The official Oscar nominations for 2026 have not been announced yet; what is circulating right now are shortlists, pundit predictions, and “dream ballot” posts ahead of the official announcement expected in late January 2026.

Where things stand now

  • The Academy has released category shortlists (like Original Score, Original Song, Documentary, International Feature, and the new Casting category), which narrow the field but are not final nominations.
  • Major outlets and awards writers are publishing “Who will be nominated?” prediction lists for the 98th Academy Awards, but these are speculative until the Academy reveals the actual ballot.
  • Film discussion communities and awards forums are treating this as peak prediction season, trading “hot takes” and fantasy ballots as everyone waits for the real list.

Films emerging as frontrunners

Across industry coverage and prediction pieces, a cluster of titles keeps showing up as likely major-category contenders, especially for Best Picture.

Likely Best Picture players frequently mentioned include:

  • One Battle After Another – Often described as a big “frontrunner” with multiple expected nominations (Picture, Director, Acting, Screenplay).
  • Hamnet – Framed as a strong prestige drama that could ride the wave in Picture, Director, and acting categories.
  • Sinners – Frequently tipped for Best Picture, Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan) and possibly Director (Ryan Coogler).
  • Train Dreams – A repeat contender in prediction lists for Picture and craft categories.
  • Marty Supreme – Regularly mentioned for acting slots and as a possible Best Picture nominee.
  • Bugonia – Appears in “top five” Best Picture prediction sets and in acting forecasts.
  • Wicked: For Good – The high-profile musical that shows up across Best Picture, acting, song, and tech-category predictions.
  • No Other Choice and Sentimental Value – Often listed as strong contenders or dark horses in prediction roundups.

Predicted acting and directing standouts

Prediction pieces tend to converge around a few names in the major categories, even though none of these are confirmed nominees yet.

Acting (examples repeatedly predicted):

  • Best Actress :
    • Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
    • Emma Stone – Bugonia
    • Others floated as potential spoilers or “wish list” picks in commentary columns.
  • Best Actor :
    • Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
    • Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
    • Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
    • Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
    • Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
  • Supporting roles :
    • Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
    • Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
    • Amy Madigan – Weapons

Directing (frequently predicted):

  • Ryan Coogler – Sinners
  • Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
  • Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
  • Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
  • Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice

New and notable category storylines

Several trends and “story hooks” are helping drive interest in the 2026 Oscar nominations conversation.

  • New Casting category : 2026 is set to feature the Academy’s new category for Casting, and shortlists already highlight films like Frankenstein , Hamnet , Marty Supreme , Sinners , Sirât , Weapons , and Wicked: For Good as contenders.
  • Original Score & Song races: Big titles such as Avatar: Fire and Ash , Frankenstein , F1 , Tron: Ares , Train Dreams , Sinners , Bugonia , and Wicked: For Good appear on the music shortlists, alongside song contenders like “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters , “I Lied to You” from Sinners , “The Girl in the Bubble” from Wicked: For Good , and “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams.
  • International Feature buzz : Awards writers are tracking a large field of official submissions and dividing them into “likely shortlist,” “dark horses,” and other tiers, underscoring how competitive that race is heading into the nominations.

How fans and forums are talking

Public forums and awards-focused communities are treating “Oscar nominations 2026” as a live, evolving topic rather than a settled fact.

  • Users swap “hot takes,” like hoping Hamnet overtakes One Battle After Another if the latter suffers classic frontrunner fatigue.
  • Regulars joke about “Wicked hive” waiting for the film’s awards-season redemption, anticipating multiple nominations for Wicked: For Good after years of hype.
  • Independent bloggers and newsletter writers share their “perfect” nomination slates—what they think should happen, as opposed to what they expect the Academy to do—often ranking how upset they’ll be if certain films miss the cut.

Key takeaway for “Oscar nominations 2026”

  • As of mid-January 2026, everything being discussed under “Oscar nominations 2026” is still in the realm of shortlists, predictions, and wish lists , not the official ballot.
  • The most commonly named prospective heavyweights include One Battle After Another , Hamnet , Sinners , Train Dreams , Bugonia , Marty Supreme , No Other Choice , Sentimental Value , and Wicked: For Good.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.