The Academy Awards ceremony, affectionately called The Oscars, is the world's oldest film awards event. The first gala took place in 1929, making this year's show the 98th edition. Nobody knows why the iconic statue is called Oscar, but everyone knows that taking one home means you're tops in the filmmaking industry. Now, ahead of the Oscars 2026 broadcast date (March 15th, 2026), it's time to talk about who and what are nominated as the best in the film industry.
What to Know About the 2026 Oscars
- 📆 The celebration takes place on March 15 in Los Angeles, at 7 PM Eastern Time.
- 🎩 Comedian Conan O'Brien returns to host after successfully hosting last year's event.
- 🏆 The ceremony honors industry professionals and their works across 24 categories.
- 📺 The event will be livestreamed on Hulu.
🔑 Oscars 2026: Key Information
Just thinking out loud, here: are we, as a society, just a wee bit too self-congratulatory? 🤔 That is, on the surface, the point and purpose of awards ceremonies1. But that's not how things were, starting out.
The date is May 16, 1929. The place: Los Angeles, California; more specifically, the suburb of Hollywood. The film industry is in its infancy; "talkies" - motion pictures with sound- had debuted just two years before.
The first awards ceremony, held on that day, reviewed and honored films produced in 1927-28.
Indeed, those early forays into the medium were award-worthy, if for nothing more than their remarkable technological advances. But soon, awards shows became about something more. With radio - and, later, television - broadcasting the events, the Academy Awards leaned into the public's craving for glitz and glamour.
And that's where we're at today. Nothing wrong with a bit of glitz and glamour in one's life, of course. But we mustn't overlook the point and purpose of these awards events.
1. Oscars give visibility to behind-the-scenes professionals from editors to makeup artists.
2. An Oscar win means more creative control over future projects.
3. Independent studios gain recognition, exposure, and financial backing with an Oscar win.
4. An Oscar-winning film can influence culture and shape narratives around the world.
The Oscars are arguably more influential than even Britain's Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Awards. Even though this year's BAFTA Awards lead the Oscars by about three weeks and celebrate the same people and titles, an Oscar nod packs more punch across the film industry.
📆 Key Dates to Watch for Oscars 2026
As I write this (on February 10), the Academy is busy setting up tables for the Oscars Nominees Luncheon. Well, probably the staff at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (Los Angeles) are setting all that up, as they do every year. But it's a sure bet they're coordinating with Academy professionals to ensure the event goes off without a hitch.
The day after the luncheon, the voting begins. The Academy goes through several voting rounds, with the final voting phase starting on February 26. It lasts until March 5, leaving 10 days for Academy staff to tally the votes and produce those coveted envelopes.
In 1940, somebody leaked nomination results to the press before the ceremony. The Academy introduced the sealed envelopes in 1941 to keep up the hype and maintain secrecy ahead of awards night.
Beyond the ceremony itself, the last important date on the Oscars 2026 calendar is April 28. Though not nearly as hyped as the glamorous Oscars night event, this quieter ceremony celebrates scientific and technical achievements in film. Of all the 2026 awards shows, this is the only one dedicated to recognising filmmaking's technical aspects.
📅 Key Dates Summary
*These low-key, industry-only events heavily influence nominee wins in the Oscars' Best Director and Best Picture categories.
🎩 About Our Host
Conan O'Brien is a controversial figure. People either love or hate him; there seems to be little room in between. Regardless of where you stand on the Conan spectrum, he's worth at least a few words. He is our host, after all.
If you watched the Globes awards ceremony on January 11, you'll have noted that this year's Golden Globes host seemed to elicit genuine laughter. By contrast, Conan seems to lean into his presumed unfunniness, making it a part of his shtick.
Such was apparently the plan as he hosted last year's Oscars2, but many contended his lines seemed to fall flat. This clip presents Conan's monologue from last year, so you can judge for yourself.
📃 2026 Oscars Nominations
So far, this article follows the Oscars' presentation pattern: lots of 'talking' before finally getting to the reason people watch the show - handing out awards. 😂 In keeping with that form, just two more titbits.
Category added
The new Best Casting Award mirrors the BAFTAs' casting director category, which honors the people who make film hiring decisions.
Rule changes
- All academy voting members must watch all nominated films in the categories they vote in.
- Individual nominees will be listed on the final ballots.
With those out of the way, we finally present the 24 categories and their nominees3. Fortunately, that's just a quarter of the total categories the 2026 Grammies will award prizes in (96 categories! 😱).
| 📜Category | 🏆Nominees | 📜Category | 🏆Nominees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best picture | Bugonia Frankenstein F1 Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another The Secret Agent Sentimental Value Sinners Train Dreams | Best adapted screenplay | Bugonia Frankenstein Hamnet One Battle After Another Train Dreams |
| Best director | Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another Ryan Coogler - Sinners Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value Chloé Zhao - Hamnet | Best original screenplay | Blue Moon It Was Just an Accident Marty Supreme Sentimental Value Sinners |
| 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 | Best 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 |
| 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 | Best original score | Bugonia Frankenstein Hamnet One Battle After Another Sinners |
| 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 | Best international feature | It Was Just an Accident Sentimental Value Sirât The Secret Agent The Voice of Hind Rajab |
| Best supporting actress | Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value Amy Madigan - Weapons Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another | Best animated feature | Arco Elio KPop Demon Hunters Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Zootopia 2 (Zootropolis2) |
| Best casting | Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners The Secret Agent | Best documentary feature | Come See Me in the Good Light Cutting Through the Rocks Mr. Nobody Against Putin The Alabama Solution The Perfect Neighbor |
| Best costume design | Avatar: Fire and Ash Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme Sinners | Best sound | Frankenstein F1 One Battle After Another Sinners Sirât |
| Best make-up and hairstyling | Frankenstein Kokuho Sinners The Smashing Machine The Ugly Stepsister | Best film editing | F1 Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sentimental Value Sinners |
| Best production design | Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners | Best live action short | A Friend of Dorothy Butcher's Stain Jane Austen's Period Drama The Singers Two People Exchanging Saliva |
| Best cinematography | Frankenstein Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners Train Dreams | Best animated short | Butterfly Forevergreen Retirement Plan The Girl Who Cried Pearls The Three Sisters |
| Best visual effects | Avatar: Fire and Ash F1 Jurassic World Rebirth Sinners The Lost Bus | Best documentary short | All the Empty Rooms Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud Children No More: Were and Are Gone The Devil Is Busy Perfectly a Strangeness |
🌘 Oscar 2026 Predictions
All art is propaganda, and ever must be, despite.
George Orwell
Most media outlets frame this year's Oscars in context with the current political situation in the US4. That outlook gives the most glamorous night in Hollywood a decidedly heavy cast. Even the film widely favored to sweep the awards, One Battle After Another, is inherently political.
Sinners has amassed 16 Oscar nominations. That's more than La La Land (2016), Titanic (1997), and All About Eve (1950), each of which earned 14 Oscar nods.
As finely crafted a story and film as Sinners is, it simply doesn't conform to the current narrative. In fact, it stands diametrically opposite. Still, it would be great if Sinners won the Best Picture category, and most industry insiders hold on to that hope5. What else do the pros have to say?
🤓 What Industry Insiders Say
It's too bad that Oscars predictions aren't as straightforward as those for, say, this year's BAFTA Awards for Games 😩. All of the outlets, from Variety to Entertainment Weekly6, refuse to take a firm stand on any nomination.
At least, in the Best Film and Best Director categories. For other distinctions, they appear more confident in their predictions.
KPop Demon Hunters is also set to win the Best Animated Film award. However, confusion re-emerges in the Best Supporting Actor category, and in a couple of others as well. And these are the pros, getting confused! 😵 What does the average person on the street say?
🤑 What Film Fans Say
Historically, anyone who wanted to know about public sentiment combed through blogs, vlogs, and social media. Today, online film communities, fan forums, and audience review platforms offer a clearer picture than ever of where moviegoers stand heading into awards season.
Across the board, the consensus is clear: the public and critics alike favor One Battle After Another and its director, Paul Thomas Anderson, for Best Film and Best Director. On Gold Derby — where more than 10,000 users worldwide have logged predictions across all 24 categories — Anderson leads comfortably, while Variety's Awards Circuit, curated by chief awards editor Clayton Davis and updated weekly, backs the same outcome8. IndieWire's awards team adds that Anderson's DGA win, combined with the film's critical and commercial success, points strongly toward him finally claiming his first Oscar.
In all the other categories, film fans seem to agree with industry insiders' predictions. They've put their money on Hamnet's leading lady and on Marty Supreme's leading man. They're good with the industry's pick for supporting actress and are equally confused over who should win the supporting actor statuette.
Sigh! 😤 Looks like we'll just have to wait until the Oscars get underway to see which way the voting goes. Lucky for us, we have other awards shows to focus on. Are you a music lover? Then you'll want to know all about this year's Brit Awards and all the great artists nominated! Now, to help you get Oscar ready, have a look at last year's highlights.
💭All the Buzz About Oscars 2026
- Faughnder, Ryan. “What Are the Oscars For? Hollywood Grapples with Awards Season Anxiety.” Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2022, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-03-25/what-are-the-oscars-2022-for-why-the-award-has-a-different-meaning-in-modern-hollywood. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
- Sen, Sumanti. “Conan O’Brien’s Oscars 2025 Monologue Receives Mixed Reactions, “so Deeply Unfunny” | Hollywood.” Hindustan Times, 3 Mar. 2025, www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/hollywood/conan-o-briens-oscars-2025-monologue-receives-mixed-reactions-so-deeply-unfunny-101740962732800.html. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
- BBC. “Oscars 2026: Nominees List in Full.” BBC, 22 Jan. 2026, www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyyqkn0yvo. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
- Stone, Sasha. “2026 Oscar Predictions: Politics Ruins Everything - Awards Daily.” Awards Daily, 6 Feb. 2026, www.awardsdaily.com/2026/02/06/2026-oscar-predictions-politics-ruins-everything/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
- Davis, Clayton. “2026 Oscars Predictions in Every Category.” Variety, 30 Jan. 2026, variety.com/lists/2026-oscars-predictions/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
- Nolfi, Joey . “Page Restricted.” Ew.com, 26 Jan. 2026, ew.com/2026-oscar-winner-predictions-11892744. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
- Young, Gigi, and Gigi Young. “Oscars 2026 Snubs Predictions: Breaking down Gems We Love.” The Rocky Mountain Collegian, 10 Feb. 2026, collegian.com/articles/aande/2026/02/category-arts-and-entertainment-oscars-2026-snubs-predictions-breaking-down-gems-we-love/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
- Davis, Clayton. "2026 Oscars Predictions in Every Category." Variety, 30 Jan. 2026, variety.com/lists/2026-oscars-predictions/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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