On March 16, 2026, Hollywood’s biggest actors, directors, and designers will sit in the audience at the Oscars in hopes to receive recognition for their hard work. Since the Oscars Award Ceremony’s establishment in 1929, the Oscars has been Hollywood’s biggest stage and every year the nominations surprise people in various ways.
This year, best actor, actress, and supporting role categories are dominated by younger actors than usual. There were 11 first-time nominees this year, which is above the historical average that usually hovers around 9. Notably, first-time nominees include 73-year-old Delroy Lindo, who was nominated for his role in “Sinners,” along with Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein,” Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård for “Sentimental Value,” and Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners.” While nominations have most fans excited, some people were left disappointed when Paul Mescal received no nominations for his role as Shakespeare in “Hamnet,” however, his co-star Jessie Buckley is nominated for Best Actress. Chase Infinit receiving no nominations for her breakout role in “One Battle After Another” was another big upset. Fans believed she was a shoo-in due to the tremendous praise she received from media and her co-stars including Leonardo DiCaprio: “She was the fabric of this movie,” he says, “She was the heart and soul.” Despite them both being incredible actors who received tremendous praise for their performances, they went unrecognized by the Academy.
Disappointment is not uncommon with the Oscars this year, or ever. This year, there is a lot of disappointment surrounding “Wicked: For Good.” “Wicked: For Good” receiving no nominations this year was a shock to say the least considering that the first movie received 10 award nominations in 2025 and won 2 for best costume design and best production design. Some fans believe that Wicked “already got its flowers” with the first movie, while others are outraged, especially because co-stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, received no nominations for their performances as Elphaba and Glinda. Avid “Wicked” fan, Kyleen Vanscoy says that although she loved the second movie, she wasn’t surprised when it didn’t get nominated. She says “Ariana Grande has had her moment,” but she does believe that Cynthia Erivo got snubbed since this was a huge breakout role for her into the spotlight. She believes that more people would have been upset if “Wicked: For Good” had been nominated and other movies like “Sinners” missed out on well-deserved awards because of it. Vanscoy is right, there are numerous factors that go into the Academy’s decision, including competition.
Strong competition would be an understatement. The nominations are dominated by movies like “Sentimental Value,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Frankenstein,” which each received 9 nominations. If that didn’t seem like a lot, “One Battle After Another” received 13 and “Sinners” broke the all-time record with a whopping 16 nominations. The animated feature categories include “Elio,” “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” and “Arco.” However, “K-pop Demon Hunters” and “Zootopia 2” seem to be the front runners due to the cultural impact they had, not to mention “Zootopia 2” fronts all the nominations with the biggest worldwide box office hit of over $1 million. Speaking of “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” it’s hit song “Golden” performed by the fictional K-Pop group, Huntrix, made waves this year by being the first K-Pop song nominated for best original song. Other nominations for best original song are “Dear me” by Diane Warren, “Train Dreams” by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner, “I Lied to You” by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson, and “Sweet Dreams of Joy” by Nicholas Pike.
As always, these nominations come with praise and disappointment, but there is no doubt that there will be an abundance of talent on the Oscars stage next month no matter who walks away with the award.
