The Most Shocking Snubs and Surprises of the 2026 Oscar Nominations: "Wicked" and Paul Mescal Shut Out as Kate Hudson Shines Nigel Smith, Jack SmartJanuary 22, 2026 at 6:20 AM 0 Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures; Agata Grzybowska/Focus Features;Sarah Shatz/Focus Features Ariana Grande WICKED: FOR GOOD; Paul Mescal HAMNET; Kate Hudson SONG SUNG BLUE The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, Jan.
- - The Most Shocking Snubs and Surprises of the 2026 Oscar Nominations: "Wicked" and Paul Mescal Shut Out as Kate Hudson Shines
Nigel Smith, Jack SmartJanuary 22, 2026 at 6:20 AM
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Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures; Agata Grzybowska/Focus Features;Sarah Shatz/Focus Features
Ariana Grande WICKED: FOR GOOD; Paul Mescal HAMNET; Kate Hudson SONG SUNG BLUE -
The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, Jan. 22
There were many surprises and snubs, including Kate Hudson scoring her second nomination for Song Sung Blue and Ariana Grande failing to score her second nod for Wicked: For Good
Conan O'Brien is returning to host the Oscars live on Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Hulu
The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards are out — and this year's list has plenty of snubs and surprises.
While Sinners broke an Oscars record after landing a whopping 16 nominations, Wicked: For Good was left out of the race altogether.
Read on to learn about the shocking Wicked snub and much more.
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Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked For Good.Snub: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo
Wicked: For Good costars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were not included in the 2026 Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress. Both actresses were nominated last year for their performances in Wicked. Grande's snub was especially shocking considering she was nominated for most of the precedent awards this season. The sequel was also completely shut out of the race, despite the first Wicked earning 10 nominations in 2025.
Snub: Paul Mescal
Paul Mescal had been cleaning up nominations all season long for his performance as a grieving William Shakespeare in Hamnet. But when the 2026 Oscar nominations were announced, he was shockingly overlooked. It would have marked the Irish actor's second Oscar nod. He scored his first Best Actor nomination in 2023 for Aftersun.
A24
The Smashing MachineSnub: Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt
Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine was expected to smash into this awards season, but Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's MMA fighting biopic has followed up a disappointing box office performance with a noticeable lack of nominations. Both actors' critically acclaimed performances were nominated at this year's Golden Globe Awards, but neither were recognized by the Academy.
Netflix
George Clooney is Jay KellySnub: George Clooney and Adam Sandler
Noah Baumbach's Hollywood tale Jay Kelly has failed to register with Academy voters. Its presumed contenders, leading actor George Clooney and supporter Adam Sandler, came away empty-handed among The Actor Award nominees, and repeated that defeat with this year's Oscar nominations.
Surprise: Kate Hudson
For her work as half of a real-life Neil Diamond tribute band in Song Sung Blue, Kate Hudson is officially a two-time Oscar nominee after earning her first Best Actress nomination. Hudson scored her first-ever nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category 25 years ago for Almost Famous.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Chase Infiniti in One Battle After AnotherSnub: Chase Infiniti
This awards season's biggest breakout story may be Chase Infiniti, the 25-year-old leading lady of Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. The film dominated the 2026 Oscar nominations, but Infiniti was left out of the Best Actress race after earning nods at The Actor Awards and Golden Globes.
Warner Bros.
Delroy Lindo in SinnersSurprise: Delroy Lindo
Sinners star Delroy Lindo received his first Oscar nomination on Thursday morning as his movie made history. The actor's inclusion in the Best Supporting Actor race was a welcome surprise, as Hamnet's Paul Mescal was favored to secure a nomination in that category over Lindo, who was excluded from the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards.
Conan O'Brien is returning to host the Oscars live on Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Hulu. (Starting in 2029, the award show will air on YouTube.)
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: January 22, 2026 at 09:45AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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