The 10 Biggest Oscar Nominations 2020 Snubs

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Within minutes of finishing screenings of Hustlers, critics and moviegoers alike echoed the same sentiment: this was the best performance from Jennifer Lopez in years. She definitely took the anchor position, putting the entire ripped-from-the-headlines tale on her back, turning in one of her most engaging performances in years. After a Golden Globes nomination for Supporting Actress in Hustlers, it felt like an Oscars nom was a given.

While the ratio of women directing Awards Season films compared to their male counterparts is still insane, women did the damn thing this year. From Greta Gerwig's being snubbed for the recently-released Little Women (which was good enough to garner nominations in the Best Picture, Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, and Costume Design categories) to Lulu Wang's The Farewell (which netted Awkwafina her Golden Globe) to Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers) and Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood). Wouldn't even be mad if you asked for justice for Melina Matsoukas for how she steered Queen & Slim, honestly. #OscarsSoMale indeed.

Yes, we definitely put Uncut Gems at the top of our Best Films of 2019 list; it was deserving. The intense tale has kept moviegoers on the edge of their seats, but somehow the Academy didn't deem it worthy, even though there were plenty of categories the film was more than qualified for. No Best Actor nom for Adam Sandler? No best directing (or original screenplay!) noms for the Safdies? No Supporting Actress nom for Julia Fox? Costume Design? Nothing? 

This is more of a post-Golden Globes shocker than anything. Taron Egerton, fresh off of a surprise Best Actor win at the Globes, didn't even get an Oscar nomination? You'd think the Academy would be going head over heels for Egerton's masterful transformation into Elton John—this is the same Academy who gave Rami Malek the Best Actor win for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody just last year. And insiders attest that Egerton has been dilligently working the Awards Season campaign circuit in hopes of scoring the ultimate nomination. We're not really tripping off of this snub, but kinda surprised.

While he hasn't received an Oscar nomination for his brilliant portrayal of the legendary Rudy Ray Moore, aka Dolemite, in Netflix's Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy is still the 2019 comeback king. For Murphy, who hadn't been in an R-rated film for almost two decades, he jumped into this familiar territory with both feet for this R-rated comedy flick. If he was going to get a nomination, it should've been for this, especially after he got a Globes nomination for the role.

Say what you will about Jordan Peele's sophomore film Us, but Lupita did that shit. A film where the four main characters also have to play Bizarro World versions of themselves is one thing; the amount of skill it took for Lupita to fight herself in the film's most pivotal scene is a sight to behold. Getting nominations for horror films is already hard enough—Peele experienced that with the Get Out push—but Lupita was definitely robbed, just like Toni Collette most recently (for Hereditary) before her.

The De Niro snub actually makes no sense. Similar to Little Women, it's not like The Irishman hasn't gotten its share of nominations—Scorsese got a Best Director nom (as he should be), and the film is up for Best Picture, both Joe Pesci and Al Pacino are up for Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, and Visual Effects. That's a tall order, and even if it ends up taking nothing home, how do you neglect the lead. Like, the guy who literally portrayed the Irishman the film is titled after? That's not to say that Pesci nor Pacino are deserving, but De Niro put that three-and-a-half-hour opus on his back, through decades of housepainting and driving meat around. At least give the lead his due.

After Awkwafina made actual history at the Golden Globes for her performance in Lulu Wang's deeply personal The Farewell, we figured the Academy would give A24 its props for this touching tale. Maybe a Best Director nomination, possibly a Best Actress nomination for Awkwaina; hell, maybe even give Zhao Shuzhen her respect for her awesome performance as Nai Nai. The film even received a Best Foreign Language Film nomination at the Globes. We're just surprised the Oscars didn't follow suit.

With all of the talk surrounding Almodóvar's Pain and Glory—including a Lead Actor nomination for Antonio Banderas and a Best Foreign Language Film nomination—it's again a surprise that Almodóvar isn't up for Best Director. It's one of those moments where the Academy seems to be deviating from what many in their base would be considering an obvious choice. That said, find a way to see Pain and Glory before the Oscars ceremony; you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Similar to Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther: The Album (which won Best Original Score at the Oscars and the Grammys), Beyoncé put together The Lion King: The Gift, a star-studded project that built on the vibe of the Disney film while putting on African artists many listeners might not have been up on. It also included "Spirit," her huge ballad in the film. Why Beyoncé didn't get the nod for this is beyond us, but we won't act like the song shouldn't have gotten a nomination amongst tracks from Harriet, Frozen II, and Toy Story 4. Just saying!