was one of the most fun experiences I had in a movie theater last year. But Best Picture? “F1” was more like a top 20-25 movie of 2025, not a top 10.

Kate Hudson: Unlike “F1,” I have nothing good to say about “Song Sung Blue,” a biopic about a husband and wife from Milwaukee who form a Neil Diamond tribute band. Hudson is fine, but there were a dozen other actresses more deserving. As for the rest of the movie: So bad! So bad! So bad!

Delroy Lindo: Lindo didn’t mince words after being snubbed for “Da 5 Bloods” at the 2021 Oscars. Five years later, voters did him a solid by nominating his unshowy but note-perfect performance in “Sinners.”

Snubs

Chase Infiniti: One of several deserving actresses displaced by Kate Hudson, newcomer Chase Infiniti was reportedly submitted in Best Actress instead of Supporting Actress for “One Battle After Another” in order to reduce competition for her co-stars Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall. Big mistake.

“No Other Choice”: Korean director Park Chan-wook made his most accessible movie to date, and even put a recognizable star from “Squid Game” (Lee Byung-hun) in the lead role. The field of international films competing at the Oscars is fierce this year, but surely “No Other Choice” should’ve displaced “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

“Sorry, Baby” and Eva Victor: One of the funniest moments at the Golden Globes was when Julia Roberts, holding the Best Picture envelope open in her hand, put the ceremony on hold to ramble about how much she loved the Ipswich-filmed drama “Sorry, Baby” and its star, Eva Victor. Same here, Julia!

Play or Skip: Oscars edition

Add these Best Picture Oscar nominees to your watchlist:

“Bugonia”: Emma Stone’s high-powered CEO is kidnapped by a conspiracy theorist (Jesse Plemons) who is 100% convinced she is an alien draining his life force. Stone may (or may not) be from another planet, but the impact her company has had on his small town and the people who inhabit it can only be described as ruinous. (Peacock)

“Frankenstein”: Guillermo del Toro has always loved monsters, so it’s no wonder that Mary Shelley’s creation (Jacob Elordi) is given equal screen time (and greater sympathy) than its maker, Victor (Oscar Isaac). (Netflix)

“Train Dreams”: Joel Edgerton plays a laborer in the early 1900s who spends long stretches away from his family working as a logger and helping build a railroad through the Pacific Northwest. Set a century before our present day, this devastating story of an American worker grappling with a rapidly changing world, trying to make a good life for his wife and daughter, is as evergreen as the trees that fill the landscape. (Netflix)

… but go ahead and skip this one:

“Jurassic World Rebirth”: It’s always a good bet that some bloated blockbuster will sneak into the Oscar nominations through sheer technical wizardry. This year, that honor goes to Gareth Edwards’ eminently forgettable seventh(!) entry in the “Jurassic Park” franchise. (Peacock)

Be sure to read my guide on how to watch or stream all of the nominated movies.

End Credits

That’s a wrap on this edition of The Queue. If you’re a fan, please consider recommending this newsletter to your friends.

Until next time, good stream hunting, everyone!

— Kevin

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2026 Oscars: The biggest snubs and surprises

Oscar nominations are here — see the biggest surprises and snubs, plus must watch titles.

Winners

Losers

Surprises