Diane Warren has now gone 0-16 for best original song, while A Complete Unknown was 0-8 overall.
Timothee Chalamet como Bob Dylan en A COMPLETE UNKNOWN’.
Macall Polay /© Searchlight Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection
Often, by the time the Oscars finally roll around, even people with just a casual interest in movies know who’s likely to win the big awards. All the shows that precede the Oscars (the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the BAFTAs and many, many more) have taken a lot of the suspense out of the granddaddy of all award shows.
This year, however, several categories seemed to go down to the wire. Best picture, best actor and best actress were all less than certain, as were the two categories that mean the most to us at Billboard – best original song and best original score.
To be sure, some of the awards were entirely predictable. Kieran Culkin was a lock for best supporting actor for A Real Pain, and Zoe Saldaña was nearly as strong a bet as best supporting actress for Emilia Pérez.
Other categories that were never really in doubt include Wicked for best production design and best costume design; The Substance for best make-up and hairstyling; I’m Still Here for best international feature (especially after Emilia Pérez suffered a backlash after its star’s old tweets were uncovered); and Dune: Part Two for best visual effects. (The Oscars have a long history of using technical categories to honor blockbusters such as Dune: Part Two that don’t quite align with their tastes.)
But our focus here is on snubs and surprises, and there were several sprinkled throughout the show. Take a look.
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Snub: A Complete Unknown
The Bob Dylan biopic went 0-8 on the night, making it the night’s biggest shutout. This marked the second time in three years that a biopic about a top-tier music legend has been shut out. Two years ago, Elvis went 0-8 on the night. In both cases, stars who were thought to have a good chance at winning best actor went home empty-handed. Austin Butler was nominated for playing Presley; Timothée Chalamet for playing Dylan. (Chalamet’s other 2024 film, Dune: Part Two, won two Oscars, which gave Chalamet, seated in the front row, the opportunity to stand and congratulate those winners.)
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Snub: Emilia Pérez
Emilia Pérez won just two awards from its 13 nominations – best original song and best supporting actress. Netflix’s crime musical holds an unwelcome Oscar record: It won fewer Oscars than any other film in Oscar history that received 13 or more nominations. The old record was held by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which won three awards from its 13 nods in 2009. Emilia Pérez didn’t even win best international feature film, which it was originally expected to take with ease. That award went to I’m Still Here.
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Snub: Diane Warren
Diane Warren has received 16 Oscar nominations, a total matched by only three other songwriters in Oscar history. In 2023, she became the first songwriter to receive an honorary Governors Award from the Academy. So, it’s obvious she has many supporters in the Academy, but she has yet to win a competitive Oscar. This year, her “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight lost to “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez. With her 0-16 track record, Warren ties sound and sound mixing specialist Greg P. Russell for the most nominations without a competitive win (yet).
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Mini-Snub: Elton John
John was nominated for best original song for co-writing “Never Too Late” from the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. This marked the first time Elton John has gone home without an Oscar on a night he was nominated. (He won in 1995 for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King and in 2020 for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman. At 77, John was vying to become the oldest Oscar winner for best original song. This year’s best original song award was presented by another member of British rock royalty, Mick Jagger. That presentation would have been a rock photo for the ages.
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Surprise: Sean Baker ties Walt Disney’s Record
Sean Baker was widely expected to win three Oscars for his work on Anora – best picture, best director and best original screenplay. But when he also won for best film editing, an award that was expected to go to Conclave, it became clear he would tie Walt Disney’s 1954 record for most Oscars won in one night.
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Surprise: Flow Wins Best Animated Feature
Most pundits expected The Wild Robot to win in this category, but the award went instead to Flow, which became the first indie film to win in this category and the first Latvian film to win in any category. The Wild Robot had one more nomination overall than Flow (three, compared to two), but Flow prevailed here nonetheless.
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Snub (back in 1972): ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ Shut Out
“Diamonds Are Forever,” as performed by Doja Cat, was a highlight of a James Bond medley. But unlike the two other songs in the medley, the Oscar-nominated “Live and Let Die” and the Oscar-winning “Skyfall,” “Diamonds Are Forever” wasn’t even nominated at the time. (That year’s winner: Isaac Hayes’ unforgettably funky “Theme From Shaft.”) Back in 1971, “Diamonds Are Forever” became the second Bond theme to be performed by Shirley Bassey, following “Goldfinger” – which wasn’t nominated for best original song either (if you can believe that).
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Not Really a Snub: Demi Moore
Demi Moore came awfully close to winning best actress for The Substance, but lost to Mikey Madison for Anora. Madison’s win wasn’t really a surprise: She played the title character in the year’s best picture winner (which won five total Oscars). It would have been odd for the voters to bypass her and go with the star of a film that won only one Oscar (best makeup and hairstyling).
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