Among the Grammys, Golden Globes, and Emmys, The Oscars are one of the most highly anticipated award ceremonies of the year. The Oscars highlight many actors, actresses, directors, and films with awards. Because there are many categories, it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to find your favorite movie on the list. But sometimes they aren’t there. Find out which films are nominated for some of the most popular categories in the 2024 Oscars, and which ones aren’t there.

One of the most awaited categories is the Actor/Actress in a leading role. The only duo in this category is Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, nominated for Maestro. Unsurprisingly Cillian Murphy is nominated for Oppenheimer and Emma Stone for an incredible performance in Poor Things. Drama movies won three nominations this year: Rustin, The Holdovers, and American Fiction, with Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti, and Jeffrey Wright. Crime movies seemed to boom in theaters, with Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall, and Lily Gladstone for Killers of a Flower Moon. Last but not least, Annette Bening won a nomination swimmingly for the only sports movie in these categories Nyad. There were a few upsets in these sections, with certain actors from movies like Barbie and Killers of a Flower Moon being held out against. 

While many actors in this category are from similar movies to the first, their performances are equally breathtaking. In the categories of Best Actor/Actress in a supporting role, we see more representation of Barbie, which many thought was the best movie of the year. The recognized actors for Barbie are Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera. Other popular duo in this category is Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr for Oppenheimer. Even though there were upsets for Killer of a Flower Moon Robert De Niro still won a nomination. The movie Nyad did well with Jodie Foster winning an accompanying award to Bening’s. Drama/Comedy movies The Holdovers and American Fiction did equally well in this category with Da’vine Joy Randolph and Sterling K. Brown’s nominations. The only historical movie in this category is The Color Purple with Danielle Brooks earning her spot on the list. In the more obscure genre of Sci-fi, Mark Ruffalo won the nomination for Poor Things.

While animated movies get less recognition from audiences, they are equally impressive. The Pixar release Elemental is a sweet romantic comedy that is nothing short of Pixar’s standard. The Boy and the Heron is an adventure movie made by the popular Japanese Studio Ghibli. The Sci-fi adventure movie Nimona brought its colorful fantasy world to life. Even though Robot Dreams was originally written in Spanish, it boomed in theaters and won this nomination. The last movie on this list was loved by many audiences for its art. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse won its spot on the list for its vibrant art that made this movie come to life.

Best Picture is a list every movie wants to be on. With ten nominations, the Best Picture category brings back all of the fan favorites throughout the year. Some of the movies made near the end of 2023 like The Holdovers, American Fiction, Maestro, Killers of a Flower Moon, and Poor Things made it on here easily. The only movie made in 2024 is The Zone of Interest which came out February 2nd. Over the summer, the rest of these movies came out. Past Lives in June, as well as Barbie and Oppenheimer ‘s iconic joint release date, July 21.

With modern-day technology, it’s no surprise companies are easily able to dazzle us with vivid graphics. However, the movies in the Visual Effects category wowed audiences the most. All of the movies listed here are unsurprisingly some form of action. The Sci-fi movies are The Creator and Godzilla Minus One. Yet these movies are parts of an ongoing series Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. An oddball in this category is the Historical movie Napoleon. The bar has been raised this year for every movie hoping to be included in this category.

Whenever there are nominations, there are also upsets. Every year, some big names don’t make it onto the list. While it’s unrealistic to expect that any award ceremony can make everyone happy, some people get more upset than others. Even though the movie Killers of the Flower Moon  got much recognition, many people realized Leonardo DiCaprio’s name was not there. Another internet uproar was caused when the popular movie Barbie was missing some key names on the nominations. Margot Robbie, the lead actress was not nominated for Actress in a Leading Role, and Greta Gerwig was not recognized for directing the popular movie. The Sofia Coppola movie Priscilla, starring Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny, was missing from the list this year, which disappointed Elordi’s prominent fanbase. The last movie that didn’t make it is The Iron Claw, a highly-rated wrestling movie. It’s always sad to see fan favorites not make it, but it’s still exciting to see who wins. 

The Oscars are always helpful in letting us reminisce through the past year in film, and appreciate what’s to come. The excitement for the upcoming ceremony is only rising, with it happening on March 10. Hopefully we will see many surprises this year, from the red carpet looks to the emotional wins. It will definitely be a night to remember!