Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman raced through the 2026 Oscar nominations this afternoon, and whilst I failed to correctly predict any of the headline categories, there were few real shocks.
The main story to emerge was that Sinners received a record 16 nominations, picking up a nod for just about every category they had a sniff at. That included a best supporting actor nomination for Delroy Lindo, which, whilst deserved, was perhaps the biggest surprise today. Paul Mescal was the one to miss out from my predictions, leaving a field of:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
In the female equivalent category, it was Odessa A’zion who failed to secure a spot for Marty Supreme, with Elle Fanning making it two nominees for Sentimental Value:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
I again picked four out of five in the lead acting categories, though in both cases – Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams and Chase Infiniti in One Battle After Another, they were my least confident choices. Since I made my predictions, I saw Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue, and, as soon as she lost part of her leg, I had a feeling that I made a mistake! On the male side, I am delighted to see Ethan Hawke get his 5th nomination. Those categories in full:
BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Emma Stone – Bugonia
When it comes to director and best film, I think I let my heart rule my head by selecting It Was Just an Accident in both, when the precursor awards suggested that support for that film was waning. I was happier to see another of my predictions for director, Guillermo del Toro, excluded for his deeply flawed Frankenstein. The final list was as follows:
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
I suppose I was nearest to getting a full house was in the best picture category, where my dismay about Jafar Panahi’s movie being excluded was eased by seeing the fun F1 edging in ahead of the Avatar or Wicked sequels.
BEST FILM
One Battle After Another
Hamnet
Sinners
Marty Supreme
Frankenstein
Bugonia
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Train Dreams
F1
I don’t think the nominations today have changed a lot with regards to who will ultimately win. The support for Sinners, though, may suggest that it now passed Hamnet as the second favourite in the picture and directing categories behind One Battle After Another. Timothée Chalamet and Jessie Buckley are still on course for the main acting prizes, though the supporting awards are too close to call at this stage.
But, there is time for things to change before the ceremony on 15 March and I will be making my final picks nearer the time.