The nominations for the Best Picture predictions for the 2025 Oscars ended up being primarily accurate.

Naturally, many of the names that were nominated this year didn’t come as too much of a surprise. Actors such as Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin, and Ariana Grande are loosely considered the frontrunners in their respective categories, and they were all nominated as expected. Films like Anora, The Brutalist, and Conclave are seemingly fighting for the coveted Best Picture award, so it’s no surprise to see them among the nominations either. However, there were several names that most people had included in their 2025 Oscar predictions that weren’t mentioned, shaking up the race in very exciting ways.

12 Gladiator II Is Snubbed For Best Visual Effects

Ridley Scott's Sequel Didn't Make The Cut

One of the technical categories to feature a genuinely surprising snub this year was Best Visual Effects, where Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II failed to secure a nomination that it was expected to receive. The film was widely praised for its effects, which were used cleverly during the sequel's many combat sequences both inside and outside of the Colosseum.

Instead, the spot went to Fede Alvarez’ Alien: Romulus - which is ironically a sequel to another of Scott’s films. This movie is also well-deserving of the nomination, which likely reflects the intricate alien designs and how it was combined with practical effects to make it feel like an actual sequel to the original Alien and not just a modern reboot. That said, given the divisive CGI recreation of returning actor Ian Holm, Alien: Romulus' nomination was somewhat surprising.

11 September 5 Surprises In Best Original Screenplay

The Thriller Beat Luca Guadagnino's Challengers To The Fifth Spot

The final spot for Best Original Screenplay was somewhat up in the air, but the consensus was that Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers would prevail. However, the sports romance was absent from the category, and Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5 was included instead. While Challengers not getting many nominations was expected, many assumed it would get at least Best Original Screenplay. The fact that the film received no nominations at all is one of this year's biggest surprises.

September 5 is a thrilling drama based on the true events of the 1972 Olympics in , told from the perspective of the news crew reporting on an unraveling hostage situation in the Olympic Village. It’s a gripping, well-written story that’s more than deserving of a nomination, even if it had to come at the expense of Challengers. This was not the only surprise regarding Challengers, as the film also didn't get a nomination for Best Original Score.

10 Conclave Is Snubbed For Best Cinematography

Stephane Fontaine's Crisp Visuals Didn't Get Recognition

Edward Berger’s Conclave is one of the most aesthetically pleasing movies of 2024, so it’s a huge surprise to see that Stephane Fontaine wasn’t nominated for his excellent cinematography. The movie, which centers around the election of a new pope by the cardinals of the Vatican, is supposedly among the frontrunners for Best Picture - but this snub will certainly harm its chances.

Conclave has received eight nominations.

It’s still possible for Conclave to win Best Picture without this nomination, which has happened before, but it’s an unnerving sign that voters didn’t connect with the movie as strongly as many pundits were expecting. Interestingly, Nickel Boys was also absent from this category, with the two nominations going to Emilia Perez and Maria instead.

9 Challengers Is Snubbed For Best Original Score

The Second Of Challengers' Snubs Was Its Most Brutal

While Challengers’ absence from Best Original Screenplay was certainly a surprise, the film’s biggest snub was found in the Best Original Score category. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ retro-inspired soundtrack was considered a shoo-in for a nomination here, but instead, the spot went to Chris Sanders’ animated feature The Wild Robot. While this is an exciting and inspired nomination by the Academy, it’s a huge shame that Challengers couldn’t make it too.

It’s one of the most memorable pieces of music from last year, and that’s usually a surefire sign that it’ll be nominated at the Oscars.

Reznor and Ross’s score is particularly prominent in Challengers’ ending, which makes it stick in audiences’ minds long after the credits have rolled. It’s one of the most memorable pieces of music from last year, and that’s usually a surefire sign that it’ll be nominated at the Oscars. This is one of the few snubs that almost nobody was expecting, which makes it sting even more.

8 Daniel Craig Is Snubbed For Best Actor

Queer Didn't Get Any Nominations

The Best Actor race has proven to be one of the most exciting categories at this year’s Oscars, with that fifth spot completely open for the taking. The first four nominees, while extremely deserving, weren’t surprising at all; Adrien Brody, Timothee Chalamet, Colman Domingo, and Ralph Fiennes were all locks for this award, and most assumed that Daniel Craig would follow for his work in Queer.

While Queer has received mixed reviews, Craig’s work is incredible. His character displays a level of empathy and vulnerability that’s totally different from his stoic work in the James Bond franchise. This seemed like the perfect reason to give him the nomination, but it seems that voters simply didn’t care for the film - Queer wasn’t nominated anywhere else.

7 Sebastian Stan Surprises In Best Actor

The Apprentice Managed To Overcome Its Controversy

Rather than Daniel Craig, that fifth Best Actor nomination went to Sebastian Stan for his incredible work in The Apprentice. He will his co-star Jeremy Strong at the 2025 Oscars, with both actors securing nominations that certainly weren’t locks at all. Sebastian Stan delivered two excellent performances in 2024 in both The Apprentice and A Different Man, which raised concerns that he would accidentally split votes and negate himself from the category.

This did not happen after all, and Stan managed to sneak into that fifth spot with his transformative performance as Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s unflinching biopic. While it’s upsetting that Craig had to be pushed out to make room for Stan, it’s ultimately not surprising. His performance was much more topical, which likely allowed it to resonate more strongly with voters, not to mention how The Apprentice had already been performing well in other awards.

6 Edward Berger Is Snubbed For Best Director

Berger Was Rejected By The Academy For A Second Time

Edward Berger’s absence from the Best Director lineup is another massive disappointment for Conclave, which is seemingly inching further and further away from its Best Picture frontrunner status. Incidentally, Berger was also snubbed from this category in 2023 for his war drama All Quiet On The Western Front, which ultimately won the Best International Feature award.

Berger was absolutely a deserving candidate for the Best Director Oscar; it was his work on Conclave that elevated the film from a regular thriller into something much more stylish and profound, using subtle imagery and framing decisions to foreshadow the narrative in fresh and exciting ways. It’s unsurprising that the director’s branch of the Academy chose to shake things up a little (there’s been a surprise in this category almost every year in recent memory, such as Ben Affleck not getting a nom for Argo), and this time, Berger was the one to be snubbed.

5 James Mangold Surprises In Best Director

Mangold Directed A Complete Unknown

Ultimately, it was James Mangold who replaced Edward Berger in the Best Director category for his work on A Complete Unknown. The biopic details the early years of Bob Dylan’s life, from his arrival in New York City to the artist’s famous performance at the Newport Folk Festival. Mangold’s direction is a huge asset to this film, and it’s not surprising that he appeared in this category given the film’s other seven nominations.

A Complete Unknown performed much better than expected (...)

A Complete Unknown performed much better than expected at this year’s nomination ceremony, with three lead performances getting recognition alongside Mangold in Best Director. The biopic may be shaping up to be a bigger threat in Best Picture than most anticipated, although it is still not considered to be a frontrunner and would have to defeat much more obvious picks.

4 Monica Barbaro Surprises In Best ing Actress

A Complete Unknown's Other Surprising Nom

Another huge win for A Complete Unknown, Monica Barbaro managed to secure a surprise nomination in the Best ing Actress category. While it’s very unlikely that she’ll win (this category will almost certainly go to either Zoe Saldana or Ariana Grande), the nomination is still a massive accomplishment and further confirms A Complete Unknown as a serious contender for the categories in which it is competing.

Barbaro plays folk singer Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, with her forbidden romance with Chalamet’s Bob Dylan providing much of the film’s tension. It’s a very subtle performance that wasn’t heavily in the conversation for the Oscars, but it’s a more-than-deserving choice.

3 A Real Pain Is Snubbed In Best Picture

Two Nominations Was As Far As Jesse Eisenberg's Drama Went

While Best Picture is usually one of the easiest categories to predict, this year’s nominations included a few major surprises. The first of these shocks was Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain not making the lineup, despite landing most of the necessary precursors that it needed (such as PGA) and the universal acclaim for Kieran Culkin’s ing performance.

Succession stars Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong are going up against each other in the Best ing Actor category.

A Real Pain also feels like the kind of movie that can easily get nominated for Best Picture: it’s entertaining, it’s well-acted, but there’s also a dramatic undertone to all the humor that really makes the emotions hit home. Its absence is made even more surprising by the fact that it landed a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, where it could have missed out on something like Challengers.