2024 Oscar Nominees: The Biggest Snubs and Surprises

Greta Gerwig Margot Robbie
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)

The Oscars will be presented live Sunday, March 10 on ABC.

After an unprecedented year in movies, it's no surprise that this year's Academy Awards nominations feature some shockers and heartbreaking misses.

On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its nominations for the 2024 Oscars with the help of Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid. As expected at the end of an exciting award season, some of the most notable films of 2023 received recognition, including Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon, with performances from Golden Globes winners like Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti and Lily Gladstone receiving nods.

Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the Oscars once again, marking the fourth time he's taken on the gig. Meanwhile, Molly McNearney -- Kimmel's wife, who serves as the Jimmy Kimmel Live co-head writer -- will executive produce the telecast. Kimmel previously hosted the ceremony in 2017, 2018 and 2023. 

As always, there were just as many surprise nominees and even more surprising omissions. Below, ET runs down the biggest surprises and snubs from the 96th annual Academy Award nominations.


SNUB: The Color Purple loses out on a Best Picture nomination, only scoring a nod for Danielle Brooks in Best Supporting Actress. The Blitz Bazawule-directed reimagining of the classic story adapted from the 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker seemed like a shoo-in for a Best Picture nod --  it's a splashy, star-studded musical based on a classic cultural property. Despite strong reviews and a solid box office performance, the film missed out on most of award season. It only landed one Oscar acting nomination, leaving the picture and most of its stars, including Fantasia Barrino and Taraji P. Henson, in the cold.

SNUB: Barbie's Margot Robbie is shut out of acting nominations. Despite being the Barbie in Barbie, Robbie was absent from the Best Actress category. However, the star wasn't completely shut out of the awards -- since Barbie earned a nomination for Best Picture, that means co-producer Robbie is still up for an Oscar, despite not scoring an acting nod.

Warner Bros. Studios

SURPRISE: American Ferrera scores a Supporting Actress nod for her inspiring Barbie performance. Despite being the emotional center of the film and her character making a speech that instantly went viral for its reliability, the Ugly Betty star was widely overlooked when it came to nominations this awards season. Clearly, the Academy wasn't going to stand for that. Ferrera earned her first Oscar nomination for her brilliant performance as a working mother trying to find purpose and a connection with her daughter. 

SNUB: Greta Gerwig is overlooked for Best Director. Four years after movie lovers cried foul at Gerwig being overlooked for directing Little Women, she is snubbed again, this time for Barbie. Considering how the film became the No. 1 movie of the year at the box office, grossing more than $1.4 billion in box office, and earned critical acclaim, it's more than a surprise to see Gerwig being shut out of the directing category again. She is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with her husband and co-writer, Noah Baumbach, but that's a whole other can of worms.

SURPRISE: Colman Domingo scores his first Oscar nomination for Rustin. While Domingo has been a regular throughout this year's award season -- and a well-dressed one at that -- the Rustin actor was a pleasant surprise in the Oscar's Lead Actor category.

SNUB: Critical acclaim didn't lead to a nomination for Ava DuVernay's Origin. While the director has been running a guerrilla campaign to gain attention for her adaption of Isabel Wilkerson's bestseller Caste, with big names like Regina King and Angelina Jolie casting their lot with the Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor-led masterpiece, the drama didn't earn a nod this year. Fans were hoping for a surprise similar to Andrea Riseborough's surprise Best Actress nomination last year, but no such luck.

SURPRISE: American Fiction becomes a reality and finds a place in several nominations, including Best Picture. While the Cord Jefferson-directed dramedy has received rave reviews and scored wins in film festivals around the world, it's only managed to secure a win for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 29th Critics' Choice Awards when it comes to the big award ceremonies. But it has scored five nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, going against the heavy hitters of this year's awards season.

SNUB: Leonardo DiCaprio is shut out of acting nominations. Despite an acclaimed performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, the Oscar winner couldn't secure a nomination for his role at this year's ceremony. 

Apple TV

SNUB: Greta Lee gets overlooked for her acclaimed Past Lives performance. Despite the film being nominated for Best Picture, this wasn't a case of a nominated movie also picking up nods for their actors. 

SURPRISE: Sterling K. Brown scores his first Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor in American FictionRandall would be proud. Brown's performance as the cosmetic surgeon dealing with his wife leaving him after learning he's been cheating on her and sleeping with men has led to critical acclaim and secured the This Is Us actor his first-ever Academy Award nod. His co-star, Jeffrey Wright, also earned a nomination for Lead Actor.

SURPRISE: The Zone of Interest becomes the first British film in 24 years to score an International Feature Film nomination. Directed by Jonathan Glazer and shot in German, the film follows the domestic lives of Helga and Rudolph Hoss just outside the walls of Auschwitz, where he was camp commander. The film earned five nominations total, including Best Picture, Directing, and Adapted Screenplay.

SNUB: Despite a widely-praised performance, Charles Melton is shut out of the Supporting Actor race. The May December star has been a popular figure this awards season for his role in Todd Haynes’s film, but didn't manage to take the fanfare to the final race.

SNUB: Despite its many nominations and think pieces, Saltburn was completely shut out of the Oscars nomination. Director Emerald Fennell's class-conscious dark comedy was left scorched by the Academy this year.

SURPRISE: Although Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt's viral Ken track made the list, Dua Lipa's catchy Barbie disco hit, "Dance the Night," didn't make it into the Best Original Song category. As expected, Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell's "What Was I Made For" also made the list.


The 2024 Oscars will be presented live at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. PT on ABC. Until then, keep checking ETonline.com for complete Oscars coverage.

RELATED CONTENT: