Biggest snubs and surprises from the 2022 Oscar nominations

The 2022 Oscar nominations have finally been revealed. As always, with all award nominations come disappointments and surprises. Actors that many believed would be getting a nomination, did not, and actors who we never thought would be nominated, were.

Which nominations surprised you the most? We break down the biggest snubs and surprises in the 2022 Oscar nominations, including Ruth Negga, The Power of the Dog, Being the Ricardos, and more.

Biggest snubs and surprises from the Oscar nominations

Caitriona Balfe and Judi Dench swap Supporting Actress

It isn’t surprising that one of the Belfast women got in. What is surprising is which one it is. Caitriona Balfe seemed like a solid No. 2 behind Ariana DeBose – who is going to win this award – as she has been snagging nominations left and right from basically everywhere. To see her not get in is a huge snub for her because she had the resume to get in, and the best performance from the movie.

For Dench on the other hand, Supporting Actress is usually one of the categories that “goes for it” more than others. It was always a possibility that she would coattail off her nominated on-screen counterpart Ciaran Hinds, Marlee Matlin was the other potential one for CODA, but to ultimately take Balfe’s spot might be one of the biggest surprises of the morning. Dench does have the final scene of the movie, and gives a good performance, but that leaves Balfe searching for her first nomination while Dench picks up her eighth (winner for Shakespeare in Love).

Snub: Ruth Negga misses Supporting Actress

Ruth Negga, like Balfe, has shown up everywhere so far, yet we didn’t hear her name Oscar morning. She is a former nominee for Loving, but even for that film she didn’t manage to have the same amount of precursors.

Jessie Buckley managed to get in over her which is a *slight* surprise, but after her recent BAFTA nomination, which Negga also managed to get, it felt possible. It isn’t the most shocking snub of the day, she was essentially Passing‘s only hope at a nomination, but it’s absolutely still is a snub nonetheless.

Surprise: The Power of the Dog leads nominations

I mean, who could have seen this coming. It always seemed like The Power of the Dog was going to do well with nominations, but leading the way was a surprise. Dune and West Side Story were two films that were believed to be the leaders when it came to nominations, they picked up 10 and 7 respectively, but after some extra nominations for The Power of the Dog, they ended the day with 12 nominations, two off from tying the record of 14.

Does this mean The Power of the Dog will win Best Picture? Not necessarily. Since 2010, the nomination leader has only won Best Picture three times: The King’s Speech (2010), Birdman (2014), and The Shape of Water (2017). So, even if The Power of the Dog doesn’t have recent history on its side, it’s hard to deny it as one of the frontrunners this year.

Snub: Denis Villeneuve misses Best Director

For weeks now, ever since DGA, everyone was predicting for there to be a director to miss. Would it be Kenneth Branagh or Paul Thomas Anderson? Maybe even Steven Spielberg? Nobody thought it would have been Denis Villeneuve for Dune.

Villeneuve has felt like a safe bet for months now. The fact that his film performed so well, and so well below-the-line – 10 total nominations – added with the fact that he also managed to get in for Adapted Screenplay makes this Director snub all the more baffling. He and Campion felt like the only two locks for a long time, so for his snub to happen here was a shock, especially when they nominated mostly technical aspects of the film.

Surprise: The Worst Person in the World snags Original Screenplay

If an international film was going to pick up an Original Screenplay nomination, it felt like it was going to be for Parallel Mothers. This felt even more likely when Parallel Mothers was also nominated for Original Score, but when Screenplay came around it was The Worst Person in the World that heard its name instead.

The nomination is deserved, The Worst Person in the World has a fantastic rom/com screenplay, but it was surprising to see it get in over so many juggernauts. I don’t think it will win, but to see it even pick up a nomination is nice to see.

Surprise: Being the Ricardos gets ONLY acting, including JK Simmons

Coming into the day, Nicole Kidman and Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay felt safe, Javier Bardem was on the cusp, and Best Picture was so close they could taste it. However, by the time the stream ended, Being the Ricardos ended up being one of the most baffling films of the day. Not only did both Bardem and Kidman, they managed to get a nomination for JK Simmons as well.

Simmons’ nomination was surprising given the fact he hasn’t shown up in many of the precursors, but the fact that the film didn’t get anything else is the biggest shock. I’m not sure when the last time a film received 3 acting nominations and nothing anywhere else – if someone knows please tell me – but it can’t be something that has happened recently, or something that happens frequently.

Snub: Lady Gaga misses Lead Actress

I can confidently say I don’t know anyone who has campaigned harder than what Lady Gaga did for this film, maybe ever. She did every talk show and every interview. She pushed this film harder than any film she has done before, and yet, she didn’t hear her name called.

This wouldn’t be as surprising if she didn’t have the resume. She has been nominated at every precursor, including SAG and BAFTA, she is a former winner (Original Song for A Star is Born [2018]), and, as I mentioned, she has been everywhere. After she picked up her BAFTA nomination, many people started to thing she was the new frontrunner for Lead Actress. Well, I think those thoughts can be put to rest now.

Surprise: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom gets in International

To be honest, until this past week I had never heard of this film. That didn’t stop it from breaking through and getting a surprise International Feature nomination. A Hero was led by a former nominee and an International Feature director winner, and Prayers for the Stolen had just picked up a DGA First Feature nomination for Tatiana Huezo. It seemed as though the fifth spot would be between these two films, but Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom snuck under the rug to nab the final spot for Bhutan.

Surprise: Kristen Stewart defies odds and lands Lead Actress

Almost everything was working against Kristen Stewart. She missed at BAFTA, which makes sense when you know who the President of BAFTA is, but she also missed SAG which is where it seemed like her train was starting to derail. Nevertheless, she stayed the course and, in the end, picked up an absolutely well-deserved nomination. It’s even more surprising because Spencer didn’t show up anywhere else.

This was probably the most exciting surprise of the morning. I mean, she came into the day as one of the most decorated actresses this awards season, but it still seemed like she was going to miss. Kudos to the team at NEON for pulling off one hell of a campaign, and to the Academy for recognizing this performance. Hopefully they do the same thing on the night of the Oscars.