Nope’s Oscar Snub Makes The Movie’s Plot Mirror A Real-Life Issue

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Nope has curiously received no Oscars nominations for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, which weirdly mirrors the film's plot. The nominations for 2023's Oscars event were announced on January 24, 2023, with the likes of Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Banshees of Inisherin, and All Quiet on the Western Front leading the race - the former receiving a whopping eleven nominations. Despite some of 2022's best films being celebrated in the lead-up to March's Academy Awards ceremony, many are questioning why hit films such as Matt Reeves' The Batman, Mark Mylod's The Menu, and Jordan Peele's Nope were snubbed from the bigger awards, or from the ceremony entirely.

After the massive success of his directorial debut Get Out and his second thrilling feature, Us, Jordan Peele seemed like a shoo-in for the 95th Academy Awards following the July 2022 release of his neo-Western Nope. Daniel Kaluuya reunited with Jordan Peele to portray Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr., a Hollywood horse wrangler who inherits his late father's ranch but soon realizes the skies above the ranch are home to a sinister extraterrestrial creature. Along with Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and Brandon Perea, it seemed as though Kaluuya and Peele would be gifted some nominations at 2023's Oscars, but this didn't come to fruition, perfectly mirroring the message delivered during Nope.

Nope's Oscar Miss Mirrors Its Movie Plot

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With surprise Best Picture nominations for Triangle of Sadness and Women Talking, many are questioning what the criteria actually is for films to be considered for the most coveted award in cinema. Funnily enough, Nope's snub from the Oscars' Best Picture nominations seems to reflect one of the smaller storylines featured in the film itself - that being the mistreatment of background workers in Hollywood. OJ and his horse-wrangling company were snubbed immediately at the beginning of Nope, just as Peele, Kaluuya, and the crew behind the film's production have now been snubbed from the Oscars.

Why Nope's Lack Of Oscar Nomination Is Considered Such A Snub

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Nope joined a long list of hit 2022 films that potentially deserved an Oscar nomination while missing out on the recognition from the Academy themselves. Nope was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the American Film Institute and became the highest-grossing R-rated film in the US and Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some critics even compared Nope to the works of Steven Spielberg, whose movies are referenced in Nope. Nope has also been nominated for several other awards across various large-scale events in the 2022/23 season, so it's certainly strange that the film has been omitted from the Oscars.

While Nope isn't considered to be as good as Get Out and Us, Peele's previous projects, many expected to see the film receive some recognition during the 95th Academy Awards. Unfortunately, despite Nope's cinematography, production design, visual effects, performances, and musical score receiving international acclaim, Jordan Peele will have to wait until his next hit project to be considered for a major award. One thing's for sure, if Peele keeps developing films akin to Nope, it won't be too long until he's taking home his very own Oscar.