Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Overlooked for 2026 Oscar Nominations for Wicked: What It Means

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked.
Credit :

Universal Pictures

Oscar Nominations Snub: ‘Wicked: For Good’

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s performances in Wicked: For Good did not garner any nominations for the 2026 Oscars, a decision announced on January 22. This marks a surprising turn of events for the duo, who were nominated at last year’s Academy Awards for their roles in the first installment of the Wicked film series.

The film adaptation of the Broadway musical received 10 nominations in 2025, winning one Academy Award. However, its sequel, For Good, failed to secure any nominations this year, leaving both Grande and Erivo excluded from the Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress categories, respectively.

Last year, Erivo competed for Best Actress against Mikey Madison, while Grande was nominated for Best Supporting Actress against Zoe Saldaña. Madison ultimately won for her role in Anora, while Saldaña took home the award for Emilia Pérez.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on Nov. 10, 2025.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Erivo’s exclusion follows a similar pattern at the Critics Choice Awards earlier this month, where Grande was also nominated but did not win. Both actresses were previously nominated at the Golden Globe Awards, but faced stiff competition. At that event, Rose Byrne took the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, while Teyana Taylor won Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role over Grande for One Battle After Another.

Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda arrive in the Emerald City in ‘Wicked’.

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Conan O’Brien is set to host the upcoming Oscars, which will be broadcast live on March 15, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and available for streaming on Hulu.