James Franco: We will never know how much the accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior hurt Mr. Franco’s chances for a best-actor nomination for his lead role in “The Disaster Artist.” The allegations emerged on Jan. 11, Oscar nomination voting closed the next day, and some prognosticators guessed that Mr. Franco, who has denied any wrongdoing, might still squeak in. The fact that “The Disaster Artist” was a satirical film about a terrible film might have hurt his chances with the academy. Regardless, his snub makes for one less awkward moment at the ceremony.

“Mudbound” and Dee Rees: Her epic tale of two families, one black, the other white, eking out hardscrabble existences in the World War II-era South has every hallmark of an Oscar movie. A Sundance favorite scooped up by Netflix, it did land other nods, including a supporting actress nomination for Mary J. Blige. But the film failed to win over enough academy voters to nab a best-picture slot or a best-director one for Ms. Rees.

Martin McDonagh: He was seen as a shoo-in in the best director category, after earning Directors Guild and Golden Globe nominations for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” a heavy favorite in the Oscar race. Chances are that Mr. McDonagh was edged out by Paul Thomas Anderson, whose “Phantom Thread” ended up with six nominations.

“Jane”: This documentary by Brett Morgen about the beloved primatologist Jane Goodall had all the markings of an Oscar hit. It won precursor awards and nominations, including a best documentary prize from the Producers Guild, earned a 99 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and held the top spot on many prognosticators’ lists. Yet the academy’s documentary branch voters largely opted for grittier fare.

Jessica Chastain: Given the competition for best actress, it wasn’t a shocker that this two-time nominee was passed over for her lead performance in Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game.” Playing a former ski champion who runs a high-stakes poker game, Ms. Chastain displayed a variant of the detached steeliness that has been a through-line in many of her recent characters (in, for example “Zero Dark Thirty” and “A Most Violent Year”) but it wasn’t enough to woo the academy.

Armie Hammer: He has been working hard in recent years to break from commercial fare. He portrayed a conflicted slave owner in the 2016 “The Birth of a Nation,” and, more stirringly, a golden-boy graduate student who falls for a teenage boy in “Call Me by Your Name,” a gay coming-of-age story set in Italy. The performance earned him a nomination for a Golden Globe but not a SAG Award, which meant the Oscar nomination was a tougher get.