Moviegoers from all around the world consider this the year’s most important night for cinema, and the excitement comes from seeing all the highly regarded films and your personal favorites receive the praise and recognition they deserve from the prestigious Academy.
Like with every year, there’s always the unfortunate few that miss out on their well-deserved nominations for the Academy Awards, the ones we were all so sure were going to make it in there but left us disappointed and shocked at the absence of their names in the ballots.
Read below for the top 5 most shocking snubs from the 2024 Oscars nominations:
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5. Charles Melton Snubbed for May December
May December received one single nomination at the Oscars this year for Best Original Screenplay, and nothing else was spared.
The movie attracted a lot of attention upon its release in theaters and on Netflix for its complex characters and the star-studded combination of Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in the lead roles.
However, to most's surprise, the biggest standout of the movie was the supporting performance by young actor Charles Melton, who was previously known for playing Reggie on the teen drama gone south, Riverdale.
The talent with which Melton portrayed the subtlety of his character's experiences in May December won the hearts of audiences everywhere, and he was immediately included in the heated predictions for the Oscars. Many would agree that the movie is worth watching purely for his performance.
In recent weeks, his name has been included less and less until it has disappeared completely in the shadow of Poor Things and American Fiction.
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4. Greta Lee Snubbed for Past Lives
Past Lives is regarded by many as one of the best films of 2023. It is a refreshing romance by writer-director Celine Song, exploring the bittersweet evolution of a love between childhood sweethearts who have grown apart as the years went by.
Thankfully, the movie itself was included in the nominees for Best Original Screenplay and the most prestigious category, Best Picture, but lead actress Greta Lee was not given the recognition she deserved for carrying the emotional core of Past Lives throughout its runtime.
The movie included fantastic performances overall, also from supporting actors John Magaro (The Big Short, Showing Up) and Teo Yoo (Money Game, Love to Hate You), but none of the 3 actors seemingly had any chances against the strong competition of performers this year.
3. Zac Efron Snubbed for The Iron Claw
The Iron Claw surprised everyone with how good a movie it turned out to be. The A24 production exceeded audiences' expectations and showcased a side of A-list actor Zac Efron (Baywatch, The Greatest Showman, 17 Again) that we had never seen before in his career.
It was a debate whether such a milestone of a performance was going to be acknowledged by The Academy in any regard, but unfortunately, Zac Efron's best performance to date will not be awarded at the Oscars, though that doesn't and shouldn't make it any less memorable.
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2. Margot Robbie & Greta Gerwig Snubbed for Barbie
Barbie was obviously going to make it big at the Oscars this year. It has been in the books ever since the beginning of the Barbenheimer phenomenon.
Read the full list of nominations to see how many and which categories Barbie was included in. Some of them include Best Supporting Actor, Best Production Design, and Best Original Song.
The unexpected plot twist of the announcement was Barbie not being included in the two biggest categories, Best Director and Best Actress for Great Gerwig and Margot Robbie, respectively—the two women that actually made the movie happen and had the biggest influence on why the giant blockbuster was as impactful as it was.
1. Saltburn
There is no doubt that Saltburn was the most polarizing movie of 2023. You either love it or you hate it, there is no in-between. The reason for the divide in the crowd boils down to the script and the controversial direction the storyline takes you in.
With that being said, there are other aspects of Saltburn that undeniably made an impression on audiences, namely the cast's performances: Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) in the lead role of the twisted Oliver Quick, Jacob Elordi (Euphoria), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and Alison Oliver (Conversations with Friends).
Not only that, but writer-director Emerald Fennell's directing, picturesque cinematography, and gorgeous vision for the production design were the strongest parts of Saltburn and some of the strongest of the year.
Fennell won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2021 for her previous movie Promising Young Woman, so it wasn't too big of a stretch to predict her work getting recognized again, but no. Saltburn was left unnoticed by The Academy.
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