The 96th Academy Awards will air on March 10, 2024 and celebrate the best films released in 2023. The official nominations for all of the awards were released on Jan. 23, with some surprises in the major categories. Here is the biggest snub in each of the eight above-the-line categories.

Best Picture: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

Although “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” received a nomination for Best Animated Feature, it failed to pick a Best Picture nomination. Historically, animated films have been overlooked in the Best Picture category, as only three have ever been nominated. Unfortunately for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” this year’s Best Picture race was incredibly competitive, and it failed to make the cut. The film may have been hurt by the fact that it is the first of a two-part series, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.

Best Director: Celine Song, “Past Lives”

One of the best films released in 2023 was “Past Lives,” which details two childhood sweethearts who reconnect later in life. The film has received a lot of acclaim this awards season and received Academy Award nominations for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for Celine Song. However, Song failed to pick up a Best Director nomination, even after being nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Director. While many cite “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig as the biggest snub of the category this year, Song’s masterful direction of “Past Lives” deserved recognition, especially considering that it was her feature film debut.

Best Actress: Greta Lee, “Past Lives”

Another “Past Lives” snub is Greta Lee in the Best Actress race, who also secured a Golden Globe nomination but failed to get the elusive Oscar nomination. Lee is superb in “Past Lives” and delivers one of the best performances of the year as a playwright who has to reconcile her childhood love with her adult life and marriage to another man. Unfortunately for Lee, the Best Actress this year was incredibly competitive and Margot Robbie was snubbed as well for “Barbie.”

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” was the third-most nominated film of 2023 with 10 total nominations, but missing was a Best Actor nomination for Leonardo Dicaprio. DiCaprio has already won an Academy Award for “The Revenant,” so it is possible that the Academy did not feel the need to reward him. Despite the lack of recognition, DiCaprio is excellent in “Killers of the Flower Moon” as the morally corrupt yet conflicted Ernest Burkhart, a role that would have been frustrating to watch in lesser hands.

Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, “May December”

Unlike DiCaprio, Charles Melton is an actor who has yet to receive an Academy Award nomination and “May December” was his first real shot at Oscar glory. Melton was nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award for his work in “May December” as a man married to a much older woman. The best thing that one can say about Melton’s performance is that he steals the show from two Academy Award winning actresses, Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. Melton’s development over the course of the film as his quiet yet tough exterior walls break down is a masterclass on the principle of show, don’t tell.

Best Supporting Actress: Rosamund Pike, “Saltburn”

One film that failed to pick up any Academy Award nominations was Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn.” The film received multiple Golden Globe and British Academy Film Awards nominations, including Rosamund Pike being nominated for Best Supporting Actress at both ceremonies. However, “Saltburn” came up empty-handed at the Academy Awards. Pike deserved a nomination for her performance as Lady Elspeth Catton, as she brings the right balance of aloofness and intensity to the character that perfectly matches the gothic aesthetic of the film.

Best Original Screenplay: “Saltburn”

Likewise, “Saltburn” also should have received a Best Original Screenplay nomination as the film certainly had one of the five best and most original screenplays of the year. “Saltburn” is full of thrilling twists and turns that keep the audience in suspense through the final frame of the film. What may have hurt Fennell is that she has already won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for 2020’s “Promising Young Woman.”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Killers of the Flower Moon”

DiCaprio was not the only “Killers of the Flower Moon” snub as the film also failed to pick up a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is based on the book of the same name as Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese undertook the difficult job of adapting the nonfiction book into a feature film. Ultimately, they crafted a complex narrative that did service to the source material and brought the subject material to life. However, with a runtime of over 200 minutes, the excessive length of the screenplay may have held it back from an Academy Award nomination.