TV & Movies

The 2021 Oscar Nominations Are Here & Two Women Directors Made History

For the first time ever, two women earned nominations for Best Director in the same year.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - APRIL 11:  Director Chloe Zhao attends a special screening of "The Rider" at the...
Amanda Edwards/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic may have delayed awards season, but in Hollywood, the show must go on. The 2021 Oscar nominations are here, and while they’re definitely reflective of the chaotic year we’ve had since the last Academy Awards, they’re also more diverse than ever before. The nominations were announced on Monday, March 15, by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. As of now, the 2021 Oscars will currently go without a host for the second year in a row when it airs on April 25 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

The 93rd Academy Awards made history as two women have been nominated for Best Director for the first time in the same year. Chloé Zhao was nominated for Nomadland, after taking home the Best Director prize at the 2021 Golden Globes, and Emerald Fennell picked up a nod for Promising Young Woman. However, many fans are upset that Regina King was snubbed for One Night in Miami, which was also left out of the Best Picture category despite landing several nominations, including Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Elsewhere, the acting categories have made history as well. This year’s Oscars marks the most non-white actors that have been nominated for acting awards, with a total of nine nominees, breaking the previous record of seven. Some of the nominees include Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal, becoming the first Muslim actor to be nominated for Best Actor; Steven Yeun for Minari, marking the first Asian-American to be nominated in the category; and Chadwick Boseman, who landed a posthumous Best Actor nod for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Of course, the Oscars always have a little bit of pure chaos, and this year was no exception. Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams’ hilariously campy Netflix film Eurovision Song Content: The Story of Fire Saga earned an unexpected (but deserved) Best Original Song nomination for McAdams’ character’s epic anthem “Husavik.” Apparently, the Oscars needed some wacky joy this year. See the full nominations below.

Best Picture
  • The Father
  • Judas and the Black Messiah
  • Mank
  • Minari
  • Nomadland
  • Promising Young Woman
  • Sound of Metal
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Leading Actress
  • Viola Davis — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
  • Andra Day — The United States vs. Billie Holiday
  • Vanessa Kirby — Pieces of a Woman
  • Frances McDormand — Nomadland
  • Carey Mulligan — Promising Young Woman
Best Leading Actor
  • Riz Ahmed — Sound of Metal
  • Chadwick Boseman — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
  • Anthony Hopkins — The Father
  • Gary Oldman — Mank
  • Steven Yeun — Minari
Netflix
Best Supporting Actress
  • Maria Bakalova — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
  • Glenn Close — Hillbilly Elegy
  • Olivia Colman — The Father
  • Amanda Seyfried — Mank
  • Youn Yuh-jung — Minari
Best Supporting Actor
  • Sacha Baron Cohen — The Trial of the Chicago 7
  • Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
  • Leslie Odom Jr. — One Night in Miami...
  • Paul Raci — Sound of Metal
  • LaKeith Stanfield — Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Director
  • Thomas Vinterberg — Another Round
  • David Fincher — Mank
  • Lee Isaac Chung — Minari
  • Chloé Zhao — Nomadland
  • Emerald Fennell — Promising Young Woman
Netflix
Best Original Song
  • “Fight For You” — Judas and the Black Messiah
  • “Hear My Voice” — The Trial of the Chicago 7
  • “Husavik” — Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
  • “lo Sì (Seen)” — The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)
  • “Speak Now” — One Night in Miami…
Best Animated Feature Film
  • Onward
  • Over the Moon
  • Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
  • Soul
  • Wolfwalkers
Best International Feature Film
  • Another Round (Denmark)
  • Better Days (Hong Kong)
  • Collective (Romania)
  • The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
  • Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Best Original Screenplay
  • Judas and the Black Messiah Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas, & Kenneth Lucas
  • Minari Lee Isaac Chung
  • Promising Young Woman Emerald Fennell
  • Sound of Metal Abraham Marder, Darius Marder, & Derek Cianfrance
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7 — Aaron Sorkin
Best Adapted Screenplay
  • Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Nina Pedrad, Erica Rivinoja, & Dan Swimer
  • The Father Christopher Hampton &Florian Zeller
  • Nomadland Chloé Zhao
  • One Night in Miami... Kemp Powers
  • The White Tiger Ramin Bahrani
Focus Features
Best Cinematography
  • Judas and the Black Messiah — Sean Bobbitt
  • Mank — Erik Messerschmidt
  • News of the World — Dariusz Wolski
  • Nomadland — Joshua James Richards
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7 — Phedon Papamichael
Best Film Editing
  • The Father — Yorgos Lamprinos
  • Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
  • Promising Young Woman — Frédéric Thoraval
  • Sound of Metal — Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7 — Alan Baumgarten
Production Design
  • The Father — Peter Francis, Cathy Featherstone
  • Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — Mark Ricker, Karen O’Hara, Diana Stoughton
  • Mank — Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale
  • News of the World — David Crank, Elizabeth Keenan
  • Tenet — Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
  • Emma — Marese Langan
  • Hillbilly Elegy — Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, Matthew Mungle
  • Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal, Larry M. Cherry
  • Mank — Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams
  • Pinocchio — Dalia Colli, Anna Kieber, Sebastian Lochmann, Stephen Murphy
Netflix
Best Visual Effects
  • Love and Monsters Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt, Brian Cox
  • The Midnight Sky — Matt Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, Dave Watkins, Max Solomon
  • Mulan — Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, Steve Ingram
  • The One and Only Ivan — Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, Santiago Colomo Martinez
  • Tenet — Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher, Mike Chambers
Best Documentary Short Subject
  • Colette
  • A Concerto Is a Conversation
  • Do Not Split
  • Hunger Ward
  • A Love Song for Latasha
Best Documentary Feature
  • Collective
  • Crip Camp
  • The Mole Agent
  • My Octopus Teacher
  • Time
Best Live Action Short Film
  • Feeling Through
  • The Letter Room
  • The Present
  • Two Distant Strangers
  • White Eye
Best Animated Short Film
  • Burrow
  • Genius Loci
  • If Anything Happens I Love You
  • Opera
  • Yes-People
A24
Best Original Score
  • Da 5 Bloods Terence Blanchard
  • Mank Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
  • Minari Emile Mosseri
  • News of the World James Newton Howard
  • Soul Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste
Best Sound
  • Greyhound — Odin Benitez, Jason King, Christian P. Minkler, Michael Minkler, Jeff Sawyer
  • Mank — Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, Drew Kunin
  • News of the World — John Pritchett, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, Oliver Tarney, Michael Fentum
  • Soul — Coya Elliott, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Vince Caro
  • Sound of Metal — Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, Carolina Santana
Best Costume Design
  • Emma — Alexandra Byrne
  • Mank — Trish Summerville
  • Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — Ann Roth
  • Mulan — Bina Daigeler
  • Pinocchio — Massimo Cantini Parrini