Which Is the Biggest Surprise of the 2021 Oscar Nominations?

Netflix’s La madre del blues (2020) and Amazon’s Una noche en Miami... (2020) out of Best Picture and Best Director despite being mainstays on the awards circuit.

Thomas Vinterberg nomination for Best Director for Danish film Una ronda más (2020), and Mads Mikkelsen failing to score in Best Actor for the same film.

Judas and the Black Messiah nomination for Best Picture and an overall great performance with six nominations including LaKeith Stanfield for Supporting Actor.

Glenn Close nominated for her role in Hillbilly, una elegía rural (2020), the same role that also gave her a Razzie nomination.

El padre (2020) strong showing with six nominations, including Best Picture.

Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell as nominees in the first year in history with two women in the Best Director category.

Mank as the most nominated film with 10 nods.

Aaron Sorkin snubbed for his work as director in El juicio de los 7 de Chicago (2020).

5 sangres (2020) getting a single nomination, and missing recognition for the acting of Delroy Lindo and Chadwick Boseman.

Tigre Blanco (2021) Surprise nomination in Best Adapted Screenplay.

Paul Raci in the competition for Best Supporting Actor for his role in El sonido del metal (2019).

Tunisia nominated for the first time in history the International Film category for The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020).

Colectiv (2019) becoming the first Romanian film competing in International Film and Best Documentary.

Pedro Almodóvar's Short Film La voz humana (2020) starring Tilda Swinton missing a Best Short Film nomination.

Minari (2020) strong showing including nominations for Steven Yeun and Lee Isaac Chung.

Alexandre Desplat snubbed for his Original Score in The Midnight Sky, leaving him out of contention for the first time in the last four years.

Zero nominations for The Mauritanian. Including a snub for Golden Globe winner Jodie Foster.

Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión: La historia de Fire Saga (2020) earning a nomination for Best Original Song.

Rosamund Pike out of Best Actress contention after her victory in the 2021 Golden Globe Awards (2021).

No major nominations for News of the World (2020), including a snub for Helena Zengel in Best Actress.

Zero nominations for First Cow.

Short list Frontrunners like Boys State (2020), Descansa en paz, Dick Johnson (2020) or Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and fan favorites like David Attenborough: Una vida en nuestro planeta (2020) out of the Best Documentary race.

Only two nominations for Tenet (2020), missing out for Score and Cinematography.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) earning nominations for Screenplay and Supporting Actress.

Mexico's Ya no estoy aquí (2019) out of International Film contention despite getting recognized by the Directors Guild Award.

While it was known before the nominations, I'm surprised that the two Sound categories were merged into a single one.

Shaun the Sheep edging Los Croods 2: Una nueva era (2020) out of the Best Animated Feature race.

Zero nominations for El baile (2020).

No Production or Costume Design nominations for Rebeca (2020).