The 2026 Oscars Nominations: Thoughts, Opinions, Predictions

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WICKED GOT NOTHING! And thus do we kick off our opinion-making on the 2026 Oscar nominations. We kinda thought Ariana Grande was a lock on a nomination, but it’s a genuine surprise that Wicked: For Good got shut out completely. We’re not upset about it. In fact, there’s very little about the nominations this year that upsets us. Sure, there were snubs. There always are. But the Academy is getting better about nominating a diverse array of performers and genres. We’ll have more to say about all of this in an upcoming podcast, but we’ll give some first impressions and predictions.

Best motion picture of the year
“Bugonia” (Focus Features)
“F1” (Apple)
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“Hamnet” (Focus Features)
“Marty Supreme” (A24)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“The Secret Agent” (Neon)
“Sentimental Value” (Neon)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
“Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Bugonia is wildly overpraised and F1 sounds like a joke nomination. Congratulations to Sinners for securing a record number of nominations after the industry spent a year trying to downplay its success. Sometimes when films get over-nominated, they go home mostly empty-handed, but we hope that doesn’t happen with this one.

Achievement in directing
Chloé Zhao – “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
Josh Safdie – “Marty Supreme” (A24)
Paul Thomas Anderson – “One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
Joachim Trier – “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Ryan Coogler – “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

We think it’s probably Coogler or PTA.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Timothée Chalamet in “Marty Supreme” (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
Ethan Hawke in “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura in “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

Well, there you have it. Princee Timmee’s stunting did nothing to hurt his chances. Let’s see if he can keep it up all the way to a win. This one’s hard to predict, but we suspect Timmee’s got the momentum.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Benicio Del Toro in “One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
Jacob Elordi in “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
Delroy Lindo in “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Sean Penn in “One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
Stellan Skarsgård in “Sentimental Value” (Neon)

Jacob Elordi, Oscar nominee. Couldn’t have predicted that a couple of years ago. THRILLED for Delroy Lindo, who’s deserved recognition like this for decades. Del Toro has a lot of momentum, but we’re rooting for Lindo.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Jessie Buckley in “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
Rose Byrne in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)
Kate Hudson in “Song Sung Blue” (Focus Features)
Renate Reinsve in “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Emma Stone in “Bugonia” (Focus Features)

Kate Hudson, Oscar nominee. We think this one is likely to go to Jessie Buckley, however. Love Emma Stone but she gets nominated every time she farts now. Sorry to Amanda Seyfried.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Elle Fanning in “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Amy Madigan in “Weapons” (Warner Bros.)
Wunmi Mosaku in “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor in “One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)

Thrilled for Elle Fanning, who’s been working toward this level of acclaim for years now. SUPER thrilled for Teyana and Wunmi. If we have to pick one, we’d say Wunmi. Sorry to Chase Infiniti. We would have loved to cover your Oscar campaign.

Best animated feature film of the year
“Arco” (Neon)
“Elio” (Walt Disney)
“KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix)
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (GKIDS)
“Zootopia 2” (Walt Disney)

Gotta be KPop Demon Hunters.

Best animated short film
“Butterfly” (Sacrebleu Productions)
“Forevergreen”
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls” (National Film Board of Canada) Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Retirement Plan”
“The Three Sisters” (Polydont Films/Rymanco Ventures)

Achievement in casting
“Hamnet” (Focus Features)
“Marty Supreme” (A24)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“The Secret Agent” (Neon)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

We have no way of knowing how the voting goes on this brand new category, but these all seem like solid nominees.

Achievement in cinematography
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“Marty Supreme” (A24)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
“Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Train Dreams was one of the most gorgeous films of the year.

Achievement in costume design
Deborah L. Scott – “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (Walt Disney)
Kate Hawley – “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
Malgosia Turzanska – “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
Miyako Bellizzi – “Marty Supreme” (A24)
Ruth E. Carter – “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

We love Ruth E. Carter’s work, but we’re also big fans of Malgosia Turzanska. Interesting to see a costume design nomination for a digitally animated film.

Best documentary feature film
“The Alabama Solution” (HBO Documentary Films)
“Come See Me in the Good Light” (Apple)
“Cutting through Rocks”
“Mr. Nobody against Putin” (PINK)
“The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix)

Best documentary short film
“All the Empty Rooms” (Netflix)
“Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent
Renaud” (HBO)
“Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”” (Sky)
“The Devil Is Busy” (HBO)
“Perfectly a Strangeness” (Second Sight Pictures)

Achievement in film editing
“F1” (Apple)
“Marty Supreme” (A24)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Sentimental Value” (Neon)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

Best international feature film of the year
“The Secret Agent”
“It Was Just an Accident”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sirāt”
“The Voice of Hind Rajab”

AMAZING that The Voice of Hind Rajab got a nomination. It’ll be interesting to see the outrage if it wins.

Best live action short film
“Butcher’s Stain” (Tel Aviv University Steve Tisch School of Film and Television)
“A Friend of Dorothy”
“Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
“The Singers” (Netflix)
“Two People Exchanging Saliva” (Canal+/The New Yorker)

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey – “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu – “Kokuho” (GKIDS)
Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry – “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein – “The Smashing Machine” (A24)
Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg – “The Ugly Stepsister” (Independent Film Company/Shudder)

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Bugonia” (Focus Features)
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“Hamnet” (Focus Features)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless” (MasterClass/
Greenwich Entertainment)
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix)
“I Lied To You” from “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
“Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!” (Viva Verdi!)
“Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Achievement in production design
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“Hamnet” (Focus Features)
“Marty Supreme” (A24)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

Frankenstein‘s production design was jaw-dropping.

Achievement in sound
“F1” (Apple)
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
“Sirāt” (Neon)

Achievement in visual effects
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” (Walt Disney)
“F1” (Apple)
“Jurassic World Rebirth” (Universal)
“The Lost Bus” (Apple)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

Adapted screenplay
“Bugonia” (Focus Features)
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“Hamnet” (Focus Features)
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Original screenplay
Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
“Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“It Was Just an Accident” (Neon)
“Marty Supreme” (A24)
“Sentimental Value” (Neon)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

[Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Academy Awards]

• Oscars
• Oscars 2026