Oscars 2020 Nominations: 16 Biggest Shocks, Snubs & Surprises

Joker is leading the pack. Who saw that coming?

By Jack Pooley /

Warner Bros & AMPAS

The 2020 Oscar nominations have been announced, and just as it is every year, the 24-category field of nominees is a maddenning mix of satisfying, infuriating, and simply baffling.

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Well-deserving actors and artists got their nods, while some of the finest work of the year was completely ignored per the Oscars' unadventurous prerogative, and a few bizarre nominations just made no sense at all.

It wouldn't be the Oscars if it didn't piss everyone off, and as expected, this year's slate was largely non-inclusive - that is to say, white and male where it matters most - ensuring that AMPAS' measures to diversify their voting body hasn't really done much good, yet at least.

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It certainly wasn't all bad, though, and many of the year's best movies nevertheless got their fair due.

Plus, above all else, this is one of the most interesting and unpredictable Oscar races in recent years: it wouldn't be remotely surprising if 1917 or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood split Best Picture and Best Director, but it's entirely possible that The Irishman or Parasite could commit the heist of the century and run away with both.

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And on top of all that, there's Joker, which is quite appropriately a wild card which could crash the whole party with its unexpectedly strong presence among the nominations...