After a year of amazing cinema and a few months of award season buildup, we've finally arrived at the Holy Grail event of movies. The Oscars. Now that the nominations are finally out, with two months until the results, it is time for a roundup of every category's nominations and everything you need to know about them.
Firstly, this year's Academy Awards have made history already, that being with Sinners' 16 nominations, smashing the previous nomination record held by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land - that being 14 nominations. One Battle After Another follows closely, however, with a grand total of 13 nominations, with Frankenstein taking up the third place spot with 9. A few other notable movies are Hamnet, Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value, each being awarded 8 nominations across the 17 possible categories.
Best Picture
- Bugonia
- F1
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
Of course, being the most important and what everybody is waiting for, we had to start with Best Picture. One Battle After Another seems like the front runner, winning this same award at the Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy) and Critics Choice awards. The biggest surprise, at least in my eyes, is F1, as it feels like much more of an outlier, aesthetically speaking, within this list.
Best Lead Actor
- Timothée Chalamet - Marty Supreme
- Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another
- Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon
- Michael B. Jordan - Sinners
- Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent
This category went as expected, with every single one of the nominations being nominated for the Golden Globe for this same category, for either Drama or Musical/Comedy, and the Critics Choice Award. The only actor who missed out on the Oscar nomination after a nomination in the previous two awards was Joel Edgerton, who seemed to have missed out simply due to lack of space - both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards have six spots, as opposed to the Oscars' five. At the Golden Globes, Wagner Moura and Timothée Chalamet took home their respective awards, with Timothée Chalamet also, somewhat controversially, winning the Critics Choice award. The most likely winners in this category are Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, or Michael B. Jordan.
Best Lead 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
Once again, most nominations in this category were as expected, with the only outlier being Kate Hudson's role in Song Sung Blue. This surprise isn't even attributed to her performance, but more the fact that Song Sung Blue seemed to fly under everybody's radar. The front runners are seeming like Jessie Buckley and Emma Stone, with the possibility of a win from Rose Byrne, due to her Golden Globe win.
Best Director
- Hamnet - Chloé Zhao
- Marty Supreme - Josh Safdie
- One Battle After Another - Paul Thomas Anderson
- Sentimental Value - Joachim Trier
- Sinners - Ryan Coogler
After Paul Thomas Anderson completely swept the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards, picking up both awards, its looking likely for him to also take home the Oscar, even though there is some stiff competition. It's hard to point at a standout front runner, as everybody nominated for this category seems to be on somewhat the same level. One surprise, however, is Guillermo Del Toro missing out on this award completely, after being nominated for both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice award, with Josh Safdie only getting a nomination for the latter.
Best Animated Feature
- Arco
- Elio
- K-Pop Demon Hunters
- Little Amélie or The Character of Rain
- Zootopia 2
This category seems like an easy win for K-Pop Demon Hunters, due to it winning both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards. This is, of course, unless one of the two foreign features manages to surprise the win, much like Flow from last year. One surprise is that Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc didn't even secure a nomination, simply due to it being the highest rated movie of 2025 on Letterboxd, animated or otherwise, and the ninth highest rated animated movie of all time on the same site. This is very possible due to the Academy looking down on this movie as 'just a TV movie' or thinking it required previous viewing of the anime.
Best International Feature
- The Secret Agent - Brazil
- It Was Just an Accident - France
- Sentimental Value - Norway
- Sirāt - Spain
- The Voice of Hind Rajab - Tunisia
The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value seem to be front runners in this category, being the only two that have broken out into other nominations in a meaningful way. I would give the edge to The Secret Agent, however, due to it being awarded both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards. One surprise to many people is the lack of a nomination for No Other Choice, especially due to it being nominated for both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice award, alongside all of the existing Oscar nominees - at least in the Critics Choice awards.
Best Supporting Actor
- Benecio Del Toro - One Battle After Another
- Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein
- Delroy Lindo - Sinners
- Sean Penn - One Battle After Another
- Stellan Skarsgård - Sentimental Value
After they secured two nominations, it seems like One Battle After Another are likely to take this award home, my money being on Sean Penn. However, Stellan Skarsgård and Jacob Elordi are also likely after winning the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards, respectively. Delroy Lindo is quite a surprise, I would've expected Miles Caton to appear, if anybody from Sinners.
Best Supporting Actress
- Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value
- Inga Ibsotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
- Amy Madigan - Weapons
- Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners
- Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another
This category went quite as expected, almost repeating the nominations for the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards, with the exception of Ariana Grande. Amy Madigan won the Critics Choice award, however it seems unlikely, due to the nature of the movie, that she could win the Oscar - the Academy is notorious for 'snubbing' horror movies, especially horror movie performances. Teyana Taylor seems to be the front runner in this category, both due to her performance itself, and the fact of her winning the Golden Globe.
Best Original Song
- Dear Me - Diane Warren: Relentless
- Golden - K-Pop Demon Hunters
- I Lied To You - Sinners
- Sweet Dreams of Joy - Viva Verdi!
- Train Dreams - Train Dreams
In this there are really only two nominations, as both Golden and I Lied To You are leagues ahead of the rest, mostly due to notoriety. It looks very likely that Golden will take this award home, being such a huge hit and easily winning popularity, as well as taking home both the Critics Choice and Golden Globe awards. However, it looks very possible - with a little bit of hope - that I Lied To You may secure this win, noting that this and Train Dreams are the only other songs nominated for both previous awards.
Best Original Score
- Bugonia
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
It looks extremely likely that Sinners will win this award, due to Ludwig Göransson taking home both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award. The only other notable score that seems to stick in my head is One Battle After Another, which will likely be another front runner.
Best Original Screenplay
- Blue Moon
- It Was Just an Accident
- Marty Supreme
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
Not unlike many other categories, this seems like it'll be a race between Sinners and Marty Supreme, with Sentimental Value having a possibility for a surprise victory. The Golden Globes don't have two separate awards to distinguish an adapted or original screenplay, so the winner is not present in this list of nominees. However Marty Supreme, Sinners, and Sentimental Value were all nominated, with Ryan Coogler winning the Critics Choice award for Sinnners, statistically putting him in the top of the runnings.
Best Adapted Screenplay
- Bugonia
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- One Battle After Another
- Train Dreams
This award is seeming much more spread out, in terms of the probable winners, however One Battle After Another obviously takes a leading spot after winning both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards. More that seem likely are Frankenstein or Hamnet.
Best Cinematography
- Frankenstein
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
While a few of the nominees in this category are likely, it seem as if the front runners will end up being One Battle After Another and Train Dreams. The Critics Choice awards gave it to Train Dreams, however the Oscars may be slighlty more favourable towards the former.
Best Visual Effects
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- F1
- Jurassic World: Rebirth
- The Lost Bus
- Sinners
This category seems like a shoe in for Avatar: Fire and Ash, as almost the entire allure of that movie seems to be in its visual effects, and the fact of it winning the Critics Choice award. However, I can also see a possibility for F1 to sneak a victory, even though it seems unlikely.
Best Costume Design
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- Sinners
This category also seems like quite an easy one to determine, though not quite as simple as the previous award. It looks likely that Frankenstein will take home this award, partly due to it winning the Critics Choice award, but also because the costumes in a fantastical period piece are much more of a statement and thing of importance than any other movie, causing it to be very in-your-face and obvious as being award worthy. However, i can also see Sinners managing to secure this award.
Best Film Editing
- F1
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
This seems like the one of the only awards that F1 is sure to be a front runner for. Not only did it win the Critics Choice award, but it is once again the only movie in this category where the editing is very in-your-face and obvious to any viewer. Of course, this fact isn't the sole contributor to winning an award like this, however it can help greatly.
Best Production Design
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
This award looks likely to be awarded to only one of two movies in this list. Sinners or Frankenstein, for the same reason that Frankenstein is a front runner for its costume design. Frankenstein is also the most likely due to it winning the Critics Choice award.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
- Frankenstein
- Kokuho
- Sinners
- The Smashing Machine
- The Ugly Stepsister
Yet again, it seems as if Frankenstein is an easy pick for this category, both due to the reasoning stated previously, and it winning the Critics Choice award. The Ugly Stepsister seems like its only competitor, mostly due to its fairytale aesthetic and how well it's executed. Some may say The Smashing Machine, however that seems attributed solely to Dwayne Johnson's transformation, which I don't think is enough.
Best Sound
- F1
- Frankenstein
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Sirāt
This is, honestly, the only award I can see F1 winning, aside from its editing. Another possibility is Sinners, however no others really stand out to me, in terms of sound. F1 also took home the Critics Choice award.
Best Achievement In Casting
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sinners
This category is the first new one since Best Animated Feature was established in 2001, so its hard to define what could win, as we have no history of what has won or what the Academy really looks for. Luckily, the Critics Choice awards also have this category, also added this year, which awarded Sinners. This gives us some idea that Sinners may be a front runner. The most unlikely nominee, at least in my eyes, is The Secret Agent.
Best Documentary Feature
- The Alabama Solution
- Come See Me in The Good Light
- Cutting Through Rocks
- Mr. Nobody Against Putin
- The Perfect Neighbour
Best Documentary Short FIlm
- All The Empty Rooms
- Armed With Only a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
- Children No More: "Were And Are Gone"
- The Devil is Busy
- Perfectly a Strangeness
Best Live Action Short FIlm
- Butchers Stain
- A Friend of Dorothy
- Jane Austen's Period Drama
- The Singers
- Two People Exchanging Saliva
Best Animated Short Film
- Butterfly
- Forevergreen
- The Girl Who Cried Pearls
- Retirement Plan
- The Three Sisters