Oscar Nominations Voting 2026 Begins for 98th Ceremony

Oscar voting has officially opened, kicking off a five-day period that will determine nominations for another competitive awards season.

The 11,000-member Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began casting ballots at 9 a.m. PT across 19 branches representing various disciplines. Voting remains open through Jan. 16 at 5 p.m.

The opening comes less than 24 hours after the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, which helped crystallize the race while leaving key questions unresolved. Paul Thomas Anderson’s political satire “One Battle After Another” led with four wins, including best picture (comedy or musical), while Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” took two prizes, including best picture (drama). Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” claimed the cinematic box office achievement award.

The Globes have historically played an outsized role in shaping Oscar momentum — particularly in years marked by ideological and aesthetic divides. “One Battle After Another” has dominated guild awards and industry attention with its ensemble cast and sharp commentary.

With Oscar voting underway, campaigns will shift from broad visibility to targeted outreach, focusing on undecided voters and category-specific branches. The compressed timeline leaves little room for adjustment, with many contenders entering this phase with established narratives.

The Academy’s increasingly global membership adds an “X factor.” In recent years, international films and non-traditional studio releases have made historic gains in top categories, often diverging from guild consensus. That trend could resurface as voters consider a field spanning political satire, literary adaptation, spectacle and intimate character studies.

Films like Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent,” which won international feature and best actor (drama) at the Globes for Wagner Moura, could see late momentum heading into nominations.

The voting window coincides with a critical period for below-the-line races, where films with strong craft showings at guild awards hope to translate support into Oscar recognition. Bake-off events took place over the weekend, following December’s shortlist announcements. New categories, including the Academy’s inaugural achievement in casting prize, add uncertainty as voters navigate new criteria.

Oscar nomination voting closes Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. Pacific. Nominees will be announced Jan. 22.

The updated Oscar predictions are below.

*** = PREDICTED WINNER
(All predicted nominees below are in alphabetical order)

Best Picture
“Bugonia” (Focus Features)
“F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
“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)

Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) ***
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Guillermo Del Toro, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)

Actor
Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics) ***
Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

Actress
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) ***
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue” (Focus Features)
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
Emma Stone, “Bugonia” (Focus Features)

Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
Paul Mescal, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) ***

Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Amy Madigan, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.) ***
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)

Original Screenplay
“Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Robert Kaplow
“Marty Supreme” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
“Sentimental Value” (Neon) — Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ryan Coogler ***
“Weapons” (Warner Bros.) — Zach Cregger

Adapted Screenplay
“Bugonia” (Focus Features) — Will Tracy
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Guillermo Del Toro
“Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Chloé Zhao
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Paul Thomas Anderson
“Train Dreams” (Netflix) — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar ***

Casting
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Robin D. Cook
“Marty Supreme” (A24) — Jennifer Venditti
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Cassandra Kulukundis
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Francine Maisler ***
“Weapons” (Warner Bros.) — Allison Jones

Animated Feature
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” (Crunchyroll)
“Elio” (Pixar)
“KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix)
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (GKids)
“Zootopia 2” (Walt Disney Pictures) ***

Production Design
“Bugonia” (Focus Features) — James Price, Prue Howard, Sarah Carter
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau ***
“Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
“Marty Supreme” (A24) — Jack Fisk and Adam Willis
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Hannah Bleachler and Monique Champagne

Cinematography
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Darius Khondji
“Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Łukasz Żal
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.) — Michael Bauman
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Autumn Durald Arkapaw ***
“Train Dreams” (Netflix) — Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Kate Hawley
“Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Malgosia Turzanska
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Colleen Atwood
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ruth E. Carter ***
“Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) — Paul Tazewell

Film Editing
“F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) — Stephen Mirrione
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Evan Schiff
“Marty Supreme” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Andy Jurgensen ***
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Michael P. Shawver

Makeup and Hairstyling
“The Alto Knights” (Warner Bros.)
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) ***
“The Smashing Machine” (A24)
“The Ugly Stepsister” (IFC)
“Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)

Sound
“F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) ***
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
“Sirât” (Neon)
“Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)

Visual Effects
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) ***
“F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
“Frankenstein” (Netflix)
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
“Superman” (DC Studios)

Original Score
“Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat
“Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Max Richter
“One Battle after Another” (Warner Bros.) — Jonny Greenwood
“Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ludwig Göransson ***
“Train Dreams” (Netflix) — Bryce Dessner

Original Song
“Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from “Come See Me in the Good Light” (Apple Original Films)
“Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless” (Greenwich Entertainment) — Diane Warren
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix) — EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick ***
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” from “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Miles Caton, Ludwig Göransson and Alice Smith
“I Lied To You” from “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ludwig Göransson and Raphael Saadiq

Documentary Feature
“The Alabama Solution” (HBO Documentary Films)
“Cutting Through Rocks” (Autlook Films)
“The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix) ***
“Seeds” (Interior Films)
“2000 Meters to Andriivka” (PBS)

International Feature
“It Was Just an Accident” from France (Neon)
“Kokuho” from Japan (GKids)
“The Secret Agent” from Brazil (Neon)
“Sentimental Value” from Norway (Neon) ***
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” from Tunisia (Willa)

Animated Short
“Cardboard” (Locksmith Animation) — dir. J.P. Vine
“Éiru” (GKids) — dir. Giovanna Ferrari ***
“Hurikán” (AEON Production) — dir. Jan Saska
“The Quinta’s Ghost” (Illusorium Films) — dir. James A. Castillo
“The Shyness of Trees” (Gobelins, l’Ecole de l’Image) — dir. Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras, Bingqing Shu

Documentary Short
“All the Empty Rooms” (Netflix) — dir. Joshua Seftel ***
“All the Walls Came Down” (Interloper Films) — dir. Ondi Timoner
“Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud” (HBO Documentary Films) — dir. Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud
“Chasing Time” (Exposure Labs) — dir. Sarah Keo and Jeff Orlowski-Yang
“The Devil is Busy” (HBO Documentary Films) — dir. Geeta Gandbhir, Christalyn Hampton

Live Action Short
“Extremist” (The New Yorker) — dir. Aleksandr Molochnikov
“Pantyhose” (Wildhog Productions) — dir. Fabian Munsterhjelm
“Rock, Paper, Scissors” (National Film and Television School)
“The Singers” (Highway West Entertainment)
“Two People Exchanging Saliva” (The New Yorker) ***