Oscars 2024: Barbie, The Iron Claw, and Other Major Snubs

The 2024 Oscar Nominations have been announced, and while a lot of the big nominees were expected (Barbie, Oppenheimer), even some of those films found themselves being snubbed in certain categories. At this point, Oscars snubs get almost as much (if not more) hype than the actual nominations, so let’s dig into it. 

Biggest Movie Snubs

Some of the biggest movies to get a spotlight from critics groups all over the country got zero love from the Oscars. The Iron Claw didn’t get any love at all – not for the film itself, director Sean Durkin, or the cast led by Zac Efron. Todd Haynes’ films May December was at least expected to pull nominations for stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, but got nothing; the same is true for Michael Mann’s Ferrari biopic, which had lead actor Adam Driver and Supporting Actress Penelope Cruz in the running for possible nomination. Ava DuVernay’s film Origin was a critics’ favorite but got zero nominations from both the Oscars and Golden Globes.

Finally, the adaptation of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret didn’t get any noms for young star Abby Ryder Fortson or co-star Rachel McAdams. Warner Bros. Pictures continues to lose big on the 2023 version of The Color Purple, with only one Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress for Danielle Brooks) to go with the underperforming box office. 

Even the Best Documentary category wasn’t without some big surprises: namely musician Jon Batiste’s relationship doc American Symphony, and Michael J. Fox’s doc Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. Both were favorites on many critics’ lists; American Symphony was at least recognized in the category of “Best Original Song”. 

While Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and The Heron got their expected nominations for Best Animated Feature Film, Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was knocked out of the Oscars by surprise contenders Nimona (Netflix) and Elemental (Disney/Pixar).

Biggest Actor, Actress & Director Snubs

Margot Robbie is the most conspicuous name missing from the Best Actress category – despite Barbie making it into a variety of categories, including Best Picture. Barbie director Greta Gerwig was also snubbed in the Best Director category, even though the film got recognized in so many other creative categories (Original Song, Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, Production Design). It’s also causing a stir that Robbie’s co-star Ryan Gosling got a Best Supporting Actor nod for playing Ken (the Ken song “I’m Just Ken” was also nominated), while America Ferrera got a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role. 

While Past Lives got recognized for Best Picture and Original Screenplay, writer/director Celine Song didn’t get a directorial nod, and star Greta Lee was also left out of the Best Actress category. 

Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio was the only major member of Killers of the Flower Moon’s ensemble to be snubbed; Martin Scorsese (Best Director), Robert De Niro (Best Supporting Actor), Lily Gladstone (Best Actress) and the film itself (Best Picture) were all recognized. Similarly, Poor Things star Willem Dafoe was snubbed in the Best Supporting Actor category, whereas so many of his co-stars (Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo) and the creative team (including director Yorgos Lanthimos) were all recognized.

The 2024 Oscars ceremony will be televised on Sunday, March 10 at 7pm ET on ABC.