After months of campaigning, roundtables, red carpets, and endless discourses on ketamine, the finish line of this year’s awards season is finally here.
This year’s awards season have been eventful to say the least. From the unexpected N-word controversy at the usually “sophisticated” BAFTAs to the internet-fueled outrage of Timothée Chalamet’s so-called “Balletgate,” the road to the Oscars has been full of strange detours that the discourse has now bordered on mass psychosis and feels tiring. But tomorrow feels exciting, it is one of the most prominent races in recent times, and the night’s biggest prizes appear to be a two-horse race between Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Thomas Pynchon adaptation One Battle After Another.
Sinners dominated the 2026 Academy Awards nominations, leading the pack with a record-breaking 16 nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
One Battle After Another was right behind, earning 13 nominations, while Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value followed with nine apiece.
For most of this season, Anderson’s tenth feature film was poised to dominate. But after Sinners emerged from nomination morning with more nods than any other film, the momentum has increasingly shifted in its direction. Whether that translates into major wins remains to be seen, and we cannot wait to see how it all plays out.
How to watch
In the US:
The Academy coverage begins on the E! channel with Brunch at the Oscars at 11am PT / 2pm ET on Sunday, followed by Countdown to the Red Carpet at 1pm PT / 4pm ET. ABC and Hulu pick up the broadcast with The Oscars Red Carpet Show at 3:30pm PT / 6:30pm ET, before the main ceremony begins at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Conan O’Brien is your host for the night.
In the UK:
Oscars Live will be airing on ITV1 and streaming on ITVX starting at 10:15pm GMT.
In Australia:
Channel 7 begins its Red Carpet Live coverage at 9:30am AEDT on Monday, with the ceremony starting at 10am AEDT.
In India:
JioHotstar will be streaming the main ceremony starting at 4:30am IST.
You can check out the complete list of the 2026 Oscar nominees and our predictions below.
Best Picture
- 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)
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: One Battle After Another
I’m huge on Joachim Trier and Sentimental Value, because it really just speaks to me differently. Still, there is no denying the fact that both The Secret Agent and One Battle After Another are two very intricate and expertly executed movies from the past year, and both are very fitting portrayals of authoritarianism, oppression, and the search for agency. While they do so in different time periods and with different tones, both of these films also highlight the importance of community and resistance.
But the chances of a Brazilian political thriller pulling off a Parasite victory seem pretty slim. There is no denying that Paul Thomas Anderson’s revolutionary epic is also a complete package: it is high on spectacle, wildly entertaining, a tense spine-chilling score, stellar performances from the ensemble led by DiCaprio’s another wildly neurotic turn.
Also, it has been so dominant. The film has won the DGA, the PGA, the WGA, ACE Eddie for the Editors, the ASC for the Cinematographers, Costume Design for Contemporary Film, Makeup for Contemporary Film, International Awards, BAFTA, CESAR, The Austrtalian Academy, Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, the Critics’ Trifecta (LA, NY, National Film Critics Society), basically everything apart from Best Ensemble at the Actor Awards.
Best Director
- Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
- Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
- Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
- Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
- Ryan Coogler — Sinners
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
This one feels like a bit of a no-brainer. PTA could have won for Magnolia, or he could have won for Boogie Nights, and many argue that he should have won for There Will Be Blood. So, 2026 does feel like the year when PTA finally gets that coveted allure that has eluded him for almost three decades. He has won every major precursor this awards season, including the DGA’s top honour, and it would almost be unprecedented if he loses here.
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
WILL WIN: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
SHOULD WIN: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Timothée Chalamet has certainly become a polarising figure on the internet, and even actors like Jamie Lee Curtis, who is famously known for her pro-Israel views, have shown their mild to extreme disdain for the Dune actor.
If this were the first week of January, Chalamet would have been a presumptive frontrunner for his performance in Marty Supreme. It’s an undeniably marvellous lead performance—he’s nearly in every scene, and the film lives on the shoulder of his electric and youthful brazen presence. But it feels like we have lived a couple of lives since Chalamet won the Golden Globes in January, and the momentum seems to be with Michael B. Jordan for Sinners since his Actor Awards win.
The Academy is also not exactly a youthful entity and undeniably loves to make young actors wait to earn their due. DiCaprio, who Chalamet is often compared to, had to wait till 2016 to get his long-awaited Oscar despite earning his first nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in 1994. Leo is also nominated this year for his brilliant performance in One Battle After Another, and he would be my second pick alongside Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent in this category. Both star in a similar kind of film, and even though both of their performances are rooted in fatherhood, they give vastly different interpretations in terms of tone. Moura, in a far less swanky role, delivers quite an emotionally restrained and measured performance of a man powerless in the face of authoritarianism in the 70s. Meanwhile, Leo gives a more chaotic and comedic but similarly emotional performance as a revolutionary turned paranoid stoner father, under a similarly diabolical threat.
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
WILL WIN: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
SHOULD WIN: Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
I loved Jessie Buckley in Hamnet, and it is the kind of loud, emotionally volatile performance the Academy loves to reward. Still, I feel like the Academy continuously overlooks more subtle portrayals of grief and depression, and what Renate Reinsve does in Sentimental Value is a different kind of devastating.
Where Jessie Buckley goes big throughout the film and makes you witness a very public meltdown of someone’s soul, Reinsve stays rather non-hyperverbal for most of her film. There is a certain kind of holistic candour to Reinsve, which feels more personal and wrings thy heart in what I found to be a more visceral and vivid manner.
Also, I do not have a child, and I highly doubt that there are more than a couple hundred Academy members under the age of 30. Hamnet just isn’t the kind of portrayal of grief that connects with me, but I am sure it is the kind of performance the Academy voters prefer.
I am not even saying that Buckley’s performance does not merit an Oscar, and I am glad that she will win, because it looks like the Academy’s second choice seems to be Kate Hudson, and that feels like an atrocious judgment on their part.
It is worth noting that these people were not even watching all the movies until last year, and it is a foreign idea that the Academy could potentially award a performance in a foreign language for Best Actress. Jessie Buckley is certainly one sure lock for tomorrow night.
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
WILL WIN: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
SHOULD WIN: Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Sean Penn is cartoonishly wrought in OBAA, but in equal parts thanks to the reality we live in and the acting choices he makes, Lockjaw feels very grounded. I have no qualms with him being the frontrunner, but does he really need a third Oscar?
Skarsgård in Sentimental Value is equally compelling as what his son, Alexander Skarsgård, jokingly described as essentially playing himself in the film. Beyond this performance, his body of work deserves recognition from the Academy for a truly illustrious career, one that has also given us three famous acting sons, including Alexander, who was involved in Pillion and The Moment as recently as last month.
Best Supporting Actress
- Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
- Amy Madigan — Weapons
- Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
- Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
WILL WIN: Amy Madigan, Weapons
SHOULD WIN: Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Antagonists usually shine in the supporting categories, and even though Weapons did not wow me, it is undeniable that Amy Madigan is frighteningly sinister in that film. Plus, there is this matter of a career win for her, too.
But how about Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in Sentimental Value? It’s a quiet, deeply nuanced role, but she wrings an extraordinary amount from it. The library scene, where she uncovers the truth about her grandmother, is especially haunting, with her performance impeccably capturing the dawning realisation of the generational trauma that has haunted her family.
Best Adapted Screenplay
- Bugonia — Will Tracy
- Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
- Hamnet — Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
- One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
- Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay
- Blue Moon — Robert Kaplow
- It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi
- Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
- Sentimental Value — Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
- Sinners — Ryan Coogler
WILL WIN: Sinners, Ryan Coogler
SHOULD WIN: Sentimental Value, Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
Best Animated Feature
- Arco
- Elio
- KPop Demon Hunters
- Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
- Zootopia 2
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: KPop Demon Hunters
Best International Feature
- Brazil — The Secret Agent
- France — It Was Just an Accident
- Norway — Sentimental Value
- Spain — Sirât
- Tunisia — The Voice of Hind Rajab
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Norway — Sentimental Value
Best Casting
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sinners
WILL WIN: Sinners
SHOULD WIN: The Secret Agent
Best Original Score
- Bugonia
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
WILL WIN: Sinners
SHOULD WIN: One Battle After Another
Best Original Song
- “Dear Me” — Diane Warren: Relentless
- “Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters
- “Highest 2 Lowest” — Highest 2 Lowest
- “I Lied To You” — Sinners
- “Sweet Dreams of Joy” — Viva Verdi!
- “Train Dreams” — Train Dreams
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: “Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters
Best Film Editing
- F1
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: One Battle After Another
Best Cinematography
- Frankenstein
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Sinners
Best Sound
- F1
- Frankenstein
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Sirât
- Train Dreams
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: F1
Best Visual Effects
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- F1
- Jurassic World Rebirth
- The Lost Bus
- Sinners
WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Avatar: Fire and Ash.