Unusually arriving before the BAFTA nominations (we’ll see how those shake out next week), the nominations for the pinnacle prize of Awards Season have finally been announced.

In what has been a fairly steady and predictable season so far, there aren’t too many major snubs or surprises that haven’t been alluded to in the precursors; for the majority of the big categories, it was simply a case of seeing who would squeak into the fifth slot. That isn’t to say there weren’t a few gasp (or laugh) -worthy announcements on Oscars’ morning, but few outrages that weren’t expected. There is a nice balance of bigger box-office draws with smaller, quieter films, although some of the year’s best indies have been cruelly overlooked across awards season.

The biggest story of the day is Sinners’ phenomenal 16 nominations making it the most-nominated film in Oscars’ history. A spectacular feat although, whilst each of its individual nominations is certainly earned and it is sure to be a classic, time will tell if it will be as revered as the previous record-holders. Unfortunately for them (and, somewhat unusually for being so far and away with the nominations), it is unlikely to translate that into many wins on the night with One Battle After Another looming only a few nominations behind.

Let’s take a closer look at the nominees…

Best Picture

Bugonia                        Frankenstein

F1                                   Hamnet

Marty Supreme            One Battle After Another

The Secret Agent              Sentimental Value

Sinners                          Train Dreams

Now, one of these is not like the other and likely caused the biggest reactions during the announcements: F1. A real surprise entry into the Best Picture category (I hesitate to say race as F1 surely stands no chance of winning), F1 was middling popcorn fun that whilst technically impressive (it certainly deserved the nominations it received in those categories), did not have the story or characters to elevate it beyond a fairly entertaining couple of hours at the cinema and great advertisement for the sport. It is laps behind its fellow nominees and is frankly a bizarre inclusion at the expense of a slot that could have gone to a more deserving film.

Aside from that, the list is mostly as expected; there are the unstoppable likes of big hitters like Sinners and One Battle After Another and Hamnet, and the likes of Marty Supreme who have peaked at the right time. The Academy’s love for auteurs Lanthimos and Del Toro get Bugonia and Frankenstein in there (the former, not a traditional Best Picture film and the latter, personally, not in my Best Picture list). Netflix takes two out of ten for the streamers (it is criminal Frankenstein and especially Train Dreams did not get wide cinematic releases, although their nominations will hopefully mean screenings might appear now), but 80% are cinematic releases. It’s also great to see two international films make the cut; Sentimental Value was beautifully rendered and I’m excited to see The Secret Agent when it is finally released where I am.

Overall, a great list with plenty of variety and name value for the general public. OBAA seems to have this season wrapped up but with the Oscars not until mid-March it remains to be seen if front-runner fatigue sets in and the Oscars switches it up as they sometimes do (Sinners seems positioned as next in line to the throne).

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

Ryan Coogler – Sinners

Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme

Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

Chloé Zhao – Hamnet

This list is pretty much as expected – PTA, Coogler and Zhao were all locks and the momentum for Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value gathered pace at just the right time. There was a slight threat from some of the other films that the Academy seems to have embraced with open arms, but ultimately this is a great list. It’s nice, again, to see international films breaking into the big categories with Sentimental Value. Sad to see that Zhao is the only woman included and she and Coogler add to the depressingly small tally of nominees who are not white men. Ultimately, this seems to be PTA’s award to lose, he has both the film and the narrative (a modern master without a shiny gold statue on his desk), and seems pretty undeniable at this point. For One Battle After Another, it would be well deserved.

Best Actress

Jessie Buckley – Hamnet

Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue

Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value

Emma Stone – Bugonia

At this point, they might as well already engrave Jessie Buckley’s name on the trophy for his devastating and extraordinary performance in Hamnet; it truly does feel like one for the ages. Rose Byrne had seemed a potential upset earlier in the season but really, a film like hers making it into the race and her getting this extremely well-deserved nomination is a win in itself. The main omission from this category is Chase Infiniti; her performance was the beating heart of One Battle After Another, but she was always seen as one of the couple scrapping it out for spot number 5. She announced herself in a big way in her film debut and has a long career ahead of her so hopefully her time on this list will come. Renate Reinsve reaffirmed her position as one of the best actresses of her generation in Sentimental Value so this is a well-deserved nod. Kate Hudson seems to have caused a slight stir on the list, although she had been on the trajectory to land a nod all season; I think those most shocked by her inclusion are those who haven’t seen Song Sung Blue as, based only on the odd and cheesy trailers, it would seem a baffling inclusion in the race. As it stands, the film demanded a lot more from Hudson that presumed and she delivered. Finally, Oscar darling Emma Stone makes an appearance, making it three for four in her Lanthimos collaborations. Although expected at this point in the season, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in Die My Love was outstanding and I would have loved to see her be recognised more.

Best Actor

Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme

Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another

Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

Michael B Jordan – Sinners

Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

With Chalamet, DiCaprio and Jordan’s slots all sewn up, all eyes were on who would make the final two. Ethan Hawke seems to have had a quieter campaign across awards season and whilst, to my dire disappointment, Blue Moon didn’t come to my local cinemas, I’m always happy to see Hawke get some recognition. The Secret Agent is yet to be released here too but by all accounts, Wagner Moura is brilliant and it is great to continue to see love for international films in the big Oscar categories. It is a little disappointing, although not unexpected, not to see Jesse Plemons here. For all the love Bugonia received today (more than I thought it would, but the Oscars’ loves Lanthimos), it is almost odd he isn’t here; his performance was just as integral, if not more so, as Stone’s in making the film work. It would also have been nice to see Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams, but it is a strong field and he was just a little bit outside it. So far, this seems to be Chalamet’s year; there are some narratives floating around that he is due despite a potential win making him the second youngest recipient of the award in Oscars’ history, but for a man who burst onto the scene at such a high level so young, no one would begrudge him this. DiCaprio looked to be a threat early on but it feels as though that has died down and Chalamet’s relentless energy will lead him to a well-deserved win. Jordan has barely been in the conversation despite pulling double duty, but it is great to see him get his first nomination regardless.

Best Supporting Actress

Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value

Amy Madigan – Weapons

Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners

Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

A double-whammy for Sentimental Value with both Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas making the cut. Both were fantastic in the film and I’m particularly glad to see Ibsdotter Lilleaas be recognised for her performance. It is great to see Wunmi Mosaku make it in for Sinners, something not guaranteed earlier on in the year. I’m yet to see Weapons but it is always great to see a nomination for non-traditional Oscar fare (and not released at a traditional awards time of the year) breaking through. It was initially looking to be between Madigan and Teyana Taylor but it feels as though Taylor is leading the charge at this point, with potentially Ibsdotter Lilleaas in second place, although likely a distant second (I could see a more likely potential upset at the likes of BAFTA).

Best Supporting Actor

Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another

Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein

Delroy Lindo – Sinners

Sean Penn – One Battle After Another

Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

A double-here too, although entirely expected for One Battle After Another. The real story here is Delroy Lindo finally receiving his first Oscar nomination, a slight surprise in the category as he has missed at a lot of the precursors. Jacob Elordi and Stellan Skarsgård were also expected nominations, with the brief initial steam of the former seeming to cede to Skarsgård who seems set to take the trophy. It is Paul Mescal who misses out, and who may take the unwanted title of biggest snub of the day; his performance in Hamnet was excellent and a perfect counterweight to Buckley’s monumental performance, it was tender and layered and it is a shame it hasn’t been recognised here.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Bugonia

Frankenstein

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

Train Dreams

Best Original Screenplay

Blue Moon

It Was Just an Accident

Marty Supreme

Sentimental Value

Sinners

No real surprises here. The joint list almost mirrors Best Picture, with the few exceptions of F1 (no surprise) and The Secret Agent (currently unreleased here) missing out. Blue Moon and It Was Just an Accident get in instead, both of which I’m yet to see (neither were released where I live, I need to move). There is a nice variety across the board, although it is sad to see that the smaller films (ahem Sorry, Baby – more on that later) didn’t get in here as historically this has become the category that tends to recognise films that don’t get in elsewhere.

Other Snubs

I’m going to start out with my personal biggest snub, although at this point in the season it didn’t come as a surprise: the exclusion of Sorry, Baby. One of the best films of last year, it is a beautiful, affecting piece of cinema that perfectly balances comedy and drama and boasts an incredible performance from writer-director Eva Victor. There was slight hope it might sneak into the Original Screenplay category although in my book it deserved more than that. To quote Julia Roberts “If you haven’t seen it. See it.”. I cannot wait for whatever Victor does next.

Marty Supreme’s ethereal, propulsive, synth-fuelled score is sorely missing from the shortlist, but feels as though it is one that will live on in the collective cinema consciousness for some time.

Hamnet’s gorgeous, striking cinematography was also shut out, a real shame as it framed the world through Agnes’ eyes and was a big part of the film’s grounded ties to nature.

Warfare’s omission from the Sound categories is also quite baffling – perhaps it was released just too early in the year, but the sound was an essential part of the immersive onslaught of that film, throwing you into the characters’ situation and not letting you out.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it yet (yet again, a film that didn’t come to where I live), but despite audience and critical acclaim, No Other Choice was also shut out, although this isn’t unprecedented for Park Chan Wook.

Less an omission and more something to note, but Wicked: For Good was entirely shut out, despite its predecessor’s 10 nominations. It was certainly a lesser film but there is an argument to be had whether the splitting in two cost it in the awards circuit regardless of quality; there may have been a feeling of, didn’t we already reward this work? I’m thinking specifically in the Production Design and Costume Categories (although maybe the cardigan was to blame here). I’m admittedly glad its original songs didn’t make it as they felt more like a weak and base Oscar play than something necessary to the storytelling.

Overall, as per usual there are the odd things to be mad about, but this is a great list and bookends what has been a great year for cinema. It is an exciting race even if several categories now feel sewn up; even if we know who is going to win, there’s still collective excitement to see those people up on stage with that golden statue in hand. Hopefully, this will implore the more casual moviegoer to seek out films they haven’t seen although it is sad films like Sorry, Baby aren’t going to be able to benefit from that boost (although maybe the snub talk could push it more into the conversation). One Battle seems destined to reign supreme but it’s a long time yet until Oscar night so we’ll have to see what happens…