Why Leonardo DiCaprio, despite his brilliance in Killers of the Flower Moon, may not win Oscars

One of the most successful films of 2023, Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese, starred Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. The actor-director duo, after delivering six feature films and a short film together, joined forces again for their latest — based on the book of the same name written by the journalist David Grann. Despite the monstrous response and rave reviews, DiCaprio and Scorsese may not receive the recognition their film deserves, claims a report by Screen Rant.

While the female lead of the film, Lily Gladstone has been recognised for her performance as Mollie Burkhart, the male protagonist of the film, DiCaprio, is yet to receive any awards. Notably, Gladstone clinched the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Motion Picture. She is also a frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar.

Screen Rant, in its report, wrote, “Though he delivered a great performance in Killers of The Flower Moon, it’s unlikely that DiCaprio will win Best Actor at the 2024 Oscars.” It further mentioned, “DiCaprio’s performance in Killers of the Flower Moon is notably and surprisingly absent from the recent SAG Awards nominations, which significantly lowers his chances of winning or even being nominated at the 2024 Oscars.”

Notably, DiCaprio was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor at the 2024 Golden Globes. However, Cillian Murphy took the award home for Oppenheimer. While DiCaprio remained a likely Oscar nominee for Killers of the Flower Moon, his SAG Awards loss may affect the same.

It is pertinent to note that DiCaprio delivered some of his best works under Scorsese, but got nominated for Best Actor for two films, both for playing real-life people. In 2005, he earned a nomination for playing Howard Hughes in The Aviator. Next, in 2014, he was nominated for playing Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Given the records and the recent development, Martin Scorsese’s Leonardo DiCaprio-starring Killers of the Flower Moon may not earn either actor and director any recognition.