The big losers of the 98th Academy Awards

They left the evening empty-handed. And it wasn’t necessarily expected…

Timothée Chalamet

He was favored for his role in Marty Supreme…until Michael B. Jordan and his double performance in Sinners take a real decisive lead from the Actor Awards (formerly SAG Awards). That makes three falls for the young Franco-American, already beaten last year for A complete stranger and in 2018 for Call Me by Your Name. Let’s hope he found some comfort in the arms of another big loser in the category, Leonardo DiCaprio, once a favorite for One Battle after Another. Maybe Leo was able to remind Tim that he, too, had lost three times (for Aviator, Blood Diamond And The Wolf of Wall Street) before finally being crowned for The Revenant.

Marty Supreme

Following in Chalamet’s footsteps, Josh Safdie’s brilliant film was ignored by voters and ended the night without any statuette. Too bad: its story around a ping-pong star is undeniably one of the best films of the past year (released in February 2026 in France). Leaving empty-handed despite 9 nominations hurts.

Arco

The French feature film clearly deserved the Oscar for best animated film, but it was defeated by the popular power of the Netflix hit KPop Demon Hunters. The grand prize of the last Annecy festival will therefore not be the one which will allow a French film to finally win the statuette. Of The Triplets of Belleville has Persepolispassing through Ernest and Celestineor even I lost my body And My life as a ZucchiniFrance has multiplied the nominations over the last 25 years… without ever going to the end.

The Secret Agent

Winner at the Golden Globes and announced as favorite for Best International Film, the Brazilian feature lost to Sentimental value. No reward either for Wagner Moura, although honored throughout the last few weeks during various ceremonies in Paris or New York. With 4 nominations, The Secret Agent leaves empty-handed.

Emma Stone and Bugonia

Same calculation for the last Yorgos Lanthimos. The Greek director signed one of the cinematic UFOs of the season, offering Emma Stone her fifth Oscar nomination (including two victories). But even the star, who had shaved her head for the role, could do nothing against the dramatic intensity of Jessie Buckley in Hamnet.