Director James Cameron has been left of the nominees for Best Director list for his work on Avatar: The Way of Water. Photo / AP
Director James Cameron has been left of the nominees for Best Director list for his work on Avatar: The Way of Water. Photo / AP
The Oscars annual nominations are considered a long list of the world’s best actors and directors, but some of big names from commercially successful films haven’t made the cut this year.
Nominations for the 95th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on March 12 in Los Angeles, are far-reaching, selecting from blockbusters, streaming service offerings and traditional film genres.
In spite of this, the freshly announced list has revealed what many will argue have been award-winning performances, directors and films that didn’t make the cut.
Here are this year’s most surprising Oscars snubs.
His film is nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song and Best Sound but as the star of Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise hasn’t done it for the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
While the second instalment of the aviation action drama was the second highest-grossing film in 2022, its commercial success didn’t translate to what would have been the star’s third nomination for best actor.
Taylor Swift
Voting teams for the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards liked what they heard in Swift’s track, Carolina, for Where the Crawdads Sing. But it clearly wasn’t music to the ears of the AMPAS set who instead nominated the likes of This Is A Life from Everything Everywhere All at Once and Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick.
Viola Davis
Previous years have seen much success for Davis: she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2017 for Fences, and has been nominated for her memorable roles in The Help, Doubt and2021′s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. But this year her and her film, The Woman King, have been totally snubbed by the academy.
Olivia Colman is best known for her work in Peep Show, Fleabag, The Favourite and Queen Elizabeth in The Crown. Photo / Getty Images
A firm favourite on the awards circuit in recent years, it seems Colman’s portrayal of Hilary Small in Empire of Light has failed to find favour with Oscars critics. Colman won an Oscar for The Favourite in 2019.
Baz Luhrmann
Never mind that his film Elvis grossed US$287.3 million (NZ$442 million) last year and has received eight other Oscars nominations, the folks at AMPAS have taken a hard pass on the Aussie director himself. The only time he’s piqued enough of their interest to garner a Best Director nomination was in 2002 for Moulin Rouge!
James Cameron
Another director who’s feeling the sting of an Oscars snub, Cameron’s work on Avatar: The Way of Water wasn’t up to scratch, apparently. However, the film, which was the highest-grossing movie of 2022, did receive nominations for Best Picture, Best Production Design and Best Sound.
Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie hasn't made the cut for a Best Actress nomination for her role in Babylon. Photo / Getty Images
Another Australian star given the cold shoulder this year, Robbie’s role in the decadent 1920s Hollywood film Babylon won’t see her joining Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Andrea Riseborough, Michelle Williams and Michelle Yeoh as this year’s Best Actress nominees.
Will Smith
While you’d have to really strain your ears to hear any disappointed sighs over a Best Actor snub for Smith, his role in Emancipation technically could have seen him return to the site of his infamous assault on Chris Rock at last year’s awards ceremony - which was followed by his Best Actor win for King Richard. Alas, it appears the AMPAS team are not taking any risks on Smith this year.
In other highly coveted awards, Brendan Fraser, for his role in The Whale, will compete with Elvis star Austin Butler for Best Actor, and the Best Director trophy pits Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans up against Todd Field for his psychological drama, Tár.
For a full list of this year’s nominees, click here.
