Oscars 2026: The major snubs and surprises of Hollywood’s biggest night

If there is one thing we can understand from the Oscars 2026, it is that even the most highly monitored projections can turn upside down. The night has given us a decent number of snubs and surprises.

Sinners and One Battle After Another have swept multiple awards, whereas some of the key players, including The Secret Agent and Marty Supreme, were left empty-handed. There is also a historic moment created when a deadlocked situation took place between two films in the Best Live Action Short Film category.

Keep reading to uncover all the major snubs and surprises of Hollywood's biggest night of the year — the Oscars 2026.

Here are all the major snubs and surprises of the Oscars 2026

A lot of the wins took place as per the predictions for the Oscars 2026. Sinners and One Battle After Another were anticipated to dominate the competition, and they did, with 4 and 6 awards respectively. Amid all these triumphs, some results caused quite a stir.

In the category of Best Picture, some critically acclaimed films made it to the list of the top prospects. But unexpectedly, they ended up unrewarded despite all the rave reviews and hopes. At the same time, some actors continued to receive persistent laurels, including Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) and Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) for Best Actor and Best Actress. In the Best Supporting Actress and Actor categories, we have Amy Madigan (Weapons) and Sean Penn (One Battle After Another).

So this capricious night, it was a mix of wins and snubs (that too, shocking ones!) that made us realize that even if a film is highly rated, it does not mean it can necessarily secure an award at the Oscars.

One of the most popular snubs is the Timothée Chalamet starrer Marty Supreme. The sports comedy drama set the ball rolling effectively at the BAFTAs and Critics Choice awards. However, the film, which was nominated 9 times for the Academy Award, could not fetch one. The Brazilian political thriller, The Secret Agent, also followed a similar fate. It won awards at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and Golden Globes. But this time at the Oscars, it did not win in any of the four categories it was nominated in.

It was a rollercoaster night for certain, as there was a golden moment of a draw between two films in the category of Best Live Action Short Film. The films were The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva. In the entire Oscar history, such sporadic occurrences have taken place about seven times. In fact, in the last 13 years, it did not take place at all, until this time in 2026. The historic moment was joyfully shared by the teams of both films, as we witnessed the landmark event in Oscars 2026.

In the line of snubs, there is also The Perfect Neighbor, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. In that category, Mr. Nobody Against Putin secured the award. Another significant snub includes Train Dreams and Bugonia, even though these films were nominated in four categories.

Ryan Coogler's highly acclaimed horror Sinners was nominated in 16 categories. Apart from Best Actor, the rest of the awards won by the film at the Oscars 2026 include Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography.

In the newly introduced category, the Academy Award for Best Casting made its debut at the Oscars 2026. One Battle After Another swept the award, with Cassandra Kulukundis being awarded in that brand-new category. Apart from Best Casting and Best Supporting Actor, the film took home 6 Oscars out of all the 12 nominations. The winning categories include Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.

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Also read: Oscars 2026: Sinners scores its first victory of the night with Best Original Screenplay

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