The 2025 Oscar Nominations Bring Plenty to Celebrate — But Also Some Notable Snubs

The 2025 Oscar nominations are finally here, and there's a lot to be excited about! For one, Karla Sofía Gascón has made history as the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for an Academy Award. Plus, Succession stars Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong are going head-to-head for Best Supporting Actor — how cool is that?!

But of course, with the good comes the bad. There are a few major snubs that definitely deserve a mention, so if you're curious to see which talented stars and standout films got overlooked, keep scrolling for the full list!

When it comes to performance snubs this year, there are quite a few that come to mind. Among the most notable are Angelina Jolie in Maria, Nicole Kidman in Babygirl, Daniel Craig in Queer, Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl, Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths, Margaret Qualley in The Substance, Lily-Rose Depp in Nosferatu, and Denzel Washington in Gladiator II.

And honestly, the list goes on! Each of these actors seemed like a lock for a nomination, but it's been such a strong year for performances that the competition was fierce, and unfortunately, there just weren't enough spots to go around.

But arguably the most surprising acting snub of all? Clarence Maclin, who portrayed a fictionalized version of himself in Sing Sing. Despite his strong performance, he was left out of the Best Supporting Actor race.

On the bright side, he did score an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for his contribution to the film's script — which is a huge win!

As for films themselves, the fan-favorite romantic sports drama Challengers was notably absent from the nomination list this year. Many of us thought it had a solid shot at a Best Original Score nomination, especially given the rave reviews for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' work, which had been a highlight all awards season long.

Then there's Dune: Part Two — the critically acclaimed space epic missed out on several categories where it seemed like a lock, including adapted screenplay, directing, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, and editing. Nevertheless, the film did score a Best Picture nomination, which is no small feat!

It's also hard to believe, but both A Real Pain and Sing Sing missed out on Best Picture nominations — how is that even possible?!

Meanwhile, in the Best Documentary Feature category, the universally loved Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story was snubbed entirely. Despite being an early favorite and winning several awards, it didn't even make the shortlist. It was also named one of the top 5 documentaries of 2024 by the National Board of Review, so this omission is especially surprising.

And in a bit of a surprise twist, beloved directors Edward Berger (Conclave) and Jon M. Chu (Wicked) both missed out on Best Director nominations, despite their films landing multiple other nominations. We don't know about you, but we were pretty convinced Ed had this one in the bag!

What do you think? Are there any other Oscar snubs you're still shaking your head over? Let us know!