While several stars celebrated victories at the 98th Academy Awards, many well-known actors, filmmakers and films were nominated but did not win in their categories. The ceremony was highly competitive, meaning several critically praised performances ultimately went home without Oscars.
Below is a breakdown of some of the biggest nominees who lost out across the major categories.
Best Actor Nominees Who Did Not Win
The Best Actor race featured several major Hollywood names. The award went to Michael B. Jordan for his performance in Sinners, leaving the other nominees without the prize.
Actors who lost in this category included:
Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon
Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent
Best Actress Nominees Who Did Not Win
The Best Actress award went to Jessie Buckley for her role in Hamnet. Several prominent actresses who were nominated ultimately did not win.
They included:
Emma Stone for Bugonia
Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue
Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actor Nominees Who Did Not Win
The award in this category went to Sean Penn for his role in One Battle After Another. The other nominees who missed out included:
Benicio del Toro for One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo for Sinners
Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress Nominees Who Did Not Win
Amy Madigan won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Weapons. The actresses who were nominated but did not win were:
Elle Fanning for Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value
Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners
Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another
Best Director Nominees Who Did Not Win
The Best Director award was won by Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another. The other nominated directors who did not take home the award were:
Ryan Coogler for Sinners
Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao for Hamnet
Best Picture Nominees That Did Not Win
The Best Picture award went to One Battle After Another. Several films nominated in the category did not win, including:
Bugonia
Frankenstein
F1
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
A Night of Tough Competition
The 2026 Oscars highlighted how competitive the film industry can be. Many acclaimed actors, directors and films received nominations but left the ceremony without awards. Despite the losses, the nominations themselves reflected strong recognition from the Academy and celebrated the wide range of talent and storytelling present in cinema during the past year.
