It’s one of Hollywood’s big mysteries. Who knows why some of the industry’s most influential film directors never won an Oscar during their careers... and it’s equally as baffling as to why some actors and actresses have been overlooked by the Academy.

This year’s Academy Awards is no exception. When the nominations were announced on Thursday, there were some surprises and several glaring omissions.

The surprise omissions from this year’s Oscars

Angelina Jolie‘s portrayal of opera diva Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s biopic Maria earned her the Desert Palm Achievement Award in Palm Springs and the Maltin Modern Master Award in Santa Barbara. The 49-year old actress also received a host of other nominations (Venice, Golden Globes, Critics' Choice...) but doesn’t feature among the five nominees up for the Best Actress award at next month’s Oscars.

Daniel Craig gained plaudits across the board for his role as William Lee - a character loosely based on Beat writer William Burroughs, in Luca Guadagnino‘s drama Queer. “Craig reminds us of what an exceptional actor he is,” the BBC’s Nicholas Barber enthused. But while Queer has already picked up three gongs elsewhere, it has failed to excite Academy voters, and the British actor will have to wait another year for his first Oscar nomination.

Fierce competition for Best Actress Oscar

Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s performance as Pansy, a lonely, deeply unhappy mother whose slow decline into depression in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking to watch. But Leigh’s gritty drama didn’t resonate with voters and failed to get any nominations in spite of Marianne Jean-Baptiste superb performance.

Nicole Kidman was recognized at the Venice Film Festival and Palm Springs for her performance as high-flying CEO Romy who gets herself entangled in a messy extramarital affair with a young intern in Babygirl. But not everyone was convinced and Kidman, who has five Oscar nominations and one win from previous years, misses out this time.

And last but not least, Selena Gomez misses out on the Best Supporting Actress - competing with her Emilia Pérez co-star, Zoë Saldaña and there was only room for one of them.

Check out the full list of nominations for the 97th Oscars here:

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