History was made this morning as the nominees were announced for the 91st Academy Awards. Black Panther became the first superhero movie ever named in the Best Picture category, for one major achievement. The Marvel Cinematic Universe installment also received recognition for its costumes, production design, sound editing, sound design, score and the original song “All the Stars.” Production designer Hannah Beachler is the first African American ever to be recognized in her category. Marvel also earned a nod for Avengers: Infinity War in the Best Visual Effects category.
Roma, which tied with The Favourite for most nominations this year with 10, is another big deal, earning a first Best Picture nod for Netflix. The semi-autobiographical Mexican feature was also nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film, while actresses Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira were honored in lead and supporting categories, respectively. De Tavira’s nomination was one of the big surprises of the morning, while Aparicio’s recognition is especially notable for this being her film acting debut. The movie also has a distinction for being the first Best Picture nominee ever with no reported box office gross (Netflix doesn’t bother with that).
Meanwhile, Roma director Alfonso Cuarón has tied the record for most nominations by a single person for a single film, personally named for four categories, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography. He would have broken the record if the film was also up for Best Editing as expected. His producing partner, Gabriela Rodriguez, is the first Hispanic woman nominated for Best Picture.
Other firsts this year include Spike Lee being nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for BlacKkKlansman. He had been recognized in the past in other categories and even received an honorary Oscar in 2016, but surprisingly he had never been named for the directing award before, and none of his movies had ever been up for the top honor, either. Lee additionally received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination as one of the four credited writers on the movie.
Speaking of the Best Director category, this is the first year where two of the nominees’ films are up for the Best Foreign-Language Oscar, with Cold War helmer Pawel Pawlikowski joining Cuarón for that distinction. Meanwhile, Paul Schrader, writer of a number of Martin Scorsese films, scored his first ever nod at age 72 for the original screenplay for his own movie, First Reformed. Also surprisingly honored with a nomination for his first time ever is 74-year-old actor Sam Elliott, who is recognized for his supporting performance in A Star is Born.
Certainly some of this morning’s surprises also came in the form of snubs, or excluded movies and artists and performers. Mary Poppins Returns failed to get a nomination for Best Picture, and star Emily Blunt wasn’t nominated for Best Actress, either. Timothée Chalamet was shut out of the Best Supporting Actor race for his acclaimed performance in Beautiful Boy, while Claire Foy not receiving a Best Supporting Actress nod for First Man was quite unexpected. The score for First Man was also shockingly ignored considering all the accolades and honors it has already received.
The Academy also overlooked the top-grossing documentary of the year, the Mr. Rogers biographical film Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, which had been thought a frontrunner for the Oscar in that category. Other hopefuls who missed the cut include Bradley Cooper for Best Director for A Star is Born, his feature debut behind the camera, and complete no shows Eighth Grade and Sorry to Bother You, both of which many predicted could at least receive a nod for Best Original Screenplay.
See the full list of nominees below.
BEST PICTURE
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star is Born
Vice
BEST ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Vice
Marina de Tavira, Roma
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott, A Star is Born
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell, Vice
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay, Vice
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins
A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters and Eric Roth
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Favourite, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
First Reformed, Paul Schrader
Green Book, Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga
Roma, Alfonso Cuarón
Vice, Adam McKay
ORIGINAL SCORE
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
ORIGINAL SONG
“All the Stars,” Black Panther
“I’ll Fight,” RBG
“The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns
“Shallow,” A Star is Born
“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star is Born
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Black Panther
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
COSTUME DESIGN
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Queen of Scots
VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
FILM EDITING
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice
SOUND EDITING
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma
SOUND MIXING
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Roma
A Star is Born
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Capernaum, Lebanon
Cold War, Poland
Never Look Away, Germany
Roma, Mexico
Shoplifters, Japan
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG
Watch the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24.