Geline Salac

Ariana snubbed and Chalamet supreme? Five Oscars takeaways

Film star Ariana Grande and French-US actor Timothee Chalamet. Ariana Grande's Instagram account/Etienne Laurent, AFP

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1769127055621Ariana-Grande-Chalamet.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner"></span></span></span></div><p style="text-align:left">Film star Ariana Grande and French-US actor Timothee Chalamet. <em>Ariana Grande&#x27;s Instagram account/Etienne Laurent, AFP</em></p><div></div><p>&quot;Sinners&quot; <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2026/1/22/-sinners-breaks-all-time-oscars-record-with-16-nominations-2247">set a new Oscars record </a>with 16 nominations on Thursday, but that was not the only surprise from the Academy&#x27;s announcement.</p><p>Here are five takeaways from this year&#x27;s Oscars nominations, ahead of the March 15 gala:</p><div><strong>SNUBS AND SURPRISES</strong></div><p>Every year, the Oscars nominations bring hand-wringing over the names that were not read out.</p><p>This year&#x27;s highest-profile &quot;snub&quot; was Ariana Grande.</p><p>The pop sensation had earned a best supporting nod last year for the first &quot;Wicked&quot; film, but missed out this year despite taking a more prominent role in the Broadway adaptation&#x27;s second chapter.</p><p>Indeed, there was no love at all for <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/11/19/-wicked-for-good-review-a-triumphant-flawed-goodbye-1720">&quot;Wicked: For Good,&quot; </a>which failed to earn any nominations -- despite the first movie landing 10 nods, and winning two Oscars.</p><p>Other notable omissions this year included <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/9/29/movie-review-oscar-buzz-builds-for-paul-thomas-anderson-s-one-battle-after-another-1217">&quot;One Battle After Another&quot; </a>female star Chase Infiniti, and &quot;Hamnet&quot; male lead Paul Mescal.</p><p>Among the surprises were supporting acting nominations for veteran Delroy Lindo (&quot;Sinners&quot;) and Elle Fanning in Norwegian dramedy &quot;Sentimental Value.&quot;</p><div><strong>WARNER SWAN SONG? </strong></div><p>It is a rare feat for a single Hollywood studio to boast the two clear Oscar frontrunners.</p><p>With &quot;Sinners&quot; (16 nominations) and &quot;One Battle After Another&quot; (13), Warner Bros has pulled that off.</p><p>The studio has recently backed original fare from auteur filmmakers -- like Zach Cregger&#x27;s horror hit &quot;Weapons&quot; (one nomination) and Bong Joon-ho&#x27;s &quot;Mickey 17&quot; -- along with more commercial hits like &quot;Superman&quot; and &quot;A Minecraft Movie.&quot;</p><p>Ironically, that success comes in what could be the century-old studio&#x27;s swansong year as an independent distributor.</p><p>Warner Bros is the target of a fierce <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/9/paramount-counters-netflix-with-hostile-bid-for-warner-bros-0849">bidding war</a> between Paramount Skydance and Netflix.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RECORDS TUMBLE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Sixteen nominations for &quot;Sinners&quot; was not the only record broken at Thursday&#x27;s announcement.</p><p>In a sign of the increasingly global outlook of Oscars voters, a record four non-English-language acting performances are nominated this year.</p><p>That includes three Norwegian actors from &quot;Sentimental Value&quot; -- Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas -- and Brazil&#x27;s Wagner Moura, the star of &quot;The Secret Agent.&quot;</p><p>Meanwhile, &quot;Hamnet&quot; director Chloe Zhao became only the second woman to achieve multiple directing nominations, after Jane Campion. Zhao previously won the category with her best picture winner &quot;Nomadland.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>BEST CASTING</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>This year, the Oscars introduced a prize for best casting -- the Academy&#x27;s first new category since the animated film award was created in 2002.</p><p>With no precedent, it was unclear what exactly voters would be looking for -- star power, new discoveries, or a cohesive ensemble.</p><p>In the end, the category mostly mirrored the expected best picture frontrunners, with nominations going to &quot;Hamnet,&quot; &quot;Marty Supreme,&quot; &quot;One Battle after Another,&quot; &quot;The Secret Agent&quot; and &quot;Sinners.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CHALAMET SUPREME</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Timothee Chalamet is only 30, yet his Oscar nomination for &quot;Marty Supreme&quot; is his third for best actor -- after &quot;Call Me By Your Name&quot; in 2018 and last year for playing Bob Dylan in &quot;A Complete Unknown.&quot;</p><p>Arguably the biggest star of his generation, Chalamet also earned a nod for his role as a producer in best picture nominee &quot;Marty Supreme,&quot; the semi-fictional tale of a talented, always-hustling ping-pong player in 1950s New York and Japan.</p><p>Will it be third time lucky for Chalamet, at the Oscars ceremony in March?</p><p>Though up against Leonardo DiCaprio, Chalamet&#x27;s chances are boosted by a strong all-round showing for &quot;Marty Supreme&quot; at Thursday&#x27;s nominations announcement.</p><p>The movie exceeded most pundits&#x27; expectations with nine nods, including best director for Josh Safdie, best cinematography and best production design -- suggesting Oscars voters are paying close attention.</p>

<p>"Sinners" set a new Oscars record with 16 nominations on Thursday, but that was not the only surprise from the Academy's announcement. Here are five takeaways from this year's Oscars nominations. </p>

"Sinners" set a new Oscars record with 16 nominations on Thursday, but that was not the only surprise from the Academy's announcement. Here are five takeaways from this year's Oscars nominations.