Skyler Orton
While the Oscars are always filled with controversy, I can’t help but get excited for the annual celebration of the best films of the year. Love them or hate them, they definitely bring the film community together in a special way. The nominees were announced on Thursday, January 22nd so let’s recap the biggest nominations of the year.
Best Sound
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F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirāt
This category seems like a toss up between One Battle After Another and Sinners but an unconventional blockbuster win by F1 is always possible. One Battle After Another especially soared in theaters and is my pick for the category. I am upset by the snubbing of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You which had some excellent tense and uncomfortable sound design.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
This award will surely go to Frankenstein for Jacob Elordi’s incredibly transformative makeup. The other films are impressive but Frankenstein goes the extra mile (Jacob Elordi spent around 11 hours a day in the makeup chair). I am glad to see The Ugly Stepsister get a nod as that type of indie body horror is just barely gaining traction with the academy.
Best Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
While my pick is Frankenstein, almost all of these films are deserving of the top prize. I say almost because what in the world is Avatar doing here. I mean sure there are impressive designs but I struggle to lump the CG animation of the Avatar films with physical costume design. If anything I think of it in the category of character design Regardless, it’s a good group of nominations.
Best Production Design
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Every film on this list has fantastic production design but my pick will once again go to Frankenstein. Guillermo del Toro does production design like no other working director and locations like Frankenstein’s lab elevate an already beautiful looking movie.
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
With the exception of Avatar: Fire and Ash this is a quieter year for this award. Last year it was a heated category with Dune: Part 2, Alien Romulus, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes all being plausible winners. Here it seems pretty clear cut but James Cameron and co. definitely deserve all the awards for their work on the Avatar series’ effects.
Best Music (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)
A strong category but ‘Golden’ will undoubtedly be the pick this year. That song has been billboard charting for months which is something none of the other noms can say. It may very well be a case of popularity picking the award and not necessarily quality. I will say that the title track of Train Dreams is the most emotional use of original music I’ve heard recently so that is my favorite.
Best Music (Original Score)
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sinners is taking this category hands down. While One Battle After Another’s unconventional score is certainly excellent, Sinners‘ mix of period folk and blues music is in another league. It is sad to me that Marty Supreme’s synth filled score missed out on the award. I would have replaced Frankenstein personally but that’s just me.
Best Cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
This is one of the strongest years for cinematography in recent memory but for me the award goes to One Battle After Another. That film’s desert vistas are shot like nothing else and are gorgeously saturated through VistaVision film. My runner up would be Train Dreams over anything else but I doubt it’ll win. That movie’s diorama-esque shots are simply gorgeous.
Best Casting
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sinners
This award is new to the 2026 Oscars and is a great way to recognize the overall cast of a film. While Sinners has a great ensemble the award has to go to One Battle After Another. That film has had too many serious contenders in the acting categories that I don’t think it can miss it. No matter what though it shouldn’t go to Marty Supreme since Kevin O’Leary was wildly distracting in my opinion.
Best Animated Feature Film
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or The Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
There’s no obvious winner but I do hope it goes to an unconventional win like Arco. Flow’s win last year was huge and it’s no longer a toss up between DreamWorks, Disney, and Studio Ghibli. KPop Demon Hunters is an undeniable phenomenon but that doesn’t always mean anything to the academy so only time will tell. No matter who wins it’s sure to upset somebody.
Best International Feature FIlm
The Secret Agent
It Was Just an Accident
Sentimental Value
Sirāt
The Voice of Hind Rajab
All of these movies have gotten some serious buzz but judging on their other nominations I would guess it’s between The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value. The latter is probably the favorite considering the all of its other nominations. However, It Was Just an Accident might be a sleeper hit in any of its categories considering how surprisingly relevant it is.
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
It’s really a toss up between all of these movies but I think that this would be a good chance to recognize Bugonia since it was snubbed in the acting categories. You can’t go wrong with any of these excellent movies.
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
This is an interesting year for original screenplay since there aren’t any obvious favorites. While Sinners as a whole is a great movie I’m not sure that its screenplay is the standout feature of the film. Marty Supreme has an excellent and tight screenplay and that is likely what will win. However, while I don’t think It Was Just an Accident will win this award it may be the most deserving. Writer/director Jafar Panahi’s screenplay is deeply personal to his experiences in horrific Iranian prisons and the incredible journey it took to get this film made is worth it taking home a major award like this.
Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value)
Inga Ibsdotter Lileaas (Sentimental Value)
Amy Madigan (Weapons)
Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)
Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)
This is a tough category this year. Wunmi Mosaku and Teyana Taylor both make the most of very limited screentime (they’re actually supporting roles, looking at you Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain). Taylor in particular is the emotional anchor of One Battle After Another despite only being in the first 20 minutes of an almost three hour movie. Objectively the funniest win would be Amy Madigan’s ridiculously campy performance in Weapons. It’s very atypical but shows no less talent than any of the other nominees.
Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another)
Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)
Delroy Lindo (Sinners)
Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value)
This year’s supporting actor nominees are almost more exciting than the lead roles. Jacob Elordi’s tender performance in Frankenstein is the anchor of the film and would be a solid win. However, I’m not sure that anyone nominated beats Sean Penn’s role as Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another. Penn plays the role with undeniable malice while also being hysterical. Honestly, it defies description; it just has to be seen to be believed. Whatever they do, they shouldn’t give it to Benicio del Toro. He was good in the role but I’m not sure his work here is notably Oscar worthy. He had a much better performance in the frustratingly absent The Phoenician Scheme. I wish he was being recognized for that. He is still an undeniably talented actor so I hope this nomination gets him bigger roles.
Best Actress In A Leading Role
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)
We finally have our first nomination for a mediocre musician biopic. This is an annual Oscar favorite so I’m sure people are furiously scribbling out their bingo cards as I write this. Other than Song Sung Blue’s baffling inclusion there are no bad picks. Rose Byrne gives the best performance of her career in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You so that is my personal pick but the other nominees gave great performances too. I personally wouldn’t give it to Emma Stone because she won this award in a Yorgos Lanthimos movie back in 2024 but her work in Bugonia is certainly impressive regardless.
Best Actor In A Leading Role
Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)
Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)
Micheal B. Jordan (Sinners)
Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)
Chalamet’s performance in Marty Supreme is probably the most hyped of the season but it could go to anybody. DiCaprio gives one of the best comedic performances of the year but it’s unclear if that’s enough for him to clinch it. For me, Michael B. Jordan’s dual roles in Sinners aren’t distinct enough for him to take the award. Moura and Hawke are more wild cards from less popular movies but they could definitely take it. Ethan Hawke has never won an Oscar so it could very well be a deserved career award.
Best Directing
Chloe Zhao (Hamnet)
Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme)
Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
To me this is a toss up between Paul Thomas Anderson and Josh Safdie. Both films are directed with frenetic energy with both directors pouring their souls out on screen. At the end of the day it could go any way. Zhao has won the award before so her win wouldn’t be surprising at all and Sinners is clearly an academy favorite gaining a record breaking six nominations Sentimental Value has been a wild card so far and I can’t see it winning any other category other than maybe foreign film so it’s definitely in the running too.
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
With the exception of F1 this list is about what I expected for this year’s nominees. Every single one of these movies (except F1) is worthy of the award. I do think it may go to One Battle After Another but it is also very politically divisive so it’s to be determined if it will be recognized. Overall though this is a good list and I’m excited to see what happens at the show.
Those are the nominees for all of the major categories. Will you be watching? Did the Oscars miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!
