Oscars snubs: Will and Harper, Queer and Challengers fans among many left disappointed

A string of queer films and performances have been snubbed by the Oscars 2025 shortlist, from emotional documentary film Will & Harper to Daniel Craig’s performance in Queer.

While the 2025 Academy Awards will be huge for on-screen trans representation, with Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón becoming the first ever publicly trans performer nominated for an acting Oscar, there’s little fanfare for the year’s other queer films.

Netflix documentary film Will & Harper surprisingly failed to score a nomination, despite making it onto the 15-film shortlist in the Best Documentary Feature film category at the end of last year.

The film follows actor Will Ferrell on a road trip with his best friend, former Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele, as they establish a new dynamic in their friendship following Harper’s decision to transition.

It received huge critics’ and audience praise, and has won several critics’ awards.

Other films left out in the cold include both of Luca Guadagnino’s major 2024 releases, Challengers and Queer, which both received a grand total of zero nominations.

Queer lead Craig was tipped as a potential Best Actor contender, as he had recently been nominated for the role at the Golden Globes.

The 007 star plays William Lee in the hazy and horny film, a drunken man in New Mexico in the 1950s with a penchant for hard drugs and young men. While the film itself was critically divisive, Craig was lauded for his performance.

Challengers was also celebrated as one of 2024’s biggest and boldest box office hits when it dropped last April, but it appeared to run out of steam ahead of awards season.

Elsewhere, Gladiator II star Denzel Washington was a possible contender in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as queer villain Macrinus, but he didn’t make the shortlist.

Meanwhile, though queer favourite Wicked scored an impressive ten nominations, including Best Picture and a Best Female Actress nod for queer star Cynthia Erivo, Jon M Chu was notably missing from the directors’ list.

I saw the tv glow getting nothing is unsurprising but also damn that sucks

— ✿ Sailor June ✿ (@june_snug) January 23, 2025

Jane Schoenbrun’s cult horror film I Saw The TV Glow also missed out on any Oscar nods, which, while unsurprising given its smaller box office roll out, has still caused a grumble on social media.

Other, non-queer snubs include Pamela Anderson for The Last Showgirl, Nicole Kidman in Babygirl, Lily Rose-Depp’s horror film Nosferatu, and Irish comedy Kneecap.

no nicole kidman
no will and harper (and the song)
no i saw the tv glow
no june squibb
no marianne jean baptiste
no all we imagine as light
no pamela anderson

i lost a lot i fear #Oscars pic.twitter.com/yhBfCUBcdr

— hugeasmammoth.films (@hugeasmammoth_) January 23, 2025

Will & Harper in Best Documentary kinda the snub of the year.

— David Adams (@dadams118) January 23, 2025

Emilia Pérez, which features a trans plot at its centre, scored a startling 13 nominations – but star Selena Gomez was a surprise omission from the Best Supporting Actress shortlist.

The 2025 Oscars take place on 3 March.

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