Oscars 2026 Winners: 5 Biggest Snubs & Surprises

Another award season has finally been vanquished. The 98th Academy Awards are in the history books and this ceremony, all things considered, went off pretty well. There weren't any exceedingly historic wins, like the sweeping "Parasite" victories at the 92nd Academy Awards, nor memorable trainwrecks. However, past ceremonies anchored by the 10 worst Oscar hosts in history reflect how badly this whole enterprise can go off the rails. By comparison, the 98th Academy Awards were stable, featuring plenty of remarkable movies ("One Battle After Another," "Sinners," and "Hamnet," chiefly) getting their roses.

The most memorable moments of the night belong to the most shocking snubs and surprise wins of the night. These are the bits that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. They're also bound to inspire endless discussion for years to come, as people talk about the historic moments or ghastly oversights that belong to the 98th Academy Awards. Some of these surprises reflect how underdogs can still triumph at the Oscars. Others depict the continued exclusion of performers who were crucial to 2025's best movies.

Whatever these five biggest snubs and surprises at the 98th Academy Awards represent, they're all bound together by the reality that they were the very definition of unexpected. It can be easy to feel like these award shows are stale and aching predictable. These moments injected some chaos and uncertainty into a lengthy night of television.

For weeks, it seemed like the Academy Award for best documentary feature film was all sewn up in favor of "The Perfect Neighbor." This production debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival 14 months before the 98th Academy Awards and sustained an unstoppable streak of buzz since. Given that this documentary also had the backing of distributor Netflix, and its mighty costly award season campaigning, there was no reason for anyone to think "Perfect Neighbor" wouldn't go home with an Oscar. Surprisingly, that didn't happen.

Instead, another 2025 Sundance Film Festival title, "Mr. Nobody Against Putin," took home the Oscar. A significantly smaller motion picture (it didn't even have U.S. distribution until just 14 days before the 98th Oscar nominees were announced), this feature told the tragically relevant story of a school teacher taking small but notable steps towards crusading against Putin's fascist regime. Nobody expected a title hailing from indie distributor Kino Lorber to triumph here, but the stirring speeches from the "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" team made it a victory to remember.

The film's central subject, co-director, and cinematographer, Russian native Pavel Talankin, getting a chance to speak to countless viewers was a towering moment. He had been given a far bigger platform to spread his urgent message than he could've ever hoped for. "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" winning here was, to quote Palpatine, "a surprise to be sure, but a pleasant one!"

For decades, Delroy Lindo has been a reliable character actor who can make any character memorable. Whether it's "Crooklyn," "Get Shorty," or his masterful lead turn in "Da 5 Bloods," Lindo has always demonstrated staggering skill and believability. Even in a silly movie like "The Core," he registers as the only tangibly human on-screen, giving his all to something so disposable. "Sinners," Ryan Coogler's most ambitious movie yet, offered Lindo the unforgettable showcase for his talents that he's long deserved. 

Playing boozy harmonica player Delta Slim, Lindo scored not only the film's funniest moments, but also its most emotionally aching sequences. Slim recounting the story of another musician getting lynched, for instance, shatters your heart just based on his facial expressions and perfect line deliveries. His kindness towards young musician Sammie Moore (Miles Caton), meanwhile, is endearing in Lindo's hands. This is the kind of performance Oscar wins are made of. Once he scored a surprise Oscar nomination, it seemed like the dominos were falling into place for him to finally take home the statue.

Instead, Sean Penn won his third Oscar for playing Col. Lockjaw in "One Battle After Another." Penn's work here was strong, but it was nowhere near as good as Lindo in "Sinners." To boot, Penn didn't show up to collect his award. Why not give it to a less cantankerous actor, long overdue for award season glory? Thankfully, performances like Lindo in "Sinners" are so legendary they don't need awards recognition. It would have been nice, though.

Mark Wahlberg isn't just famous for turning down a "Star Trek" role for a hilarious reason. He was also the last presenter to navigate a tied winner at the Oscars. Back in 2013 at the 85th Academy Awards, Mark Wahlberg had to clarify to the audience that, "no BS, we have a tie," in the best sound editing category. It's understandable he'd have to be specific, given that he was presenting the category with a CG teddy bear who was making jokes about Judaism seconds earlier. "Skyfall" and "Zero Dark Thirty" tying in that category was the last such Oscar moment until the 98th Academy Awards rolled around.

When Kumail Nanjiani, who got ripped for "Eternals," (a reality Conan O'Brien referenced when introducing him), opened up the envelope for the best live-action short category, he divulged that, for only the seventh time in Oscars history, there was a tie. "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" were both the winners. Surprises always happen during an Oscars ceremony, but this was the kind of twist nobody could have seen coming. 

Playing things by ear, Nanjiani called the victors one at a time so that the crews behind each short could have their moment in the spotlight. It was a remarkable turn of events, and it reaffirmed the kind of unpredictability that can only happen on live television.

The Cannes Film Festival has taken off in the last decade as a launchpad for pieces of global cinema people need to see. 2025 really cemented that reputation, given how many of the year's best reviewed films debuted at it. One such title was "Sentimental Value," the latest Joachim Trier directorial effort that immediately scored raves after its premiere. Given that "Value" was the only one of this year's five best international feature nominees to also score a best director Oscar nomination, perhaps it was inevitable that this buzzy motion picture would win in the best international feature space.

However, another Cannes 2025 darling, "The Secret Agent," sure seemed like it had a strong shot at winning in this category. The latest masterpiece from "Bacurau" and "Neighboring Sounds" filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho was a remarkable achievement. It balanced richly human characters with compelling thrills, transfixing imagery, and a non-linear plot. After winning so many other awards that were tantamount to best international feature during the 2025-2026 awards season (including at the Golden Globes), "The Secret Agent" seemed to have a clear path towards Oscar glory.

Alas, it was not meant to be. "Sentimental Value" instead won, an understandable victory given the film's quality and Trier's immensely impressive reputation. Still, "The Secret Agent" was something incredibly special. Plus, it would have been great to see the Brazilian film industry score its second consecutive best international feature win.

One of the five biggest snubs and surprises of the 2026 Oscar nominations is now even more egregious. Paul Thomas Anderson's latest masterpiece is ultimately the story of Willa Ferguson (Chase Infiniti), a teenager thrust into a world she didn't build nor ask for. The shortcomings of her parents and of American society are always breathing down her neck. "Battle" chronicles Willa navigating what kind of person she will become in the middle of all this. That journey is handled beautifully by Infiniti, who is endlessly riveting in her first feature film role.

Even in the title's third act, where Willa is largely communicating through facial expressions and body language, Infiniti vividly communicates her character's inner world. Easily one of the 10 best performances of 2025, Infiniti's work in "One Battle After Another" is the beating heart of this movie. That makes it puzzling how "Battle" could score 13 Oscar nominations, yet none of them would go towards the film's lead character. The reality is now extra confusing, as "One Battle After Another" is the 98th best picture Oscar winner.

Academy voters clearly loved "One Battle After Another," but not enough to nominate the motion picture's anchor for best actress? The historic dearth of Black women in this category only accentuates the snub's egregiousness. We should never forget the performance that drove "One Battle After Another's" artistic achievements — even if the Oscars did.