Oscars 2026 Nominations: Major Categories & Predictions

Best Picture

• Bugonia
• F1
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Prediction: One Battle After Another - This is the one with all the heat. It’s been leading the pack at nearly every stop, and unless something wild happens, it’s the film to beat.

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao - Hamnet
• Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme
• Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another
• Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value
• Ryan Coogler - Sinners

Prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson - PTA is way overdue, and this feels like the year they finally give it to him. He’s won where it counts, and his film is peaking at the right moment.

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

Prediction: Timothée Chalamet - Chalamet’s been stacking wins and riding on a high off this film campaign and award season. It’s a flashy, loud performance in a big movie and Oscar voters tend to eat that up.

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

Prediction: Jessie Buckley - Buckley has been quietly crushing the season. She’s got the critics, the momentum, and the kind of meaty role that wins Oscars.

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

Prediction: Benicio del Toro - He’s got the late-season surge and a killer performance. Feels like the voters are ready to bring him back to the podium.

Best Supporting Actress

• Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
• Amy Madigan - Weapons
• Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners
• Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

Prediction: Big role, big presence, big buzz, and an advantage of winning the same category at the Golden Globes. She’s popped in all the right ways and has the kind of breakout energy voters love to reward.

Best International Feature Film

• The Secret Agent – Brazil
• It Was Just an Accident – France
• Sentimental Value – Norway
• Sirāt – Spain
• The Voice of Hind Rajab – Tunisia

Prediction: Sentimental Value (Norway) - It’s the only one with serious crossover love: acting nods, directing nod. That’s usually a sign it’s going all the way.

Best Documentary Feature

• The Alabama Solution
• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cutting Through Rocks
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin
• The Perfect Neighbor

Prediction: The Perfect Neighbor - This one’s hit hard with voters and cleaned up at the doc awards. Smart, urgent, and from Netflix —Sinners  a combo the Academy tends to go for.

Best Original Score

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners

Prediction: Sinners - Ludwig Göransson’s score is bold and modern and already has a Golden Globe win. He’s been here before, and this one’s got the winning recipe.

Best Original Song

• Dear Me – Diane Warren: Relentless (Music and lyric by Diane Warren)
• Golden – KPop Demon Hunters (Music and lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon, Teddy Park)
• I Lied to You – Sinners (Music and lyric by Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson)
• Sweet Dreams of Joy – Viva Verdi! (Music and lyric by Nicholas Pike)
• Train Dreams – Train Dreams (Music by Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner; lyric by Nick Cave)

Prediction: “Golden” From KPop Demon Hunters - Catchy, high-energy, and totally different from the usual ballads. Unless voters default to Diane Warren again, this one feels like the winner.

For the full list of nominees, head to the official Oscars site. For more articles like this, visit our Lifestyle News Page!

Editor’s note: For this story, we’re zeroing in on the Oscar categories that usually spark the biggest conversations, from Best Picture and acting races to international film and music.