Each year, the Academy Awards recognize the best films of the year — at least, that’s what’s supposed to happen.
However, some quality films fail to receive any nominations, even if they’ve been generating buzz all year, star academy favorites, or tell stories the academy typically loves.
This year, for example, the tennis romantic drama “Challengers” — a critical and box-office hit — was snubbed, even though fans assumed, at the very least, it would be recognized in best original score or best original song.
Ahead of the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, here are some movies you’d be surprised to learn weren’t nominated for a single Oscar.
“Zodiac” (2007)
“Zodiac,” directed by David Fincher, is about the hunt for the Zodiac Killer in ’70s San Francisco.
The academy typically loves to reward the true-crime genre (see: “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Monster,” and “Goodfellas”), but it completely overlooked this film, which stars Oscar favorites Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, and was highly regarded by critics upon its release.
If anything, Fincher, his cinematographer Harris Savides, and his production designer Donald Burt deserved nominations, if not wins.
“Much Ado About Nothing” (1993)
Kenneth Branagh wrote, directed, and starred in this Shakespeare adaptation in 1993 — Branagh had previously been nominated for his direction and acting for a different Shakespeare adaptation, “Henry V.”
However, the academy ignored this film, even though Branagh, and his costars Emma Thompson and Denzel Washington — who had each won an acting Oscar by 1993 — easily could’ve been nominated.
“Widows” (2018)
“Widows” is a heist thriller starring major talents including Viola Davis — who’d won the best supporting actress Oscar the year before for “Fences” — Cynthia Erivo, Elizabeth Debicki, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, and others.
While the film didn’t receive Oscars attention, it was highly critically acclaimed. It was atop multiple top-10 lists, and Davis was nominated for a BAFTA.
“The Good Dinosaur” (2015)
It’s impossible to deny the academy loves Pixar. Since the best animated feature category was introduced in 2001, Pixar has released 25 films, and all but six received nominations (with 11 wins).
The first non-sequel Pixar film to not receive a nomination was “The Good Dinosaur” which, even if it’s not the most loved Pixar movie, still felt like a shocking snub.
“Hustlers” (2019)
If you were on the internet in 2019, you probably remember that everyone was expecting to wake up on Oscar nomination morning to find out that Jennifer Lopez had received her first nod.
Instead, Lopez, who played a cutthroat stripper Ramona in “Hustlers” and also produced the box-office smash, had to settle for Golden Globe, Indie Spirit, and SAG Award nominations.
You can even see how upset she was about the snub in her documentary “Jennifer Lopez: Halftime.”
“Eyes Wide Shut” (1999)
In 2022, IndieWire released a list of the 100 best films of the 1990s, and “Eyes Wide Shut” took the No. 1 spot.
However, the final film directed by iconic director Stanley Kubrick received zero Oscar nominations. As well as being considered one of cinema’s greats, Kubrick had previously been nominated four times without a win — this would’ve been the academy’s last chance to award him.
That’s not even mentioning stars Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Sydney Pollack, or the cinematography by Larry Smith.
“Shutter Island” (2010)
Martin Scorsese has directed 26 films, and 18 have been nominated for at least one Oscar.
That leaves eight that have been snubbed by the academy, including 2010’s “Shutter Island,” which at the very least could’ve received an adapted screenplay nom for Laeta Kalogridis, best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, or best editing for Thelma Schoonmaker.
“Boy Erased” (2018)
“Boy Erased” received multiple Golden Globes nominations and one Critics’ Choice nomination for star Nicole Kidman.
The film is based on the 2016 memoir by Garrard Conley, which details his experiences at a conversion therapy camp as a young adult.
This type of heartbreaking true story is typically Oscars catnip, but the academy didn’t go for it this year.
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019)
The BFI Sight & Sound poll is one of the most respected movie rankings in the entertainment industry, with over 1,600 professionals in the film industry voting on their top 10 films.
An updated version comes out every 10 years, with the most recent list being published in 2022.
There are not many films from the 21st century, and even fewer from the 2010s — just 12 of 100. And the highest-placing film from last decade was the 2019 French film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”
However, this film didn’t even get a best international feature film nomination at the Oscars. France chose a different film entirely to submit as its country’s representative, “Les Misérables.”
“Battle of the Sexes” (2017)
“Battle of the Sexes” is another “based on a true story” film that the academy didn’t appreciate, even though both Emma Stone and Steve Carell have earned nominations (and in Stone’s case, two wins) before.
The academy loves to acknowledge a physical transformation — see: Charlize Theron, Rami Malek, and Gary Oldman — so it was a surprise to some that Stone (playing Billie Jean King) and Carell (playing Bobby Riggs) were blanked.
At the very least, a hair and makeup nomination would’ve been deserved.
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