Oscar Nominations 2026: Every Major Nominee You Need to Know Before the Big Night

Hi there! 🎬 It’s officially awards season crunch time, and the 2026 Oscar nominations are here to dazzle, surprise, and spark some serious debate. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is set for Sunday, March 15, 2026, airing live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on ABC.

This year’s ceremony promises to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. A supernatural thriller just shattered a decades-old record. A beloved comedian is back in the host’s chair. And the Academy Award nominees include some of the most talked-about performances and films of the entire year.

Whether you’re prepping for your Oscar night watch party, filling out your predictions bracket, or just want to know what all the buzz is about — you’re in the right place. Let’s dive into the complete list of Oscar nominees for 2026, category by category.

🏆 Best Picture Nominees 2026

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The Best Picture category for 2026 features ten outstanding nominees — and it’s arguably one of the most diverse and competitive slates in years. From supernatural thrillers to literary adaptations and sports dramas, this lineup truly has something for everyone.

The race for Best Picture at the 2026 Academy Awards is shaping up to be a two-horse battle between Sinners and One Battle After Another. Both films dominated the season’s precursor circuit, and both bring serious artistic weight to the table. Keep an eye on Sentimental Value as a potential dark horse — Norway’s most-nominated film in Oscar history is no small achievement.

🎭 Best Actor & Best Actress Nominees

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The acting categories at the 2026 Oscars are absolutely stacked. We’re talking about veterans with multiple nominations facing off against rising stars in what critics are calling one of the most open races in years. Let’s break it all down.

Best Actor in a Leading Role is a five-way battle of heavyweights:

• Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme (his third Best Actor nomination — youngest since Marlon Brando to reach this milestone)
• Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
• Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
• Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

Chalamet is in the headlines for becoming the youngest actor since Marlon Brando to receive three Best Actor nominations — a stunning achievement for the 29-year-old star. But DiCaprio, Jordan, Hawke, and Moura are all delivering performances that have earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Best Actress in a Leading Role is equally thrilling, with two-time winner Emma Stone chasing her third Oscar:

• Emma Stone — Bugonia (going for her third Oscar win)
• Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
• Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
• Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue

The Best Supporting categories are just as competitive. In Supporting Actor, Benicio Del Toro and Delroy Lindo (receiving his first ever nomination after 50 years in the business!) are expected frontrunners. In Supporting Actress, Amy Madigan (Weapons) enters awards night with serious momentum after winning the SAG Award, giving her a 60%+ predicted chance of taking home gold.

🎬 Best Director Nominees 2026

The Best Director category at the 2026 Oscars showcases a genuinely exciting mix of established auteurs and bold new voices. Here are the five nominees:

• Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
• Ryan Coogler — Sinners
• Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
• Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
• Chloé Zhao — Hamnet

This is a category with no clear runaway winner. Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler are widely considered the frontrunners, given the dominance of their respective films throughout the entire awards season. But Josh Safdie earning his first solo directing nomination for Marty Supreme is a major milestone. And Chloé Zhao continues to prove she’s one of the most versatile filmmakers working today.

For more on how the director race compares to previous years, check out this related guide: Oscar Nominations 2026: The Full List of Academy Award Nominees.

🔥 Sinners: The Record-Breaking Film of the Year 16 NOMINATIONS

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Let’s talk about the biggest story of this entire awards season: Ryan Coogler’s Sinners has shattered the all-time Oscar nominations record with 16 total nominations — surpassing the previous record of 14. This supernatural thriller has dominated the conversation since its release, and the Academy clearly agrees that it’s something special.

Here’s a snapshot of just some of the categories Sinners is nominated in:

• ✦ Best Picture
• ✦ Best Director (Ryan Coogler)
• ✦ Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan)
• ✦ Best Supporting Actor (Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku)
• ✦ Best Cinematography
• ✦ Best Film Editing
• ✦ Best Original Screenplay
• ✦ Best Sound
• ✦ Best Original Score

What makes Sinners’ Oscar campaign so remarkable is the sheer breadth of the recognition — technical categories, writing, acting, and above-the-line awards. The film has also dominated guild awards leading up to the ceremony, including the SAG Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture.

Whether or not it sweeps on the night, Sinners has already made Oscar history — and that alone cements its legacy in Hollywood’s biggest night.

✨ New Category: Best Casting — A Historic First

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One of the most significant stories of the 2026 Oscar nominations isn’t just who got nominated — it’s the debut of a brand-new category: Best Casting.

This marks the first new competitive Oscar category in over two decades, and it finally gives casting directors — who have long been considered among the unsung heroes of filmmaking — their moment in the spotlight. For years, casting directors were notably absent from the list of Oscar-recognized crafts, and advocates have pushed for this change for a long time.

The five nominees in this groundbreaking inaugural category represent some of the most ensemble-driven films of 2025, including the powerhouse casts of Sinners and One Battle After Another. Notably, Sentimental Value was not nominated in this new category despite having four of its actors nominated individually — which raised some eyebrows among awards watchers.

For a deeper dive into this year’s nominations and analysis, check out: The Official 98th Academy Awards Nominees — Oscars.org.

❓ FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Oscar Nominations 2026

Sources: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (oscars.org), OscarWinners.net, Yahoo Entertainment. Last updated March 13, 2026.