The 98th Academy Award nominations, announced this week, delivered record-breaking moments, long-expected wins and several high-profile snubs — with Irish audiences particularly surprised by the absence of Paul Mescal from the acting categories.

While the blockbuster Sinners dominated the nominations with a record 16 nods, the morning also highlighted how unpredictable Oscar voting can be, even for critically acclaimed performances and established industry favourites.

One of the biggest talking points on this side of the Atlantic was Paul Mescal being overlooked for Best Supporting Actor for his role as William Shakespeare in Hamnet. The film itself performed strongly overall, securing eight nominations, including a nod for Jessie Buckley as Shakespeare’s wife, commonly referred to as Anne Hathaway. Mescal’s omission stood out all the more given his previous Best Actor nomination for Aftersun just three years ago, a performance that cemented him as one of Ireland’s most internationally respected young actors.

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"It's so immediately calming." We chatted to Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley ahead of the release of Hamnet We asked the pair what it's like coming home after working abroad for a while Hamnet releases in cinemas on 9 January #PaulMescal #Irish #Hamnet #JessieBuckley

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Mescal’s snub came despite growing awards-season momentum and strong critical response to his portrayal, reigniting discussion around how even well-regarded performances can be edged out in crowded categories.

Elsewhere, this year’s nominations were filled with historic achievements rather than surprises. Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, delivered one of the most dominant performances in Oscar history with its 16 nominations, underlining its status as the season’s defining film. Composer Ludwig Göransson emerged as one of the day’s biggest winners, earning nominations in both Best Original Score and Best Original Song, a first for him in a single year.

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In the music categories, Diane Warren extended her own record with a ninth consecutive nomination for Best Original Song, this time for Dear Me. No other songwriter in Oscar history has achieved such a streak. Meanwhile, KPop Demon Hunters made history by becoming just the 14th film ever to land nominations in both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

However, several high-profile projects failed to connect with Oscar voters. Wicked: For Good was shut out entirely, despite the first film receiving 10 nominations last year. Expectations had been high for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, particularly after the success of the original, making the sequel’s complete absence one of the morning’s biggest shocks.

In another notable snub, Miley Cyrus missed out on her first Oscar nomination for Dream as One from Avatar: Fire and Ash, as the film itself underperformed compared to previous entries in the franchise. Similarly, legendary composer Hans Zimmer was overlooked for Best Original Score despite F1 landing four nominations, including a surprise Best Picture nod.

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The nominations also marked a step backwards for representation, with no women composers shortlisted in the Best Original Score category for the first time in three years. Both Laura Karpman and Hildur Guðnadóttir, previous nominees, failed to make the final cut despite strong critical backing.

While the ceremony delivered plenty of milestones, the reaction in Ireland has centred firmly on Paul Mescal’s absence, particularly as Irish talent continues to feature prominently across major international awards. His omission serves as a reminder that Oscar success remains far from predictable — even for actors firmly established on the global stage.

The 2026 Academy Awards will take place on 15 March, where record-breakers like Sinners will look to convert nominations into wins, while snubbed contenders will be left wondering what might have been.

Jessie Buckley Earns Oscars Nomination For Best Actress

Jessie Buckley has received an Oscars nomination for Best Actress for her performance in, Hamnet. 

However, Jessie Buckley's Hamnet co star, Paul Mescal missed out on an Oscar's nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category.

If she wins, Buckley would become the first Irish woman to win Best Actress at the Oscars.

In other news, Irish animated short, Retirement Plan and Irish animator Richard Baneham also received an Oscars nod for his work on Avatar: Fire and Ash.  Baneham who is already a double Oscar winner for his work on Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, was nominated in the Visual Effects category for his latest work.

Elsewhere, vampire thriller, Sinners broke the record for the all time Oscars' nominations, having received 16 Academy Award nominations, including a Best Director nod for Ryan Coogler, alongside Chloé Zhao.

The ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, hosted by Conan O'Brien on March 15. Find out more news regarding nominations via this link here.

Last week, Jessie Buckley shared behind the scenes stories from her time on the Hamnet set, as well as some comical anecdotes from her time in LA, in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live. More on this from Nova here.

Buckley was seen as many people's favourite for an Oscar's nomination, having won the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes. Find out more about this here. 

Actor in a Leading Role

• Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme

• Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another

• Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon

• Michael B. Jordan — Sinners

• Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another

• Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein

• Delroy Lindo — Sinners

• Sean Penn — One Battle After Another

• Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value

Actress in a Leading Role

• Jessie Buckley — Hamnet

• Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

• Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue

• Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value

• Emma Stone — Bugonia

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value

• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value

• Amy Madigan — Weapons

• Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners

• Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another

Animated Feature Film

• Arco — Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman

• Elio — Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, Mary Alice Drumm

• KPop Demon Hunters — Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Michelle L.M. Wong

• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain — Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago, Henri Magalon

• Zootopia 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino

Animated Short Film

• Butterfly — Florence Miailhe, Ron Dyens

• Forevergreen — Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears

• The Girl Who Cried Pearls — Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski

• Retirement Plan — John Kelly, Andrew Freedman

• The Three Sisters — Konstantin Bronzit

Casting

• Hamnet — Nina Gold

• Marty Supreme — Jennifer Venditti

• One Battle After Another — Cassandra Kulukundis

• The Secret Agent — Gabriel Domingues

• Sinners — Francine Maisler

Cinematography

• Frankenstein — Dan Laustsen

• Marty Supreme — Darius Khondji

• One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman

• Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw

• Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design

• Avatar: Fire and Ash — Deborah L. Scott

• Frankenstein — Kate Hawley

• Hamnet — Malgosia Turzanska

• Marty Supreme — Miyako Bellizzi

• Sinners — Ruth E. Carter

Directing

• Hamnet — Chloé Zhao

• Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie

• One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson

• Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier

• Sinners — Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature Film

• The Alabama Solution — Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman

• Come See Me in the Good Light — Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen

• Cutting Through Rocks — Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni

• Mr. Nobody Against Putin — Nominees to be determined

• The Perfect Neighbor — Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee

Documentary Short Film

• All the Empty Rooms — Joshua Seftel, Conall Jones

• Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud — Craig Renaud, Juan Arredondo

• Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” — Hilla Medalia, Sheila Nevins

• The Devil Is Busy — Christalyn Hampton, Geeta Gandbhir

• Perfectly a Strangeness — Alison McAlpine

Film Editing

• F1 — Stephen Mirrione

• Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie

• One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen

• Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge Coutté

• Sinners — Michael P. Shawver

International Feature Film

• Brazil — The Secret Agent

• France — It Was Just an Accident

• Norway — Sentimental Value

• Spain — Sirāt

• Tunisia — The Voice of Hind Rajab

Live Action Short Film

• Butcher’s Stain — Meyer Levinson-Blount, Oron Caspi

• A Friend of Dorothy — Lee Knight, James Dean

• Jane Austen’s Period Drama — Julia Aks, Steve Pinder

• The Singers — Sam A. Davis, Jack Piatt

• Two People Exchanging Saliva — Alexandre Singh, Natalie Musteata

Makeup and Hairstyling

• Frankenstein — Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey

• Kokuho — Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino, Tadashi Nishimatsu

• Sinners — Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry

• The Smashing Machine — Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, Bjoern Rehbein

• The Ugly Stepsister — Thomas Foldberg, Anne Cathrine Sauerberg

Music (Original Score)

• Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix

• Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat

• Hamnet — Max Richter

• One Battle After Another — Jonny Greenwood

• Sinners — Ludwig Göransson

Music (Original Song)

• “Dear Me” — Diane Warren: Relentless (Music & lyrics: Diane Warren)

• “Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters (EJAE et al.)

• “I Lied To You” — Sinners (Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson)

• “Sweet Dreams of Joy” — Viva Verdi! (Nicholas Pike)

• “Train Dreams” — Train Dreams (Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner)

Best Picture

• Bugonia

• F1

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• The Secret Agent

• Sentimental Value

• Sinners

• Train Dreams

Production Design

• Frankenstein — Tamara Deverell; Shane Vieau

• Hamnet — Fiona Crombie; Alice Felton

• Marty Supreme — Jack Fisk; Adam Willis

• One Battle After Another — Florencia Martin; Anthony Carlino

• Sinners — Hannah Beachler; Monique Champagne

Sound

• F1

• Frankenstein

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

• Sirāt

Visual Effects

• Avatar: Fire and Ash

• F1

• Jurassic World Rebirth

• The Lost Bus

• Sinners

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• Bugonia — Will Tracy

• Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro

• Hamnet — Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell

• One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson

• Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow

• It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi et al.

• Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie

• Sentimental Value — Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

• Sinners — Ryan Coogler