The 98th Academy Awards nominations were announced January 22, 2026, for the ceremony set on March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre (to be broadcast on ABC/Hulu). Ryan Coogler’s musical horror Sinners leads all nominees with a record‐breaking 16 nods, followed by Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another with 13 nominations. Conan O’Brien will host the Oscars again this year. Notable snubs include the hit musical Wicked: For Good (Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo) – it was shut out of all categories – and other crowd-pleasers like It Was Just an Accident (the Cannes winner) and Avatar: Fire and Ash, which surprisingly failed to make the Best Picture shortlist.
Best Picture
Up to 10 films can be nominated for Best Picture. This year’s slate mixes big-budget blockbusters with smaller dramas: nominees include Sinners, One Battle After Another, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, and more. (For example, the Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent and Norwegian drama Sentimental Value both earned Picture noms and acting nods.) The big surprises were what didn’t make the cut: Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident (Cannes’ Palme d’Or winner) and James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash were among the high-profile omissions. The 10 films nominated for Best Picture are:
- “Bugonia”
- “F1”
- “Frankenstein”
- “Hamnet”
- “Marty Supreme”
- “One Battle After Another”
- “The Secret Agent”
- “Sentimental Value”
- “Sinners”
- “Train Dreams”
Best Director
The Best Director nominees mirror many Best Picture contenders. This year the five nominated directors are Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Ryan Coogler (Sinners). Interestingly, Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein) was a notable omission in this category. The Best Director nominees are:
- Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
- Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
- Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
- Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
- Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Best Actor (Leading Role)
Five actors were nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. They include Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, and Wagner Moura. Notably, Moura’s nomination for The Secret Agent makes him the first Brazilian actor ever nominated for a lead Oscar. Chalamet (30) also made history as the youngest male to earn three Best Actor nominations. The nominees are:
- 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 (Leading Role)
The Best Actress nominees (all for their leading roles) are Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve, and Emma Stone. For Byrne and Reinsve (in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and Sentimental Value respectively), these are their first Oscar nominations. Emma Stone earned her fifth acting nomination for Bugonia. The nominees are:
- 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
(Snub Note: Golden Globe winners Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee) and Julia Roberts (After the Hunt) were among those surprisingly left out of this category.)
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees for Best Supporting Actor are Benicio Del Toro, Jacob Elordi, Delroy Lindo, Sean Penn, and Stellan Skarsgård. Del Toro and Penn are veteran nominees, while Lindo and Elordi received their first Oscar nominations for Sinners and Frankenstein, respectively. The nominees are:
- 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
Best Supporting Actress nominees are Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Amy Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Teyana Taylor. All of these actresses except Amy Madigan are first-time Oscar nominees. (Rebecca Ferguson and Emily Blunt, among others, were notable supporting-actress snubs.) The nominees are:
- Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
- Amy Madigan – Weapons
- Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
- Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Best Adapted Screenplay
These nominations honor screenplays adapted from prior works. The Adapted Screenplay nominees are Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, and Train Dreams. (Guillermo del Toro wrote the screenplay for Frankenstein.) Notably, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident did not receive a nomination in any category. The nominees are:
- Bugonia — Written by Will Tracy
- Frankenstein — Written by Guillermo del Toro
- Hamnet — Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
- One Battle After Another — Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
- Train Dreams — Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Best Original Screenplay
Original Screenplay nominees are all original (non-adapted) stories. The nominees are Blue Moon, It Was Just an Accident, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, and Sinners. It’s worth noting that Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident is nominated here, even though it missed out elsewhere. The nominees are:
- Blue Moon — Written by Robert Kaplow
- It Was Just an Accident — Written by Jafar Panahi
- Marty Supreme — Written by Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein
- Sentimental Value — Written by Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
- Sinners — Written by Ryan Coogler
Best Cinematography
The nominees for Best Cinematography are the films recognized for outstanding camera work: Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Train Dreams. Each cinematographer is noted for a major nominee. The nominees are:
- Frankenstein — Dan Laustsen
- Marty Supreme — Darius Khondji
- One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman
- Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw
- Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso
Best Animated Feature Film
This category’s nominees span studio and indie animation. The five films are Arco, Elio, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and Zootopia 2. In particular, Arco — a French sci-fi animation about climate apocalypse — won the top prize at the Annecy animation festival earlier this season. The nominees are:
- “Arco”
- “Elio”
- “KPop Demon Hunters”
- “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
- “Zootopia 2”
Each of the above nominees (film titles and names) is confirmed by the official Oscar list
What These Nominations Say About the 2026 Oscars Race
In short, the 2026 Oscar nominations reflect an Academy that is rewarding creative risk, global voices, and strong auteur filmmaking. With major surprises, historic firsts, and no single guaranteed winner, this year’s awards race remains wide open and unpredictable as the ceremony approaches.
