2021 Oscar Nomination Facts

After yesterday's announcement of the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards next month, there weren't too many surprises. Many of the categories looked similar to what they had been for the Golden Globes a few weeks back, albeit with fewer actual nominees since there are only single categories and no splits between drama and comedy/musical.

One thing is for sure, women are here to stay at the top of the Oscars. With a record 70 women being nominated for a total of 76 nominations, there are also two women up for Best Director, after the category being filled with all male nominees last year. It is the first time more than one woman has been nominated for the directing category. Among them Chloé Zhao is the first woman to recieve four nominations in a single year for her work on Nomadland while Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell is the third woman to receive three nominations in a single year, following Sofia Coppola and Fran Walsh, both in 2003.

Soul director Pete Docter received his now record fourth nomination in the Best Animated Feature category, which is celebrating its twentieth year as an Oscar category. In the Best International Film category, Tunisia becomes the fifth country from Africa to be nominated with their film The Man Who Sold His Skin.

Hamilton and One Night in Miami star Leslie Odom, Jr. is the fourth person to receive an acting nomination and a song nomination for the same film. This distinction is a fairly recent development with the three previous actors being Mary J. Blige for Mudbound in 2017, Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born in 2018 and Cynthia Erivo for Harriet just last year.

I would be remiss to not mention the posthumous Best Actor nomination for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (and Da 5 Bloods) star Chadwick Boseman. He is only the seventh actor to be nominated following his passing and after winning the Golden Globe, feels like a strong contender to be awarded an Oscar.

Finally, the acting categories are populated by a whole host of newcomers along with a few past winners. A total of 11 acting nominees are first-timers including Riz Ahmed, Maria Bakalova, Chadwick Boseman, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Leslie Odom, Jr., Paul Raci, Amanda Seyfried, Lakeith Stanfield, Steven Yeun, and Yuh-Jung Youn. Among the past winners are Olivia Colman (2018), Viola Davis (2016), Anthony Hopkins (1992), Frances McDormand (1997 & 2018), and Gary Oldman (2018).

For a full breakdown of the nominees, check out yesterday's summary post. And be sure to come back tomorrow for a deeper dive into the three shorts categories including Best Documentary Short Film, Best Animated Short Film, and Best Live Action Short Film.

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2021 Oscar Nominations | Best Short Films