Oscar nominations 2020: 11 snubs and surprises

While “1917,” “Joker,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “The Irishman” will get to bask in the Oscars’ spotlight until the awards ceremony in February, there are quite a few films and actors that didn’t make Monday’s nomination list.

Then, there were the actors and flicks no one had expected to show up on the ballot.

While some of the categories seem to have clear winners — Renee Zellweger and Brad Pitt — others appear to be a much tighter race.

Here are 11 of the most surprising nominations and the biggest snubs.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the full list of nominees for this year’s Oscars, you can do so here.

Despite hoisting the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy last week, Taron Egerton will not be in contention for the leading actor Oscar.

Egerton was praised by critics for his portrayal of Elton John in “Rocketman.” He even nabbed a nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, due to be announced next week.

The biopic was only nominated in one category for the Academy Awards: best original song. John and Bernie Taupin won the Golden Globe for “(“I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” last week.

The directing category had stiff competition this year. Industry heavyweights Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), Sam Mendes (“1917”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) were shoo-ins for spots in the category, leaving only two slots for dozens of worthy directors.

Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), too, seemed like a lock for a nomination after the strong critical success of his foreign language film in the U.S.

Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”), Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”) and Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”) were considered strong contenders for the remaining spot, with Todd Phillips (“Joker”) seen as a bit of an underdog.

Phillips ultimately secured the fifth spot on the ballot.

There’s no doubt that the five directors nominated in the directing category of the Academy Awards deserved their spots on the ballot. However, many felt that Gerwig should have received a nomination for “Little Women.”

Gerwig was nominated in the category for 2017’s “Lady Bird,” but lost out to Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”). Gerwig is one of only five women to have been nominated in the directing category in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards.

Kathryn Bigelow is the only female director to win the prize, taking home the Oscar for “The Hurt Locker” in 2009.

Heading into Monday’s nomination announcement, Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”), Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”) and Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”) were the suspected shoo-ins for supporting actress nominations. However, while Dern and Robbie secured their place on the ballot, Lopez was left off.

Lopez had garnered nominations at both the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. She did not win at the Globes and the SAG Awards are set to be revealed on Sunday.

It seemed that Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” would be completely shut out from Oscar contention this year after being panned by critics and audiences in December. However, on Monday, Kathy Bates nabbed a nomination in the best supporting actress category, surprising everyone.

Bates, who was praised for her performance, had been overlooked in predictions in favor of Lopez (“Hustlers”), Annette Bening (“The Report”), Nicole Kidman (“Bombshell”) and Zhao Shuzhen, (“The Farewell”).

Despite a strong presence at The Golden Globes, “The Farewell” was largely absent from several of the major guild award nominations in the last two months. Still, many had suspected that Awkwafina would receive a nod for her acting performance in the film, but she was left off the ballot Monday.

In fact, “The Farewell” did not receive a single Oscar nomination.

In a surprise turn of events Monday, Disney’s “Frozen II” was left off the best animated feature ballot in favor of Netflix’s “Klaus.”

Heading into the nominations, it was expected that Disney would have at least two features up for the award. Instead, “Toy Story 4” was nominated in the category alongside Golden Globe winner “Missing Link” and French fantasy drama “I Lost My Body.”

“Klaus” is the first original feature to be produced out of Netflix’s animation unit. The Santa Claus origin story was praised for its unique style of 2D animation.

It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Beyonce Knowles-Carter would receive her first Academy Award nomination for her original song “Spirit,” which was part of Disney’s “The Lion King” live-action remake.

However, on Monday, she was absent from the ballot.

Randy Newman secured a nomination for “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4,” Elton John and Bernie Taupin scored one for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman,” Diane Warren’s “I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough” was nominated, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen II” earned a nod, and Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo garnered a nomination for “Stand Up” from “Harriet.”

While critically praised, “Ford v. Ferrari” had gone under the radar for much of the Academy Award discussions in recent weeks. The film ultimately scored four nominations — achievement in sound mixing, achievement in sound editing, achievement in film editing and best picture.

Christian Bale, however, was left off the acting ballot.

Critical praise for “Uncut Gems” and “Dolemite is my Name” weren’t enough for either film to grab a nomination for the 2020 Oscars.

Adam Sandler (“Uncut Gems”) and Eddie Murphy (“Dolemite”) were both snubbed in the acting categories and neither flick made it onto the best picture ballot.

Both films faced tough competition across several categories, so even if they were nominated, it’s unlikely they would have taken home the coveted Oscar.