The biggest Oscar nomination snubs of 2025

Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Tilda Swinton and Daniel Craig were just some of the big names and winners of precursor awards who were shut out from this year’s Academy Awards as the 2025 Oscar nominations were announced.

When the list of nominees came out Thursday morning, there was also a bit of history made: Karla Sofía Gascón, the star of “Emilia Pérez,” became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for an Oscar.

Best actress

Kidman, whose performance in “Babygirl” as a corporate executive who has an affair with a much younger underling won her the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival, was not nominated.

Also left out: Angelina Jolie, playing opera star Maria Callas in “Maria”; Amy Adams, as a young mother who undergoes a terrifying transformation in “Nightbitch”; Kate Winslet, playing war photographer Lee Miller in “Lee”; Saoirse Ronan as a recovering alcoholic in “The Outrun”; Tilda Swinton as a woman seeking to end her life in “The Room Next Door”; Marianne Jean-Baptiste as a wife and mother lashing out at the indignities of the world in “Hard Truths”; and Pamela Anderson as a Las Vegas dancer in “The Last Showgirl.”

Gascón, nominated for her performance as a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman, was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe. She also shared the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival with her “Emilia Pérez” costars, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.

Best supporting actress

Saldaña, a Golden Globe winner, was nominated for best supporting actress, but Gomez was not. The category was also missing some other major contenders, including Margaret Qualley in “The Substance”; Elle Fanning in “A Complete Unknown”; Jamie Lee Curtis in “The Last Showgirl”; and Danielle Deadwyler in “The Piano Lesson.”

Best actor

The list of best actor nominees closely mirrors the Screen Actors Guild lineup, except Daniel Craig’s role as a gay man pursuing a younger man in “Queer” did not make the Oscar nominations list. In its place was Sebastian Stan’s performance as a young Donald Trump in “The Apprentice.”

Also missing among actors: Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II,” and Hugh Grant in “Heretic.”

Best supporting actor

Denzel Washington, playing a slave owner in “Gladiator II,” did not make the cut among supporting actor nominees, nor did Stanley Tucci in “Conclave,” Peter Sarsgaard in “September 5,” or SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey, who played Fiyero in “Wicked.”

Clarence Maclin, who played a version of himself — an incarcerated man who joins a prison theater group — in “Sing Sing,” was not nominated for his performance, though he did share a nomination for best original screenplay.

Best director

“Wicked” collected 10 nominations overall, but one who was missing was its director, Jon M. Chu.

But he was in good company: Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”), Edward Berger (“Conclave”), and Ridley Scott (“Gladiator II”) weren’t nominated in this category either.

Below the line

Other notable nominees this year include Elton John, a two-time Oscar-winner for best song, received another nod for “Never Too Late,” from the documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late.” “Nosferatu” scared up four nominations, for costumes, production design, cinematography, and hair/makeup.

Some notable omissions: “Dune: Part Two” was missing from the costume, hair/makeup and editing categories. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ “Challengers” score, which won a Golden Globe, was not nominated.  And missing altogether: the dystopian political drama “Civil War,” and “Kneecap,” the somewhat-truthful origin story of the Irish rap group,

Overall, “Emilia Pérez” leads the Oscar race with 13 nominations. “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” each have 10.

The Academy Awards will be presented on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.