The acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren failed to shake off her Oscars curse at Sunday night’s ceremony.
Warren was nominated this year for the 17th time in the Best Original Song category for the song Dear Me, which was performed by Kesha in the documentary about the songwriter’s career, Diane Warren: Relentless.
But Warren once again went home empty-handed after the award went to the songwriting team behind the KPop Demon Hunters hit Golden.
Warren holds the distinction of being the nominee with the most nominations who has never won, but the record once belonged to sound mixer Greg P. Russell.
Like Warren, Russell had been nominated 17 times, but his final nomination — for 2016’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi — was later rescinded after he allegedly called up Academy voters during the nomination period, giving him only 16 official nominations.
Last week, Warren shared her disappointment that her nominated song wouldn’t be performed at the 2026 Oscars.
The acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren failed to shake off her Oscars curse at Sunday night’s ceremony. She holds the record for most Oscar nominations without a win after losing her 17th Oscar
Warren lost to the KPop Demon Hunters tune Golden; winners (L–R) Yuhan, EJAE, ZHUN, Mark Sonnenblick, NHD and 24 accept their award
‘It would have been nice had [Kesha] been able to perform the song,’ Warren told USA Today at a Women in Film Oscar nominees event on Friday. ‘And that would have been an amazing moment. I’m not in control of that, but it would have been amazing.’
She was referring to the Academy’s controversial decision to have only two of the nominated songs performed at the ceremony this year.
The KPop Demon Hunters song that eventually won was one of the lucky beneficiaries, along with I Lied To You from Sinners.
Although Warren’s record-maintaining losing streak continued this year, she technically has an Oscar, as she was presented with an honorary Academy Award in 2022.
While she continued her losing streak, another perennial also-ran ended up having one of the biggest Oscar triumphs of the year.
Despite having written and directed modern classics including There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, The Master, Punch-Drunk Love, Licorice Pizza and Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson had never won despite 11 previous nominations.
But this year marked a remarkable reversal of fortune, as Anderson won for all three awards he was nominated for — Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay — for his acclaimed thriller One Battle After Another
The 98th Academy Awards celebrated the best films of 2025, with the glitzy ceremony taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Warren holds the distinction of being the nominee with the most nominations who has never won, but the record once belonged to sound mixer Greg P. Russell. However, his 17th nomination was later rescinded by the Academy
Warren previously shared her frustration that the Academy changed course by only allowing performances for two of the nominated songs this year
While she continued her losing streak, another perennial also-ran, Paul Thomas Anderson, had a remarkable turn around when he won Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay for One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another landed in second place with 13 nominations, including Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Teyana Taylor
Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, netted nine Oscar nods, with leading man Timothee Chalamet up for Best Actor and the movie nominated for Best Picture
Conan O’Brien, 62, returned to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history.
The horror flick is one of the ten films up for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.
Sinners star Michael B. Jordan faces a stacked Best Actor category, competing against fellow nominees Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown only to face a supernatural evil.
The Best Actor race is currently a dead heat. While Chalamet dominated the early season with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, the momentum shifted after Jordan won at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards.
Adding to the tension, the ceremony arrives on the heels of Chalamet’s controversial comments about how ‘no one cares’ about ballet or opera, which sparked a wave of backlash from the arts community.
Based on the life of professional ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme stars Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York whose ambition to become world champion jeopardizes his personal relationships.
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, which is also up for Best Picture
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia earned a Best Actress nod for Emma Stone
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein secured nine nominations. Leading the film’s acting honors is Jacob Elordi, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of the Creature
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Hamnet. She faces a star-studded field including Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I would Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Helmed by 2021’s Best Director winner Chloe Zhao, Hamnet dives into the reimagined story of William Shakespeare’s home life and how the death of his 11-year-old son provided the emotional blueprint for his masterpiece, Hamlet.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations.
Along with a Best Director nod, the film also nabbed a Best Actor mention for DiCaprio, and Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.
The black comedy action-thriller follows a washed-up ex-revolutionary (DiCaprio) who is forced to come out from hiding to rescue his daughter, after she is targeted by his former nemesis, a corrupt military officer (Penn).
Aside from Penn and del Toro, the Best Supporting Actor category includes Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).
Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) were the most notable snubs from the category.
Frankenstein and Sentimental Value both earned nine nominations at this year’s ceremony.
Conan O’Brien, 62, is returning to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic, focusing on a heart-wrenching tale of a father’s rejection and a creature’s quest for love.
Meanwhile, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value follows two sisters forced to reconcile with their estranged filmmaker father.
Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
There was a massive backlash after Ariana Grande was snubbed in the Supporting category for Wicked: For Good.
She had been nominated last year for her work in the first film of the musical franchise.
Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of nominations. This came despite an acclaimed leading performance by Cynthia Erivo, as well as new songs written for the film, including No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble.
Gwyneth Paltrow was also left off the list in the category for her work in Marty Supreme.
There was a new award announced this year for Best Casting as the inaugural field includes: Nina Gold – Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another, Gabriel Domingues – The Secret Agent, and Francine Maisler – Sinners.
The ceremony kicks off at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu. It will also be streaming via Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
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