The 2026 Oscar nominations for the 98th Academy Awards: See the full list here

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Hollywood has always used the Oscars as a mirror. Some years, it reflects nostalgia. Other years, rebellion. In 2026, the Academy Awards nominations reveal something more complex and more exciting: a film industry in the middle of transformation, where spectacle and intimacy, global voices and auteur vision, coexist with unprecedented confidence.

This year’s nominations feel less like a list and more like a statement. The Academy is no longer simply rewarding tradition. It is responding to the cultural mood of the moment, a world hungry for stories that feel immersive, emotionally honest, and artistically daring.

The Rise of Epic Storytelling

At the center of the conversation stands Sinners, a cinematic phenomenon that dominates the nominations with historic momentum. Its sweeping scale, mythic undertones, and emotional gravity mark it as the defining film of the year. The Academy’s embrace of such an ambitious work signals a renewed appetite for cinema that dares to be grand, layered, and visually unforgettable.

Close behind, One Battle After Another emerges as a formidable contender, blending political resonance with human vulnerability. Together, these films represent two sides of contemporary filmmaking: the epic and the intimate, the spectacular and the deeply personal.

The Best Picture lineup as a whole reads like a curated festival program rather than a predictable awards slate. From lyrical literary adaptations to bold genre experiments and high-octane blockbusters, the nominees reflect an industry increasingly willing to blur boundaries between art house and mainstream.

Photo Courtesy - Warner Bros

Performance as Cultural Currency

If the films themselves feel ambitious, the performances feel transformative.

This year’s acting categories highlight a generation of performers redefining what stardom looks like. Established icons share space with actors whose careers have been shaped by risk-taking rather than formula. Their work feels less about spectacle and more about psychological nuance, emotional precision, and quiet authority.

Timothée Chalamet’s latest nomination confirms his evolution from prodigy to leading man with gravitas. Emma Stone’s recognition underscores her rare ability to move seamlessly between vulnerability and power. Across supporting categories, performances feel less ornamental and more essential, reinforcing the idea that character-driven storytelling remains cinema’s most enduring force.

Global Voices, Expanded Horizons

One of the most striking aspects of the 2026 nominations is their international sensibility. Films shaped by European, Asian, and Latin American storytelling traditions sit comfortably alongside Hollywood productions, creating a global cinematic dialogue.

This shift is not cosmetic. It reflects a deeper cultural reality: audiences today are fluent in multiple cinematic languages. The Academy’s choices suggest a recognition that the future of film is not confined by geography or genre, but defined by perspective.

Even animation, once treated as a separate conversation, now stands as a serious artistic arena. This year’s animated contenders blend emotional sophistication with visual innovation, proving that the medium is no longer a niche but a cornerstone of modern storytelling.

The Quiet Drama of Snubs and Surprises

No Oscar season is complete without debate. High-profile omissions and unexpected nominations have already ignited conversations across Hollywood and beyond. Yet the surprises of 2026 feel less like anomalies and more like evidence of shifting taste.

The Academy appears increasingly willing to reward originality over familiarity, vision over convention. In that sense, the snubs may be as revealing as the nominations themselves.

Beyond Awards: A Cultural Moment

Ultimately, the 2026 Oscar nominations are not just about trophies. They capture a moment in cultural history when cinema is renegotiating its identity.

In an era dominated by streaming, algorithms, and fragmented audiences, these films remind us of something essential: the power of storytelling to gather people around shared emotion, shared imagination, and shared experience.

As Hollywood prepares for Oscar night, the question is not simply who will win. It is what kind of cinema the world is ready to celebrate next.

If the nominations are any indication, the future of film will be bold, global, emotionally intelligent, and unapologetically cinematic.

And for the first time in years, the Oscars feel less like a tradition and more like a glimpse of what’s coming.

Best Picture

Bugonia

F1

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Train Dreams

Best Director

Chloé Zhao, Hamnet

Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value

Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Actor

Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme

Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon

Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Actress

Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue

Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value

Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Supporting Actor

Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another

Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

Delroy Lindo, Sinners

Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress

Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value

Amy Madigan, Weapons

Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners

Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best International Feature

The Secret Agent

It Was Just an Accident

Sentimental Value

Sirât

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Best Animated Feature

Arco

Elio

KPop Demon Hunters

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Zootopia 2

Best Documentary Feature

The Alabama Solution

Come See Me in the Good Light

Cutting Through Rocks

Mr Nobody Against Putin

The Perfect Neighbor

Best Original Screenplay

Blue Moon

It Was Just an Accident

Marty Supreme

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Best Adapted Screenplay

Bugonia

Frankenstein

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

Train Dreams

Best Casting

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

The Secret Agent

Sinners

Best Film Editing

F1

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Best Cinematography

Frankenstein

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Train Dreams

Best Production Design

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Best Costume Design

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

Sinners

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Frankenstein

Kokuho

Sinners

The Smashing Machine

The Ugly Stepsister

Best Original Song

"Dear Me," Diane Warren: Relentless

"Golden," KPop Demon Hunters

"I Lied to You," Sinners

"Sweet Dreams of Joy," Viva Verdi!

"Train Dreams," Train Dreams

Best Original Score

Bugonia

Frankenstein

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Best Sound

F1

Frankenstein

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Sirât

Best Visual Effects

Avatar: Fire and Ash

F1

Jurassic World: Rebirth

The Lost Bus

Sinners

Best Live-Action Short

Butcher's Stain

A Friend of Dorothy

Jane Austen's Period Drama

The Singers

Two People Exchanging Saliva

Best Animated Short

Butterfly

Forevergreen

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Retirement Plan

The Three Sisters

Best Documentary Short

All the Empty Rooms

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

Children No More: "Were and Are Gone" The Devil Is Busy

Perfectly a Strangeness

Academy Honorary Awards

Tom Cruise

Debbie Allen

Wynn Thomas

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Dolly Parton