About Palestine, there are several films here dealing with the devastation, but they, too, are about fighting back—an Arab standing up for himself against an Israeli smear campaign at his job, Israelis enduring the shouts and threats of their countrymen and women as they silently protest the murder of Palestinian children, a rescue team at their boiling point trying to save a girl who is being shot at by Israeli soldiers. There are two films from Iran, which were obviously released long before a succession of tragedies that has killed thousands upon thousands of people; they are not about the recent war, but they embrace a critical lens to challenge norms and governance. One challenges the government head-on, while one presses against traditionalism.
Beyond that, there are many films nominated this year that champion original storytelling, and what better example of this is there than the big night's two frontrunners? The 2026 Academy Awards are undoubtedly a horse-race between Sinners and One Battle After Another. With Sinners currently holding the lead in terms of the number of awards won this season (including a recent top win at the Actor Awards), it might be the frontrunner. Many of the other categories (especially the acting ones) are much more up in the air.
Other than Actress in a Leading Role, in which Jessie Buckley is certain to win for her role in Hamnet, the other three categories are more challenging to predict. For Actor, Timothée Chalamet as the obnoxious titular character in Marty Supreme took home the top prizes at the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and a host of other critics awards. His main competitor is probably Michael B. Jordan in his dual role in Sinners. Jordan recently won at the Actor Awards (formerly the SAG Awards), as did he and his fellow cast members for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. There is a similar wide net for Actress in a Supporting Role—Amy Madigan as the gruesome Aunt Gladys in Weapons scooped up trophies at the Critics Choice and Actor ceremonies, Teyana Taylor as a revolutionary in One Battle After Another won big at the Golden Globes, and Wunmi Mosaku earned the top prize at the BAFTAs last month for her role as Annie in Sinners. Similarly, for Actor in a Supporting Role, it's hard to guess if it will go to Jacob Elordi as the Creature in Frankenstein, Sean Penn as Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, or Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav in Sentimental Value. One wishes they could all win.
For the two most-talked-about films of the year (Sinners and One Battle After Another), writers and directors Ryan Coogler for the former and Paul Thomas Anderson for the latter will surely go home with at least one Oscar for their exceptional screenplays. While Anderson is probably the favorite for the director category, it almost feels at this point like a coin toss for Best Picture. For the moment, one could not be blamed for placing one's bets on Sinners. It received the most Oscar nominations in history, and it seemed to be widely embraced by almost everyone. Given that the Academy has been more willing to go on a limb for movies like Moonlight, Parasite, and Everything Everywhere All at Once (movies that would have struggled to even be nominated for an Oscar just a decade ago), it feels like Sinners will capitalize on that energy. If you want more of a Nate Silver-style mathematical prediction, Ben Zaumer's model has its main opponent as the clear favorite. I liked both, but I have a clear favorite.
At any rate, here are my rankings of all fifty Oscar-nominated 2026 films:
50. Avatar: Fire and Ash
Costume Design (Deborah L. Scott), Visual Effects (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett)
If you ate up all the blue aliens, bioluminescence, and what Ingrid Fetell Lee once called "the aesthetics of joy" from the first two Avatar films, you are really going to dig the newest entry by James Cameron in his epic science fiction series...because that's basically all this third film is: a rehash of everything you've already seen. There's the usual weak, borderline offensive allegories, a (not particularly interesting) villain who's back yet again, and a runtime of over three hours that makes the whole thing feel obnoxiously lengthy. Sure, the effects look like a lot of painstaking effort was poured into them, and it's a strong possibility that Joe Letteri and Richard Baneham could pick up their third Oscar win for this franchise. But the only ounce of originality in the film is the villainous Varang, who is gloriously played by Oona Chaplin (granddaughter of Charlie). I wish she had been in the film more instead of all the other stuff.
49. The Smashing Machine
Makeup and Hairstyling (Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, and Bjoern Rehbein)
2025 was the first year after the Safdie brothers split up (for a disturbing reason) in which they both released films (both from A24 and both about obsessive American athletes competing in Japan). For Josh, he is nominated this year for directing Marty Supreme, which is also nominated for Best Picture and an additional seven Oscars. Benny Safdie had considerably rockier success with The Smashing Machine, a biographical film about professional fighter Mark Kerr starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Oscar-nominated makeup designs that are the only worthwhile thing about this melodramatic bore that tries really hard to achieve what The Wrestler and The Iron Claw did before it but fails miserably. This was one of the hardest films on this list to get through.
48. Jurassic World Rebirth
Visual Effects (David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan, and Neil Corbould)
The people behind Jurassic World Rebirth predictably stand on the shoulders of the giants that came before them while (forgive me) being so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. Jurassic Park is the first movie I can remember seeing in a cinema, and my reaction was similar to how Steven Spielberg felt when he first saw The Greatest Show on Earth—complete awe. But The Greatest Show on Earth didn't have six intolerable sequels that were varying shades of trash. In that first film, there are just fourteen minutes of dinosaur visual effects, with only about four of those utilizing then-groundbreaking computer-generated imagery. With this goofy Rebirth film, all of the dinosaurs (which aren't really dinosaurs—they're described as some sort of mutants, but who cares?) are CGI, and it doesn't look impressive in the slightest. And I would rather they just euthanize future films in this series instead of continuing, but given that Rebirth was the sixth-highest-grossing film of last year, it seems we're doomed for yet another one.
47. Zootopia 2
Animated Feature Film (Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Yvett Merino)
You should be able to tell by now that I wasn't a fan of the sequels. Much like the two already mentioned, Zootopia 2, despite a nine-year window, feels like much of the same—the song by Shakira is practically identical to the one before it (though maybe even more annoyingly catchy), the jokes are interchangeable, and despite adding voice performances by an eclectic group that includes Ke Huy Quan, Andy Samberg, and David Strathairn, nothing feels especially new. For what it's worth, children will likely have a blast watching it, though there are plenty of films out there (including some on this list) that are much better movies for them to see.
46. Blue Moon
Actor in a Leading Role (Ethan Hawke), Writing (Original Screenplay) (Robert Kaplow)
Blue Moon was the first Oscar-nominated film I saw after the nominees were announced on the morning of January 23, but whatever excitement I had for beginning yet another Oscars death race was slowly trampled on. I like director Richard Linklater fine, especially his Before trilogy, School of Rock, Bernie, and Boyhood, but I find a lot of his recent stuff (like Everybody Wants Some!!, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, and Hit Man) to be overrated swill. Unfortunately, Blue Moon joins the latter group. Ethan Hawke is a national treasure, but just about every note he hits here in this film, in which he plays a bitter and insufferable Lorenz Hart as he talks everyone's ears off in a bar while his former writing parter Richard Rodgers basks in the praise of his new hit Oklahoma!, is gratuitous. It is tempting to call Hawke chameleonic, but chameleons are also rather slow, with deliberate, swaying movements—quite the opposite of what we see here, as Hart goes on and on for nearly two hours.
45. Retirement Plan
Animated Short Film (John Kelly and Andrew Freedman)
Retirement Plan is a seven-minute short film about a man (voiced by Domhnall Gleeson) listing all the activities he will finally start doing now that he's entering retirement. They're things many of us probably muse about, especially as retirement age nears. That's really all it is; you can contemplate all you want about "the human condition" this and that and how the film might spark some self-reflection, and if it works, I'm happy for you. I wish I could say it worked for me, but it didn't. In essence, it's the kind of short film you are almost certain to forget not long after viewing.
44. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Actress in a Leading Role (Rose Byrne)
Wikipedia categories If I Had Legs I'd Kick You as a drama. iTunes labels it a thriller. Both are inaccurate. With a title like that and a supporting role by this year's Oscar host Conan O'Brien, I thought this would be a quirky comedy, but If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is very much a horror film, with body horror, psychological trauma, and jump scares that will remind many of other movies about motherly guilt, like We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Babadook, and Hereditary. About a therapist played by Rose Byrne who is succumbing to the pressure of her work, an absent husband, and taking care of her sick daughter, all while burning bridges with everyone from her child's doctor (played by Mary Bronstein, who also wrote and directed the film) to her neighbor (ASAP Rocky) to her own therapist (O'Brien), there's a lot to admire here, but ultimately it feels like the film struggles to work. At times, it's too eccentric while at others it's too nauseating and too clamorous. But the performance by Byrne is really remarkable, and one could make the argument she's the best of the five in this category.
43. Frankenstein
Actor in a Supporting Role (Jacob Elordi), Cinematography (Dan Lautsen), Costume Design (Kate Hawley), Makeup and Hairstyling (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey), Music (Original Score) (Alexandre Desplat), Production Design (Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau), Sound (Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, and Brad Zoern), Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Guillermo del Toro), Best Picture (Del Toro, J. Miles Dale, and Scott Stuber)
Frankenstein is arguably the most gorgeous film of this year's nominees, the one film other than Sinners and One Battle After Another that stands a chance of picking up a host of trophies, and a visually stunning motion picture. And yet, as hard as Oscar-favorite Guillermo del Toro tries, it doesn't feel fresh, not like Poor Things did two years ago when that film took a novel approach to this famous story. This new Frankenstein really suffers from the opening preamble that comes across as superfluous instead of essential. That being said, it's difficult to qualify the film as "bad." It richly deserves its nominations in most of these categories, especially for its production and sets, makeup and hairstyling, costumes, and chief of all Jacob Elordi as the Creature, who undoubtedly is the best there has ever been in this role (meaning he gives an even better performance than legends Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, and Robert De Niro did). The scenes that feature him are the film's highlights.
42. Song Sung Blue
Actress in a Leading Role (Kate Hudson)
Song Sung Blue is a movie that might provoke two opposing feelings—it's a film that leans heavily into its nostalgic corniness while also (at least by the end) being pleasant enough that it's moderately recommendable. Truth be told, the same could possibly be said about the music of Neil Diamond, the element that does much of the heavy lifting here; indeed, it's hard to be in a bad mood while listening to his music. The film centers on a real-life Neil Diamond tribute band duo in the mid-1990s played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, who is deservedly nominated here in a career-best for her. Her performance often makes up for many of the film's shortcomings. Not everyone will love Song Sung Blue, but the movie certainly goes all in on the cheer and highs and lows of our protagonist musicians, coming across as a bit of a Bohemian Rhapsody but less irritating.
41. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Animated Feature Film (Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago, and Henri Magalon)
This independently-made animated film about a Belgian family living in Japan in the 1960s is really gorgeous to look at (except for the title character, who looks, frankly, creepy). One notable example is the phenomenal lantern festival scene, honoring the deceased. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain also pays homage to the unsung heroes of many expat families—nannies and housekeepers—though this one does not do nearly as much cathartic justice as the Oscar-winning Roma did eight years ago. As pleasant of a film as it is, it is probably the least memorable of the five in this category.
40. Viva Verdi!
Music (Original Song) ("Sweet Dreams of Joy" by Nicholas Pike)
Viva Verdi! is a documentary about residents of Casa Verdi, the retirement home for musicians Giuseppe Verdi constructed in 1896. It's not the most fascinating documentary you'll ever see, but it is often a sweet look at the well-accomplished lives of humble musicians, the most interesting of whom is probably Claudio Giombi, a joyful, boisterous singer with wayward white hair and enormous energy. While the film is not one of the five nominees in the Documentary Feature Film category, its sole nomination is for Original Song for a tune called "Sweet Dreams of Joy," a different type of song than we're used to hearing at the Oscars, but a pleasant one.
39. Perfectly a Strangeness
Documentary Short Film (Alison McAlpine)
A juxtaposition of modern technology and the natural world (including gorgeous celestial shots), Perfectly a Strangeness focuses on a trio of donkeys who wander around the exterior of an observatory. There isn't much else in this roughly fifteen-minute short—no talking heads, not even a sight of any human. So, while it is astounding to look at, it might be a little too esoteric and avant-garde for many viewers. At the very least, it's at least not nearly as depressing as the donkey movie EO from three years ago.
38. Two People Exchanging Saliva
Live Action Short Film (Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata)
An absurdist critique of puritanism, totalitarianism, and perhaps capitalism, the allegories in Two People Exchanging Saliva might not resonate with everyone, but you have to tip your hat to directors Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata for coming up with a truly original film. Set in a dystopian society in which kissing is forbidden, everyday workers are required to do an odd breathalyzer test to ensure they haven't been brushing their teeth, for who would want to kiss someone who hasn't ever brushed their teeth? Two individuals try to break through it all and "exchange saliva." Starring Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Luàna Bajrami (and narrated by Vicky Krieps) and shot in gorgeous black and white by cinematographer Alexandra de Saint Blanquat, I concede that it is a prettier film to look at than it is to ponder and reflect on, but its potent mix of parable and theatrics has paid dividends, as the film has won a host of film festival awards.
37. Jane Austen's Period Drama
Live Action Short Film (Julia Aks and Steve Pinder)
It doesn't take too much imagination to try and figure out what the play on words is here regarding this short that is all dressed up as a Jane Austen comedy-drama. At any rate, the story is of a dimwitted yet handsome bachelor named James Dickley (Ta'imua) whose attempts to propose marriage to Miss Estrogenia Talbot (Julia Aks) are halted once he notices blood all over her skirt. (The other characters also have names that are puns.) Much of the humor (particularly involving the actors) at times feels like it's from a theatre festival sketch by a university drama group, but even those can be a little funny sometimes. Most viewers will probably be at least somewhat amused by this film.
36. Kokuho
Makeup and Hairstyling (Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino, and Tadashi Nishimatsu)
Kokuho, adapted from the eight-hundred-page novel by Satoko Okudera, has gone on to become Japan's highest-grossing live-action film of all time. Depicting the highs and lows of a talented kabuki actor (played by Ryo Yoshizawa), audiences have surely responded to the film's elaborate costumes, Oscar-nominated makeup and hairstyling, and the riveting performance of Yoshizawa, who trained for a year and a half as a kabuki performer in preparation for this role. That being said, the film (just under three hours) does require some patience, but its transcendent human themes of jealousy, pride, ambition, and hubris are sure to resonate. Additionally, it's a movie with impeccable attention to detail and effort, though it's not as memorable as some of the other Japanese films nominated for Oscars in the past few decades, like Spirited Away, Drive My Car, and Departures.
35. The Three Sisters
Animated Short Film (Konstantin Bronzit)
The Three Sisters is a charming animated short about (you guessed it) three sisters. In this case, the three sisters live on a tiny sand island in the middle of an ocean. They don't say much, and the only dialogue in the film is a few grunts and stuff like that. The three sisters seem modest and shy until a burly sailor shows up and rents one of their rooms, at which point they become fiercely and ostentatiously competitive. The animation and story are lovely, but it's also not exactly the most unforgettable film.
34. The Devil Is Busy
Documentary Short Film (Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir)
For a film like The Devil Is Busy, the thirty-minute documentary short from HBO Documentary Films, if it's not for a full-length review, I'd argue it's better if you know as little as possible going into it what the film is centrally about. I will say that the main person we follow in the film—Tracii, the head of security at the facility where the documentary was shot—is a fascinating person to observe, especially as she walks us through the day-to-day operations of her job, the individuals she encounters, and her own internal struggles. Expertly directed by Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir (one of two nominations the latter has at this year's Academy Awards; she's also nominated for the documentary The Perfect Neighbor), by the end of the movie, you might feel like you've had a punch in the gut, but that may be the point.
33. Butterfly
Animated Short Film (Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens)
Butterfly is a wonderfully alluring animated short from director Florence Miailhe about the Jewish swimmer Alfred Nakache, focusing on glimpses of his life, from early memories of being scared of the ocean water to competing for France in the 1936 Berlin Olympics while the Nazis chant and insult him. (He later also competed in the 1948 London Olympics, and is one of two Jewish athletes to have competed in Olympic Games after surviving the Holocaust. His wife and daughter did not survive Auschwitz.) Due to the concerning rise in bigotry toward a variety of groups (including Jews), Butterfly is an important short.
32. Come See Me In the Good Light
Documentary Feature Film (Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, and Stef Willen)
Come See Me In the Good Light can be such a painful watch because of how up close and personal the fight against cancer is; here, you see the small moments of triumph but also the several steps backward as things go from promising to tragic. You see the fear in people's eyes after some bad news—and it's haunting. Much of this is evident by the faces of the film's subject, Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley, two poets who fell in love and fought Andrea's cancer as best they could. This is an honest look at how terrible cancer can be, and by being a documentary, it avoids all the tropes and offenses that Hollywood is sometimes tempted to engage in. Because of this, it might not be recommendable for everyone.
31. Forevergreen
Animated Short Film (Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears)
Forevergreen is the tale of motherly love; adoptive, rebellious teenagers; and perhaps even the sacrificial essence some think nature has towards humans. Created by Walt Disney Animation Studios animators Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears (who also worked on Zootopia 2) and using the Bible as inspiration to tell a spiritual story, Forevergreen is the tale of a bear cub under the care and protection of a friendly and gallant tree in the forest. As the cub comes of age, however, there are some growing pains and intense desires for autonomy, even if it comes at great risk. Forevergreen is not the best of the animated shorts, but (while none of them are bad) it is not the most unmemorable.
30. The Ugly Stepsister
Makeup and Hairstyling (Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg)
A grotesque adaptation of the famous Cinderella tale (so grotesque I had to look away a few times), The Ugly Stepsister tells this story through the eyes of (who else?) Cinderella's ugly stepsister. With shifting feelings toward one of them from another, the first half of this film from Norway is a bit more interesting than the second half, but if body horror is your thing, you'll get plenty of it here. Despite the shakiness of the film, one really praiseworthy aspect of it is Lea Myren in the title role. It's an intense, committed performance that might remind many of Mia Goth's in Pearl.
29. Children No More: "Were and Gone"
Documentary Short Film (Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins)
Children No More: "Were and Gone" is about Israeli activities protesting the genocide in Gaza by silently holding pictures of Palestinian children who have died since October 2023 which, as of this writing, totals at least 21,000. Given that only about twenty percent of Israelis thought their country's response had gone too far when Pew Research Center polled them two years ago, the work these groups do is vitally important. Indeed, much of the reaction their silent protests react are disturbing, and some agitators predictably shout things like the lives of Palestinian children do not matter. Films like these are extremely important.
28. Butcher's Stain
Live Action Short Film (Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi)
In a similar vein, Butcher's Stain is another Oscar-nominated film that highlights the suffering of Palestinian people. (Last year's winning documentary was No Other Land, and The Present was nominated for Live Action Short Film in 2021.) Butcher's Stain might not be as memorable as those mentioned, but it is an important film nevertheless. The story is about an Arab man named Samir (in a commendable performance by Omar Sameer) who plays a butcher in Israel but is one day accused by his manager of taking down posters in the staff lounge of Israeli hostages. Writer and director Meyer Levinson-Blount deserves praise for finding a novel story to visualize the daily injustices Arabs face in Israel beyond what we have witnessed almost daily for more than two years.
27. Hamnet
Actress in a Leading Role (Jessie Buckley), Casting (Nina Gold), Costume Design (Malgosia Turzanska), Directing (Chloé Zhao), Music (Original Score) (Max Richter), Production Design (Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino), Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell), Best Picture (Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg, and Sam Mendes)
Much of the lasting power of the grief-heavy Hamnet (and indeed its strongest chance at an Oscar) is in the performance of Jessie Buckley as Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare whom we know very little about but through a healthy amount of conjecture was brought to life in Maggie O'Farrell's historical fiction novel. (O'Farrell is nominated for adapting her book into the film's screenplay with Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao, who also is nominated for directing it.) Buckley delivers a strong performance, no doubt, though it does at times feel like what could be derided as "most acting" due to the frequent appearances of screaming, shouting, crying, and even a childbirth or two. Her co-star, Paul Mescal as Agnes' playwright husband, is also laudable and arguably should have been nominated.
26. KPop Demon Hunters
Animated Feature Film (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong), Music (Original Song) ("Golden," by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park)
I regret that I didn't adore KPop Demon Hunters as much as everyone else, but I admire the genre-blending aesthetics of action, romance, comedy, and horror that film utilizes. The songs "Golden," "Soda Pop," and others will definitely be around for a long, long time, and the voice talents of Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Byung-hun, and the singing voices of Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami, and others are certainly worthy of praise. It would be quite the shock if this movie didn't win both the Oscars it's nominated for.
25. F1
Film Editing (Stephen Mirrione), Sound (Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, and Juan Peralta), Visual Effects (Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, and Keith Dawson), Best Picture (Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski, and Jeremy Bruckheimer)
Apple Studio's first box office hit, F1 became the ninth-highest grossing film of last year (and the highest-grossing film of Brad Pitt's career), and is a film I walked into with fairly low expectations but was surprised at how well it's executed. As a human drama, it doesn't always work as successfully as it aspires to, but in terms of tour de force filmmaking, it is quite the achievement, especially that crisp editing by Oscar-winner Stephen Mirrione. At the very least, it really drives down (no pun intended) just how much a team sport speed racing is. Like he did with Top Gun: Maverick three years before, director Joseph Kosinski skillfully places audiences in the seat of the vehicle as the characters race at incredible speeds.
24. The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Animated Short Film (Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski)
The Canadian animated short The Girl Who Cried Pearls is certainly the best of these five nominees. Its gorgeous stop-motion animation and mesmerizing story help vault it to the front, and its enigmatic (although maybe a little too enigmatic) nature doesn't hurt. About a wealthy grandfather telling a unique fairy tale to her granddaughter about how he used pearls to gain riches and rise from nothing, one can tell there is so much painstaking work that went into the stop-motion animation of this film. Any kind of animation like this is immensely impressive, but this one really takes the cake. The Girl Who Cried Pearls is considered by some to be the frontrunner in this category, and I hope it wins.
23. Diane Warren: Relentless
Music (Original Song) ("Dear Me," by Diane Warren)
Diane Warren is an icon. You may not recognize her walking down the street, but you've surely heard at least a few of her songs: "Rhythm of the Night," "If I Could Turn Back Time," "How Do I Live," among many others. Despite winning an Emmy, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, an honorary Oscar, and a host of others, she has notoriously been nominated for a competitive Oscar seventeen times but has never once won. One could make a good argument that she should have won at least one by now, perhaps for a song like "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (from Mannequin), "Because You Loved Me" (from Up Close & Personal), "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" (from Armageddon), or "Til It Happens to You" (from The Hunting Ground), which still seems shocking that she and Lady Gaga lost to Sam Smith for "Writing's on the Wall." I have done the Oscar death race every year since 2021, and every one of those years meant watching a movie that had an Oscar-nominated Diane Warren song in it. This Oscar streak is uncomfortably discussed in this surprisingly interesting documentary about Warren to the point where it becomes a bit sad (and not in the way the filmmakers intended it). At any rate, I was surprised at how much I liked seeing Warren in her element and in her normal life (which many have found relatable), as well as all the endless praise various musicians shower upon her. The song "Dear Me," which is sung by Kesha in the film, is unfortunately likely going to continue that losing streak; there are several other songs in this category that simply are going to be favored above this one. That doesn't diminish the fact that there is no one quite like Diane Warren.
22. Cutting Through Rocks
Documentary Feature Film (Sara Khaki and Mohammadreze Eyni)
Like It Was Only an Accident, Cutting Through Rocks is a critical film from Iran. But unlike It Was Only an Accident, which goes directly after the government, Cutting Through Rocks largely aims at Iran's conservative, patriarchal traditions and norms. About an inspiring and energetic woman in a rural village named Sara Shahverdi who wins a local election as a councilwoman, becoming the first woman in her region to do so, she experiences many moments that feel like everything is one step forward, two steps back, even to the point in which she faces pressure to change her gender. (For an in-depth look at how transgenderism is treated in Iran, check out the 2008 documentary Be Like Others.) Cutting Through Rocks reminded me a lot of some of the films by Saudi filmmaker Haifa al-Monsour, such as Wadjda, about a girl who wants to ride a bike in a society that won't let her, and The Perfect Candidate, about a female candidate for office in a local election. Iran and Saudi Arabia may be arch-enemies, but it is comforting to know that there are similar filmmakers with similar visions in both countries, and I hope al-Monsour has seen this debut feature of Sara Khaki and Mohammadreze Eyni's.
21. Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Documentary Feature Film (David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, Helle Faber, and Alžbeta Karásková)
Anti-Putin sentiment has been common at recent Oscars—Navalny, about the slain Putin critic who was killed in 2024, was the winner in this category three years ago (a documentary about the war's effect on Ukrainian children called A House Made of Splinters was also nominated that year), another anti-war documentary called 20 Days in Mariupol about the first few weeks of the invasion won the following year, and a similar documentary called Porcelain War was nominated last year. Director David Borenstein and others will try to capitalize on that fervor by winning for this film that focuses on a local teacher and videographer named Pavel Talankin who secretly shared the propaganda videos he was forced to make as part of Russia's militarization of schools with the outside world. The amount of disturbing propaganda that flooded Talankin's school following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 (which has led to possibly over a million Russia casualties) is shocking yet predictable, and is on a level that is only rivaled by the propaganda of North Korea and present-day United States.
20. A Friend of Dorothy
Live Action Short Film (Lee Knight and James Dean)
With a title like A Friend of Dorothy, it won't take too much for many to realize that this is meant to be a tender, feel-good queer comedy. About an elderly widow (played by Miriam Margolyes) who befriends a young aspiring actor (played by Alistair Nwachukwu in his film debut), the sentimentality of such a film might annoy some, and truth be told, it comes across a bit thick in a scene or two. However, there are many aspects of A Friend of Dorothy that make it practically delectable. The congenial score by Stuart Hancock is one such example, and it might pleasantly linger in your mind for a while after the film finishes. The chemistry between Margolyes and Nwachukwu seems very genuine. And it's a queer-themed crowd-pleaser on major streaming services (Disney+ and YouTube). For these reasons, it seems like this film might be the one to beat in this category.
19. The Singers
Live Action Short Film (Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt)
A Friend of Dorothy might have the weight of Disney behind it, but it could be difficult to beat a project distributed by Netflix. In this case, The Singers is a twenty-minute live action short directed by Sam A. Davis about a group of downtrodden men gathered at a smoke-heavy bar engaging in an impromptu singing contest. The best singing we get is from Judah Kelly (of The Voice Australia fame), Mike Yung (of America's Got Talent fame), Will Harrington, and Chris Smither. Armed with a 35mm camera, an untrained cast, an outline based on an 1852 short story by Ivan Turgenev, personal history from the performers, and a bit of improv, the result from director Sam A. Davis is quite a remarkable piece of work that (despite how corny it can feel here and there) might be the best of the five live action shorts.
18. The Alabama Solution
Documentary Feature Film (Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman)
A damning account of the harrowing conditions of the United States' current slave system in the form of prisons, especially in Alabama, The Alabama Solution points a lot of fingers: the governor (the awful Kay Ivey), the attorney general, malicious guards, the DOJ, the media, and the public at large. This is a film that will sap everything out of you, particularly because deep down, you know there is little chance it will have much of a positive impact. If all of the media coverage, lawsuits, and the strike depicted in the documentary have not changed people's minds and woken them up to the horrors of the U.S. corrections system, what chance does an HBO documentary have? Perhaps that's an unfair criticism of such a work, but it's the truth.
17. The Voice of Hind Rajab
International Feature Film (Tunisia)
Directed by Kauather Ben Hana (you may have seen the previous Oscar-nominated movie she directed, The Man Who Sold His Skin), The Voice of Hind Rajab is based on a true story of a Palestinian Red Crescent team's frantic attempt to rescue a Palestinian girl who was trapped in the car (surrounded by dead family members) despite continuing firing by Israeli soldiers. (Predictably, the Israelis lied about it before eventually admitting what they had done.) Despite the effectiveness of this film and Hana's directing, there are some moments that feature over-the-top acting, but on the whole, the actors are effective. The tense final twenty minutes are expertly crafted, though the film (much like The Alabama Solution, Butcher's Stain, and others on this list) might drain viewers, especially as the world has not been able to stop a genocide that killed at least 70,000 people.
16. Sirāt
International Feature Film (Spain)
Roger Ebert once famously said that no bad movie is depressing—all bad movies are depressing. That statement may be put to the test for many viewers of Sirāt, a tense, nihilistic, powerful and often unpredictable drama about a road trip odyssey from hell written and directed by Oliver Laxe. Sweeping the recent Goya Awards in Spain and finding its way on many top-ten lists, I wouldn't blame some if they decided that after a few of these unexpected, distressing moments, it was time to turn it off. However, if you're likely to agree with Ebert's remark, Sirāt is worth sticking with until the end.
15. Sentimental Value
Actor in a Supporting Role (Stellan Skarsgård), Actress in a Leading Role (Renate Reinsve), Actress in a Supporting Role (Elle Fanning), Actress in a Supporting Role (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), Directing (Joachim Trier), Film Editing (Olivier Bugge Coutté), International Feature Film (Norway), Writing (Original Screenplay) (Eskil Vogt and Trier), Best Picture (Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar)
The humanist, subtle, and powerful Sentimental Value is the newest Joachim Trier-Renate Reinsve outing that finds itself at the Oscars, with their first being The Worst Person in the World four years ago. About a famous film director played by Stellan Skarsgård trying to resolve familiar trauma with his latest work (yet simultaneously making it worse), this is a career-best for Skarsgård, whom most Americans probably recognize from flashier projects in franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean, Mamma Mia!, and Dune. What likely further helps his chances of winning is that it's basically the lead role despite being nominated in the supporting actor category. (Think Christoph Waltz's win in Django Unchained.) Sentimental Value also features stellar performances from Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, none of whom are likely to win but who nevertheless deliver memorable acting.
14. Bugonia
Actress in a Leading Role (Emma Stone), Music (Original Score) (Jerskin Fendix), Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Will Tracy), Best Picture (Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars Knudsen, and Stone)
A remake of the Korean film Save the Green Planet!, the newest absurdist tale from director Yorgos Lanthimos is exactly what you would expect it to be: surreal, alarming, haunting, disturbing, and darkly funny. It also features another terrific performance from Oscar-favorite Emma Stone, who last won an Oscar for the Lanthimos-directed Poor Things two years ago and is double-nominated here for her acting and producing. But it's a real pity Jesse Plemons as the deranged conspiracy theorist at the heart of the film wasn't nominated, for this is perhaps his best performance yet. (Seriously, how did Ethan Hawke get nominated for Blue Moon instead of him?) At any rate, it's not as good as Dogtooth or Poor Things, but if these kinds of quirky and bleak Lanthimos films are your bag, you're in for a treat.
13. It Was Just an Accident
International Feature Film (France)
The winner of the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival, It Was Just an Accident, directed by renowned Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi (who has been arrested several times in Iran and who didn't receive permission from Iranian officials to make the film—he once even smuggled a film out of the country in a cake), is a blunt attack on the brutality of the Iranian regime. This is a film in which the less you know about the plot, the better—so I'll leave it at that. Given that the Academy may crave a chance to show solidarity with the Iranian people at a time when so many of them have been butchered by their own government (a possible 30,000) and an additional 1,200 have died since the U.S. and Israel started bombing civilians recently, and given that one of its possible main competitors (No Other Choice from Korea) was surprisingly snubbed, this film stands a strong chance of winning. But it faces strong competition from other favorites in this category like The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value.
12. Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Documentary Short Film (Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo)
2025 was a difficult year for journalists. Over three hundred were imprisoned, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. A wave of news outlets around the world shut down due to economic hardships around the globe. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 128 journalists lost their lives in 2025. One journalist who lost his life was Brent Renaud in 2022 when Russian troops ambushed and killed him. Armed Only With a Camera features a lot of very painful moments to either be reminded of or to simply hear about and view for the first time. At any rate, viewers are witness to a myriad of human tragedy—some natural (like the earthquake in Haiti) and some man-made (like the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Ukraine)—all of which are captured by Renaud and his camera. The footage is not easy to watch.
11. All the Empty Rooms
Documentary Short Film (Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones)
I have on occasion rolled my eyes at some of the new segments of Steve Hartman, the CBS journalist whose On the Road segments try to offer an antidote to the depressing news content viewers had just consumed. (I once commented on a video of his from six years ago about a handyman who does tasks for free that didn't make any sense and received a few very angry responses.) However, no eyes were rolled in All the Empty Rooms, which is one of the most difficult subject matters of the fifty films on this list. Hartman notes in this short documentary that he's done trying to put a positive spin on mass shootings, the uniquely American epidemic that has killed more Americans since 1968 than all the Americans killed in every U.S. war since the revolution. It is frustrating that in the face of such evil (the murderous acts themselves and the people who allow the status quo to continue), there is nothing in this documentary that will change this curse of ours. In terms of awards success, recent history suggests Netflix might win in this category; they won in 2021 for a similar-themed animated short called If Anything Happens I Love You.
10. The Secret Agent
Actor in a Leading Role (Wagner Moura), Casting (Gabriel Domingues), International Feature Film (Brazil), Best Picture (Emilie Lesclaux)
Wagner Moura's first Portuguese-language film in almost a decade and the final film of Udo Kier, The Secret Agent is certainly a film that takes its time; indeed, even an hour into the film, it is not totally clear what the character Moura is playing is about. To many non-Brazilians, the film might be valuable education regarding things like the press's cover-up of political violence and corruption as well as life under the military dictatorship (much like I'm Still Here did last year). If you can stick with it for an hour, the payoff gradually builds, especially during its tense climactic scene, and its final gut-punch on justice and memory certainly hits hard.
9. Arco
Animated Feature Film (Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Man, and Natalie Portman)
Arco, the French animated sci-fi film that looks and feels like something from Studio Ghibli, is one of the most visually appealing animated films in quite a while. About a boy who disobeys his parents, steals his sister's time-traveling cape, and finds himself in our future but his past, this is the kind of animated film parents really should be showing their children (instead of duds like Zootopia 2). There's also decent comedic timing in the form of a peculiar trio of brothers trying to prove they're not crazy (voiced in the English version by Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Flea). Arco, despite being co-produced by Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, is highly unlikely to win in this category, but it's really one of the best of the five.
8. Marty Supreme
Actor in a Leading Role (Timothée Chalamet), Casting (Jennifer Venditti), Cinematography (Darius Khondji), Costume Design (Miyako Bellizzi), Directing (Josh Safdie), Film Editing (Ronald Bronstein and Safdie), Production Design (Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis), Writing (Original Screenplay) (Bronstein and Safdie), Best Picture (Eli Bush, Bronstein, Safdie, Antony Katagas, and Chalamet)
Much like Josh Safdie did with Uncut Gems five years before it, Marty Supreme is an adrenalized drama of an obnoxious and supremely confident man whose Midas Touch nature finds him in one nightmarish situation after another. Also like Uncut Gems, the constant misadventures of the protagonist start to feel taxing and gratuitous, and they are the main thing holding this film back from being a great one. However, in many respects, it's an American original, and it's hard not to see what we've all witnessed so much these past few years—the arrogance of (usually young) men—in Chalamet as Marty Mauser, the table tennis star who believes he is destined for greatness. By now, Chalamet has been in everything from Interstellar to Wonka to the Dune films, and this is his third nomination for acting (he was also nominated for Call Me By Your Name and A Complete Unknown), but this is probably his best work so far. One final question: How was Daniel Lopatin's score not nominated?
7. The Perfect Neighbor
Documentary Feature Film (Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, and Sam Bisbee)
The Perfect Neighbor is the kind of film that will make your blood boil. One other reason will be because not long after the film started streaming on Netflix, Susan Lorincz—the villain of the story—threatened a defamation suit against those she had harmed, proving she had no limits to her evil. This documentary features no narration or talking heads—only the chilling reality of CCTV footage—making it a nice change from what we typically get. It reminded me of one of the nominated documentary shorts from last year called Incident, another CCTV documentary which I thought would win. (It ended up losing to The Only Girl in the Orchestra from Netflix.) The Perfect Neighbor, however, seems to be the frontrunner in this category. Gandbhir has won five Emmys and a Peabody, and now she might add an Oscar to her trophy collection.
6. Train Dreams
Cinematography (Adolpho Veloso), Music (Original Song) ("Train Dreams," Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Cave), Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar), Best Picture (Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, and Michael Heimler)
Like the name suggests, Train Dreams is an ethereal, almost hallucinatory fable. It's also one that champions the working man, particularly the forgotten, nameless ones. In a terrific performance from Joel Edgerton, who plays a modest man in a rapidly changing century, his character deals with a variety of life's slings and arrows, though his are much more debilitating than the average person's. Train Dreams is not likely destined for much (or any) Oscar love this year, but it was the top winner at this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards, and its cinematography by Adolpho Veloso has been universally praised.
5. Elio
Animated Feature Film (Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, and Mary Alice Drumm)
Elio, Pixar's sci-fi adventure about an alienated boy whose dream is to be abducted by actual aliens, was a box office disappointment, becoming the studio's biggest flop. Now, however, it's the comeback kid. Directed by Pixar veterans Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina (though not simultaneously, as Molina exited—a bit controversially—the production), a lot of the contention leading up to the film's release and the finger-pointing after it came out was detailed in the Hollywood Reporter, especially regarding allegations of erasure. There is definitely queer coding in the film, but the blotting out that took place during the production resulted in one former Pixar artist opining that the removal of so much focus on identity made the film feel like it's about "totally nothing." With all this in mind, it's kind of surprising that Elio is so good. Featuring a healthy mix of science fiction, action, comedy, and even a bit of horror, it's decent fun that's amazing to view. While also potentially suffering from diminishing marginal returns in the sense that it's not as fantastic as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Up, etc., and also lacking in comparison to similar-themed films like E.T. (Empire even called it "Contact for kids"), Elio is still my favorite of the animated feature films and the one I would vote for.
4. The Lost Bus
Visual Effects (Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen, and Brandon K. McLaughlin)
I had never heard of The Lost Bus, the disaster film based on the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California (with some predictably exaggerated moments throughout). In the very capable hands of famed director Paul Greengrass, the story focuses mainly on real-life bus driver Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey) and elementary school teacher Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera) who evacuated twenty-two schoolchildren and took them to safety. Not only had I not heard of the film before the nominees were announced, I came into it with fairly low expectations. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised at how simultaneously tense and moving it was, being a fantastic vehicle at demonstrating the herculean efforts most school officials will go to protect children during these kinds of emergencies. Furthermore, a movie like this should be required viewing to anyone who still listens to the chief village idiot as he continues to not understand the basic science of climate and weather while deliberately lying and misinforming the public about the culprit of these fires (global warming), which, as one official points out in the film, are getting larger and more common with each passing year. The Lost Bus is almost certainly going to lose in its sole category to a bigger, better-known film like Avatar: Ash and Fire, but most of what we see in The Lost Bus looks real, unlike in Ash and Fire, in which not a single moment does.
3. Sinners
Actor in a Leading Role (Michael B. Jordan), Actor in a Supporting Role (Delroy Lindo), Actress in a Supporting Role (Wunmi Mosaku), Casting (Francine Maisler), Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw), Costume Design (Ruth E. Carter), Directing (Ryan Coogler), Film Editing (Michael P. Shawver), Makeup and Hairstyling (Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, and Shunika Terry), Music (Original Score) (Ludwig Göransson), Music (Original Song) ("I Lied to You," by Raphael Saadiq and Göransson), Production Design (Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne), Sound (Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, and Steve Boeddeker), Visual Effects (Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, and Donnie Dean), Writing (Original Screenplay) (Coogler), Best Picture (Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, and Coogler)
At first, you heard via word of mouth that you had to see this film called Sinners. What it was about, it wasn't quite clear. You may have heard it was a horror film. When you left, you knew that simply "horror film" was misleading. It's also a period piece, an action flick, a crime drama, even a musical—all filled with thought-provoking allegories. By now, you've also likely heard that Sinners is the most Oscar-nominated film in history. Even if it were not, it certainly is one of the most original films to come out of Hollywood in a long time, one that will surely bring the immensely talented writer, producer, and director Ryan Coogler at least one Academy Award. Coogler is in good company—everyone on his team who received a nomination is deserving of it. After disappointingly being denied a nomination for his fantastic work in Da 5 Bloods five years ago, Delroy Lindo has finally received his first Oscar nomination and is the one many are rooting for. And it's another home run for leading man Michael B. Jordan (here in two roles as twin brothers). The others in the cast, like Jack O'Connell, Miles Caton, and Oscar-nominated Wunmi Mosaku, are quite good as well.
2. Weapons
Actress in a Supporting Role (Amy Madigan)
Weapons was the second-best film of the year, so it's a bit peculiar that the best the Academy could muster was a sole nomination (although admittedly for its most talked-about aspect: Amy Madigan as the iconic Aunt Gladys). It's not a perfect horror film—its jump scares are a little obnoxious, and the head-bashing thing is getting old. But in my humble opinion, it's still the best horror film of last year (with all due respect to Sinners and Frankenstein). From those opening moments featuring George Harrison's "Beware of Darkness" and all those children running out of their homes to the creepy smile of Cary Christopher as the sole remaining member of his class to all the different point-of-view storytelling from writer and director Zach Cregger, this is one of the best horror films in recent memory. Madigan's zany and frightening performance helps elevate it to icon status.
1. One Battle After Another
Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Actor in a Supporting Role (Benicio Del Toro), Actor in a Supporting Role (Sean Penn), Actress in a Supporting Role (Teyana Taylor), Casting (Cassandra Kulukundis), Cinematography (Michael Bauman), Directing (Paul Thomas Anderson), Film Editing (Andy Jurgensen), Music (Original Score) (Jonny Greenwood), Production Design (Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino), Sound (José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosia, and Tony Villaflor), Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Anderson), Best Picture (Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, and Anderson)
The great auteur Paul Thomas Anderson gave us Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood, and yet this one, One Battle After Another, isn't simply my favorite film directed by PTA (who has patiently waited for an Oscar these past few decades)—it's one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It would be really something if the Academy actually gave the top award to the actual best film of the year not once but twice in a row (with Anora being last year's top winner). It's also one of Leonardo DiCaprio's five best performances ever, and he's the kind of actor who just keeps getting better and better. He's joined by a stellar cast that includes actors in some of their best work: Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Regina Hall, and Tony Goldwyn. Praise also is due to those behind the scenes, like cinematographer Michael Bauman for that exceptional chase scene and musician Jonny Greenwood. One could argue that Greenwood should have won at least one Oscar by now, though it will be hard for him to prevent fellow composer Ludwig Görasson from nabbing his third Oscar. (Maybe the latter will become the next John Williams by getting five Oscars and then being robbed year after year.) But there really will be no justice in this universe if Anderson is denied at least one Oscar yet again.
Enjoy the show!
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