The advent of the 98th Academy Awards, known colloquially as The Oscars, is fast approaching, and anticipation could not be higher. Nominations for all twenty-four categories were announced on January 22, with the awards show being set to premiere on March 15 with comedian Conan O’Brien hosting.

Many records were broken with the nominations alone. The film “Sinners,” directed by Coogler R. is nominated for sixteen categories, breaking the previous 14-nomination record held by “La La Land” in 2017.

In addition, actor Timothée Chalamet was nominated two years in a row, with “Marty Supreme” and “A Complete Unknown” from last year. Similarly, Emma Stone received her seventh Oscar nomination in her career. 

Reactions to the Oscars nominations have been mixed, with some satisfied and others not as much.

One reaction, reported on Slash Film, was regarding the lack of “Wicked: For Good” film and crew nominations after the previous film, “Wicked” dominated in ten categories at the previous Academy Awards ceremony. Similarly, some were surprised at the lack of Oscars fanfare for Avatar: Fire and Ash due to the previous film’s critical acclaim and Oscar nomination count. Though, unlike “Wicked,” it did receive nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.

Additionally, according to CBS News, for some Best Picture nominations, such as “Bugonia” and “Frankenstein,” as well as other films like Anemone and “Eddington,” there was controversy over their lead actors not receiving a nomination.

On the other hand, reactions from nominated persons have been extremely positive. In particular, Supporting Actress nominee Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for the film ‘Sentimental Value’ stated, “I think it’s good for us as human beings that we can watch each other’s stories across cultures and empathize with each other. I think that’s exactly what we need.”

Some highly known and recognized categories include: Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Song, and Best Director. However, there are also lesser-known but equally significant categories, such as: Best Documentary Film, Best Casting, Best Animated Feature, Best Short Film, Best Animated Short Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Casting, and Best International Film.

Here is the list of 2026 Academy Awards nominations:

For Best Picture, ten films were nominated: “Bugonia,”“F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners,” and “Train Dreams”. Producers of the winner will receive the Oscar award.

Best Leading Actor: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Best Leading Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).

Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), and Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value).

Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)

Best Animated Feature: “Arco,” “Elio,” “KPop Demon Hunters,” “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” and “Zootopia 2”.

Best Animated Short Film: “Butterfly,” “Forevergreen,” “The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” “Retirement Plan,” and “The Three Sisters”.

Best Casting: Nina Gold (Hamnet), Jennifer Venditti (Marty Supreme), Cassandra Kulukundis (One Battle After Another), Gabriel Domingues (The Secret Agent), and Francine Maisler (Sinners).

Best Cinematography: Dan Laustsen (Frankenstein), Darius Khondji (Marty Supreme), Michael Bauman (One Battle After Another), Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Sinners), and Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams).

Best Costume Design: Deborah L. Scott (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Kate Hawley (Frankenstein), Malgosia Turzanska (Hamnet), Miyako Bellizzi (Marty Supreme), and Ruth E. Carter (Sinners).

Best Director: Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Ryan Coogler (Sinners).

Best Documentary: “The Alabama Solution,” “Come See Me In The Good Light,” “Cutting Through Rocks,” “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” and “The Perfect Neighbor”.

Best Documentary Short Film: “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,” and “Perfectly A Strangeness”.

Best Editing: Stephen Mirrione (F1), Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Andy Jurgensen (One Battle After Another), Olivier Bugge Coutté (Sentimental Value), and Michael P. Shawver (Sinners).

Best International Film: “The Secret Agent” from Brazil, “It Was Just An Accident” from France, “Sentimental Value” from Norway, “Sirāt” from Spain, and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” from Tunisia.

Best Short Film: “Butcher’s Stain,” “A Friend Of Dorothy,” “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” “The Singers,” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva”. 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey (Frankenstein), Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino, and Tadashi Nishimatsu (Kokuho), Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, and Shunika Terry (Sinners), Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, and Bjoern Rehbein (The Smashing Machine), and Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg (The Ugly Stepsister).

Best Original Score: Jerskin Fendrix (Bugonia), Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein), Max Richter (Hamnet), Jonny Greenwood (One Battle After Another), and Ludwig Goransson (Sinners).

Best Original Song: “Dear Me” (Diane Warren: Relentless), “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters), “I Lied To You” (Sinners), “Sweet Dreams Of Joy” (Viva Verdi!), and “Train Dreams” (Train Dreams).

Best Production Design: “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” and “Sinners”.

Best Sound: “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” and “Sirāt”.

Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “F1,” “Jurassic World Rebirth,” “The Lost Bus,” and “Sinners”. 

Best adapted screenplay: “Bugonia,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “One Battle After Another,” and “Train Dreams”.

Best original screenplay: “Blue Moon,” “It Was Just An Accident,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sentimental Value,” and “Sinners”.

As the Oscars approach, remember that the Academy Awards are a celebration of all films, even if some of them were not nominated. 

As Jessie Buckley, Best Actress nominee, stated, “To make anything at all is an absolute triumph, and this recognition belongs to every artist who bravely pours themselves into the work and journeys towards the undiscovered landscapes of their souls. I’m delighted, deeply grateful, and humbled to be part of this community. Thank you.”