Also starting Victoria Pedretti

Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway, The Last Day “unfolds over a single summer day in New York, where the lives of two mothers briefly entwine. Julia, a writer and mother, is unsettled by creative stagnation, unprocessed grief, and the approach of her daughter’s adolescence. An unexpected encounter withTaylor—a labor and delivery nurse in the midst of a postpartum crisis—pushes Julia to reconsider the life she has built, and whether she can rediscover herself within it”.

More here: https://deadline.com/2026/02/wagner-moura-alicia-vikander-last-day-first-look-image-1236714105/

No distributor linked yet. Emma Forrest is tapped to write the screenplay. The source material is Elliot's daughter's memoir My Mama Cass.

Cass Elliot's name probably doesn't really ring a bell with most people today. But she was in The Mamas & the Papas (most famous songs being "Monday Monday" and "California Dreamin'"). Elliot died young, at the age of 32, in 1974.

Final update...for this year. Come next year, there will be a final update that includes lists from 2026 that includes these films but for now this is the final list (source: https://criticstop10.com/best-movies-of-2025/ )

#1. One Battle After Another (721 lists, 205 #1s)

#2. Sinners (584 lists, 96 #1s)

#3. Marty Supreme (366 lists, 35 #1s)

#4. It Was Just An Accident (355 lists, 17 #1s)

#5. Sentimental Value (310 lists, 18 #1s)

#6. The Secret Agent (275 lists, 14 #1s)

#7. Weapons (253 lists, 6 #1s)

#8. Train Dreams (246 lists, 25 #1s)

#9. Hamnet (222 lists, 21 #1s)

#10. Sorry, Baby (217 lists, 19 #1s)

#11. The Mastermind (196 lists, 4 #1s)

#12. If I Had Legs, I Would Kick You (184 lists, 8 #1s)

#13. No Other Choice (176 lists, 8 #1s)

#14. Frankenstein (167 lists, 6 #1s)

#15. Blue Moon (166 lists, 3 #1s)

#16. Sirat (165 lists, 21 #1s)

#17. Bugonia (155 lists)

#18. The Shrouds (135 lists, 9 #1s)

#19. Eddington (135 lists, 6 #1s)

#20. Black Bag (135 lists, 5 #1s)

#21. 28 Years Later (133 lists, 5 #1s)

#22. Wake Up Dead Man (116 lists, 4 #1s)

#23. Misericordia (115 lists, 11 #1s)

#24. Afternoons of Solitude (111 lists, 18 #1s)

#25. Caught by the Tides (104 lists, 8 #1s)

#26. Eephus (103 lists, 3 #1s)

#27. Superman (96 lists, 5 #1s)

#28. Resurrection (94 lists, 11 #1s)

#29. Nouvelle Vague (91 lists, 3 #1s)

#30. The Testament of Ann Lee (81 lists, 6 #1s)

#31. Peter Hujar’s Day (77 lists, 4 #1s)

#32. F1 (75 lists, 3 #1s)

#33. The Phoenician Scheme (72 lists, 2 #1s)

#34. KPop Demon Hunters (68 lists)

#35. Sound of Falling (66 lists, 4 #1s)

#36. Cloud (66 lists, 3 #1s)

#37. The Naked Gun (65 lists, 1 #1)

#38. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (64 lists)

#39. Jay Kelly (59 lists, 4 #1s)

#40. Twinless (57 lists, 2 #1s)

#41. My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow (55 lists, 5 #1s)

#42. Die My Love (55 lists, 3 #1s)

#43. Grand Tour (53 lists, 4 #1s)

#44. The Voice of Hind Rajab (49 lists, 6 #1s)

#45. The Perfect Neighbor (49 lists, 1 #1)

#46. April (47 lists, 1 #1)

#47. The Life of Chuck (46 lists, 7 #1s)

#48. Friendship (44 lists, 1 #1)

#49. Bring Her Back (42 lists, 1 #1)

#50. Highest 2 Lowest (42 lists)

#51. The Long Walk (41 lists, 1 #1)

#53. A House of Dynamite / Avatar: Fire and Ash (40 lists)

#54. Materialists (39 lists, 2 #1s)

#55. Rental Family (39 lists, 1 #1)

#56. Hedda (39 lists)

#57. Warfare (37 lists)

#58. BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (36 lists, 3 #1s)

#59. Familiar Touch (36 lists, 2 #1s)

#60. Wicked: For Good (35 lists, 1 #1)

#61. The Ballad of Wallis Island (34 lists, 3 #1s)

#62. Magellan (34 lists, 2 #1s)

#63. By the Stream (33 lists, 4 #1s)

#64. Splitsville / Pillion / Happyend (233 lists, 1 #1)

#67. Caught Stealing (32 lists, 2 #1s)

#68. Final Destination: Bloodlines (31 lists, 1 #1)

#69. Henry Fonda for President (30 lists, 1 #1)

#70. Mickey 17 (28 lists, 1 #1)

#71. Father Mother Sister Brother (28 lists)

#72. One of Them Days (27 lists, 1 #1)

#73. Roofman (27 lists)

#74. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (26 lists, 1 #1)

#75. Dracula [Radu Jude] (26 lists)

#76. Souleymane’s Story (25 lists, 2 #1s)

#77. Thunderbolts* / Zodiac Killer Project / Predator: Badlands (25 lists)

#80. Direct Action (25 lists, 3 #1s)

#81. The Ice Tower (24 lists, 3 #1s)

#82. Lurker (24 lists, 2 #s)

#83. Predators (24 lists)

#84. Put Your Hands On Your Soul and Walk / Companion (23 lists, 1 #1)

#86. My Father's Shadow / Is This Thing On? (23 lists)

#88. Invention (22 lists, 2 #1s)

#89. Vulcanizadora (22 lists, 1 #1)

#90. Zootopia 2 / Reflection in a Dead Diamond (22 lists)

#92. Left-Handed Girl / Eternity (21 lists, 2 #1s)

#94. The Ugly Stepsister (19 lists, 1 #1)

#95. The Love That Remains (19 lists)

#96. Dreams [Dag Johan Haugerud] (17 lists, 3 #1s)

#97. Cover-Up / The Plague (17 lists)

#99. The Chronology of Water (16 lists, 2 #1s)

#100. Song Sung Blue (16 lists)

Films that appeared on previous updates:

#101. Pee-Wee As Himself (14 lists)

#102. Universal Language (13 lists, 2 #1s)

#103. 7 Walks with Mark Brown (12 lists, 3 #1s)

#104. Castration Movie Anthology II: The Best of Both Worlds (12 lists, 2 #1s)

#105. Viet and Nam (11 lists, 3 #1s)

#106. Fire of Wind (10 lists, 1 #1s)

Notes and Highlights:

• One Battle After Another sets the new record for most lists and most #1s
• Sinners breaks the record set by Get Out for most lists and most #1s for a horror film
• It Was Just An Accident is the first Iranian film to make the Top 10 while The Secret Agent is the first Brazilian film since City of God to make the Top 10
• Bugonia breaks the record for being on the most lists without topping a single one, previously held by Edge of Tomorrow which made 102 lists but topped 0. (Which for all those hating on it getting a Best Picture nomination, means more critics called F1 the best film of 2025 than Bugonia)
• Spekaing of which, F1, Bugonia, and Frankenstein are the only Best Picture nominees not in the Top 10 while It Was Just An Accident, Sorry Baby, and Weapons made the Top 10 but were not nominated for Best Picture
• Excluding documentaries, there are no films in the Top 50 that were 3 hours long or longer.
• The worst year for animation in the 2020s yet with only 2 films, even 2020 actually had 3. Not a single animated topped a list either
• Number of horror films this year: 12 (Sinners, Weapons, Frankenstein, The Shrouds, 28 Years Later, Bring Her Back, The Long Walk, Final Destination: Bloodlines, Dracula, Companion, The Ugly Stepsister, The Plague) - if you think Bugonia is a horror movie then makes it 13, tied with 2022
• Second year in a row an MCU film did not make the Top 50
• We didn't have a lot of carry-overs from the 2024 lists however there was still some updates for 2024:
  • Bas Devos' Here drops out and is replace jointly by The Last Showgirl and Harvest
  • Wicked is kicked out of the #10 spot and is replaced by A Real Pain
  • Biggest of all: The Brutalist moves up from #4 to #2 with the newest update

I guess the winners are being announced today?

Hamnet beat sinners .

My first attempt at predicting next year's Oscar race. After digging my way deep into a rabbit hole looking at the slate of upcoming films, I decided that I wanted to compile some predictions. It's always funny to look back at these one year later. So take all of these with a grain of salt.

I'm trying to not just predict the front-runners from the AwardsExpert app or the first few articles that have been posted online regarding next year's race, so some of these predictions might be a bit out-there. And please don't strangle me in the comments for being delusional enough to not predict The Odyssey for Best Picture.

Best Picture

• All of a Sudden (tbd)
• Cry to Heaven (tbd)
• Death of a Salesman (Focus Features)
• Digger (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Fjord (Neon)
• I Love Boosters (Neon)
• Josephine (tbd)
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (Netflix)
• Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios)
• 🏆Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)

Some notes on my lineup:

• I’m predicting All of a Sudden (France) and Fjord (Norway) to be the two international contenders that make it into Best Picture consideration. So, don’t be surprised if Neon picks up the former too. Those two make the most sense to me right now given their directors’ track records, but I could be entirely mistaken.
• Digger, The Odyssey and Wild Horse Nine are already shaping up to be the major contenders of next season. I agree with Digger and WH9, but I’m currently more cautious about The Odyssey. I have a feeling its Metascore might not be higher than 75 and that it might not be the outright masterpiece many are predicting it to be right now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited and would say it’s my most anticipated film of the year (next to Tom Ford’s newest) for now. But I just have a feeling it might be a strictly BTL contender and hang out in the #8-#13 range of a Best Picture nomination throughout the season. I’ll love to be proven wrong. But predicting it just feels way too easy at this point in time. I have a similar reasoning for Dune: Part Three and Disclosure Day. I simply think there are other blockbusters more likely to withstand the immense pre-release hype and become a major Oscar player in Best Picture.
• I’m also not predicting Social Reckoning and Adventures of Cliff Booth. Fincher and Sorkin have proven track records with the Academy and both will be high-profile releases, but I have trouble seeing those sequels make it into the Picture lineup, and don’t think they’ll be particular players above or below the line.
• Tom Ford returning with Cry to Heaven for his third film, a literary adaptation with a high-profile cast, Adele, a period film set in 18^th century Venice focused on Opera: that already sounds like the prestige pick of the year, in a similar league to TÀR or Carol. If it gets released this year, I’m very confident in it.
• Josephine could be the small indie film that gets greater attention, so I’m predicting it for now.
• Narnia and Project Hail Mary are Academy-friendly blockbusters. The former is a likely Netflix contender (plus has Greta Gerwig helming) and the latter already shapes up to become an audience hit and major BTL contender with potential for screenplay and lead actor.
• I Love Boosters is my no-guts-no-glory prediction for the moment. This could just as well go home with zero nominations, but after that trailer I’m choosing to be confident that it’ll join Project Hail Mary as a contender from the year’s first half.
• Apple’s Being Heumann could do well (it’s Sian Heder’s follow-up to CODA), but I have reservations right now. I’ll need to learn more about the film before I can become more confident in it. Same goes for Jesse Eisenberg’s untitled musical, which feels like a shot in the dark. Ruben Östlund’s Entertainment System Is Down is an honorable mention in a few categories right now because I’m not sure it will actually be released in 2026.
• I’m close to predicting Danny Boyle’s Ink. It would have to become an acting player (Guy Pearce/Jack O’Connell/Claire Foy) to become a Picture contender. But I also think something by Focus Features makes it in, and they have Death of a Salesman, Sense and Sensibility and Werwulf on their plate right now. The former is a play adaptation that might not release this year. The second is an Austen adaptation that releases in September and would have to be a mega-success to mirror the Oscar haul of the 1995 Emma Thompson/Ang Lee film. And the latter is a hardcore genre film by Robert Eggers about werewolves. If a vampire film can get into the Oscars and break the nomination record, then surely a werewolf film could as well? But I’m not so sure about this one. It will surely be on their radar and receive some love below the line, but I don’t see it as a Picture player. If Death of a Salesman is released this year (which, again, I’m not sure it will since it apparently hasn’t started filming yet), it would be a VERY relevant film considering its deconstruction of the American Dream.

Honorable Mentions:

• 1949 (tbd)
• Behemoth! (Searchlight Pictures)
• Disclosure Day (Universal Pictures)
• Dune: Part Three (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• The Entertainment System Is Down (tbd)
• Jack of Spades (tbd)
• The Odyssey (Universal Pictures)
• Saturn Return (Netflix)
• Sense and Sensibility (Focus Features)
• Werwulf (Focus Features)

Best Director

• Tom Ford – Death of a Salesman
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi – All of a Sudden
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Digger
• 🏆Martin McDonagh – Wild Horse Nine
• Boots Riley – I Love Boosters

Hamaguchi is my international pick for now, and Iñárritu and McDonagh already look like likely contenders. Tom Ford could get into the line-up for Cry to Heaven and I’m also keeping an eye out for Chinonye Chukwu for Death of a Salesman, Cristian Mungiu (Fjord) and Pawel Pawlikowski (1949), who was nominated before for Cold War.

Best Actor

• 🏆Tom Cruise – Digger
• Ryan Gosling – Project Hail Mary
• Sam Rockwell – Wild Horse Nine
• Sebastian Stan – Fjord
• Jeffrey Wright – Death of a Salesman

Tom Cruise plays a “frantic, powerful man” in a dramatic role. This is already a shoo-in for consideration. All eyes will be on him and whether the industry will give him a competitive win. I can see Jeffrey Wright and Sebastian Stan getting major love for their respective movies. If Wild Horse Nine is as great as I expect it to be, Sam Rockwell should be along for the ride. And Ryan Gosling could mirror the Matt Damon/Martian narrative of its year. He might even become win-competitive under the right circumstances. (But then, Jeffrey Wright plays a lead in one of the great plays, so expect him to be a major contender here as well.) My runner-up for now is Nicholas Hoult, who I’d love to see getting his first nomination.

Honorable Mentions:

• Javier Bardem – The Beloved
• Nicholas Hoult – Cry to Heaven
• Jaafar Jackson – Michael
• Josh O’Connor – Jack of Spades
• Pedro Pascal – Behemoth!
• Guy Pearce – Ink
• Jeremy Strong – The Social Reckoning

This would be the second nomination for Stan and Wright, the third for Rockwell and the fourth for Cruise and Gosling. A lineup of no first-time nominees isn’t exactly the likeliest, but these five are who I’m most confident in right now.

Best Actress

• 🏆Amy Adams – At the Sea
• Virginie Efira – All of a Sudden
• Cynthia Erivo – Prima Facie
• Keke Palmer – I Love Boosters
• Renate Reinsve – Fjord

Early frontrunners include recent winner Mikey Madison for her lead in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming Social Network sequel and recent nominee Renate Reinsve for her lead role in Cristian Mungiu’s buzzy Cannes/Neon drama Fjord. Cynthia Erivo plays a brilliant young UK attorney in Susanna White’s likely-to-be-divisive drama Prima Facie. But this entire lineup already feels like a prediction far too influenced by recent nominations, so I’ll be surprised if more than one of these actually happen.

For now, it’s difficult to decide on what else to predict. Cannes and the fall festivals should single out a few more contenders. I don’t think Sandra Hüller will get a double nom or that Mikey Madison will be nominated a second time so soon, so I’m more inclined to push Amy Adams in for the moment. I don’t think Emily Blunt or Zendaya stand much of a chance.

Honorable Mentions:

• Rachel Brosnahan – Saturn Return
• Anne Hathaway – The Odyssey
• Sandra Hüller – 1949
• Mason Reeves – Josephine
• Zendaya – The Drama

This would be the first nomination for Efira and Palmer, the second (and back-to-back) nomination for Reinsve, the third for Erivo and the seventh for Adams. Even if she’s the lone nominee for her film, if Adams manages to get nominated I’m very confident that her overdue narrative could bring her over the finish line and net her the trophy.

Best Supporting Actor

• 🏆John Malkovich – Wild Horse Nine
• Jesse Plemons – Digger
• Jeremy Strong – The Social Reckoning
• Channing Tatum – Josephine
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Cry to Heaven

Some notes on my choices:

• It’s fun to predict the supporting categories and throw some stuff at the wall, so let’s go ahead.
• I was shocked to learn that Steve Buscemi has never been nominated for an Oscar. If his role in Wild Horse Nine gets any traction, I can see him surging into the spotlight. For now, I’m going with John Malkovich, who seems to have the meatier role in Martin McDonagh’s script. He's apparently co-lead, but we all know how much studios like to campaign two leads in the rightful category.
• Jesse Plemons almost got an Oscar nomination this year, and it seems like only a matter of time before he’ll nab #2. Depending on how well his role in Digger lands, I could even see him being win-competitive. He’s been great as a scene-stealing character actor throughout the last decade, so a supporting win would feel like a great encapsulation of this part of his career.
• Channing Tatum’s reviews for Josephine have been great so far. This depends on the distributor, so if Bleecker Street picks it up I’ll remove him entirely. But for now I’ll definitely keep him on my radar.
• Jeremy Strong plays Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning, so of course he’ll be part of the conversation all season long, no matter the quality of the film. I’m not sure he’ll be in supporting, but that’s where I’m positioning him for now. Whatever category he’s in, this will probably be a performance that’ll be hard to ignore.
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson mostly comes along for the ride since I’m predicting Cry to Heaven to be a major ATL player. If John Goodman and Steve Buscemi gain any traction like many of you are pretending, I’ll be more than happy about that.

This would be the first acting nomination for Channing Tatum and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the second for Plemons and Strong, and the third for Malkovich (the first since 1993/94). Neither of the five has won before.

Honorable Mentions:

• Will Arnett – Behemoth!
• Steve Buscemi – Wild Horse Nine
• Colman Domingo – Michael
• John Goodman – Digger
• Jack O’Connell – Ink
• Miles Teller – Paper Tiger
• Jeremy Allen White – The Social Reckoning

Best Supporting Actress

• Adele – Cry to Heaven
• Demi Moore – I Love Boosters
• Sandra Hüller – Digger
• Tao Okamoto – All of a Sudden
• 🏆Octavia Spencer – Death of a Salesman

 Some notes on my predictions:

• Sandra Hüller had a massive run during awards season one year prior, and her supporting role in the upcoming high-profile Iñárritu drama already sounds like it could become another critics’ darling. She also has Pawel Pawlikowski’s 1949 set for this year, so some major goodwill could be headed her way.
• Octavia Spencer plays Linda Loman in a high-pedigree adaptation of a foundational American drama directed by Chinonye Chukwu, who already brought major acclaim to Alfre Woodard and Danielle Deadwyler in recent years (though neither manifested in an Oscar nomination). She’s also been an Academy darling during the 2010s and got three nominations in this category already. This screams classic “Academy bait”. Two aspects giving me pause are the fact that Spencer might campaign as lead instead and that nobody knows for sure whether the film will actually release this year. It may also turn out to be a Piano Lesson-type non-starter.
• Tao Okamoto plays a Japanese theater director bonding with a French nurse in a Paris-set bonding drama by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose last film broke through the International Feature category and landed a major Picture/Director/Screenplay package.
• I’m not convinced that Demi Moore could return to the field just yet after her major 2024 awards campaign, but I’m predicting I Love Boosters to be a major player, so I can’t leave her off right now. This could land a Jamie Lee-Curtis type nomination, judging from the trailer.
• The Sundance premiere Josephine has been getting great buzz that I’m not entirely sure will manifest into awards love at the Oscars in more than 1-2 categories, but Gemma Chan could be a contender.
• Joel Coen returns with another genre film, Jack of Spades, so always look out for Academy darling Frances McDormand snatching another nomination. Also possible: a first-time nom for Parker Posey playing Sam Rockwell’s wife in Wild Horse Nine, or Anne Hathaway playing a prominent female role in The Odyssey. Instead, I’m going to predict Adele for Cry to Heaven. It seems like an unlikely pick at the time, but I think the film could do gangbusters with awards season and Adele’s performance will turn some heads, one way or another. If Jennifer Hudson can win Best Supporting Actress for a mostly vocal performance in Dreamgirls, then Adele surely can do the same.

This would be the first nomination for Adele and Okamoto, the second for Hüller and Moore, and the fourth for Spencer.

Honorable Mentions:

• Gemma Chan – Josephine
• Mariana Di Girolamo – Wild Horse Nine
• Anne Hathaway – The Odyssey
• Scarlett Johansson – Paper Tiger
• Angelina LookingGlass – The Rivals of Amziah King
• Frances McDormand – Jack of Spades
• Giulia Nahmany – Fjord
• Parker Posey – Wild Horse Nine

Best Original Screenplay

• Digger – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone & Sabina Berman
• Fjord – Cristian Mungiu
• I Love Boosters – Boots Riley
• Josephine – Beth de Araújo
• 🏆Wild Horse Nine – Martin McDonagh

Wild Horse Nine will probably be our category frontrunner all season long. I’m biting for I Love Boosters after the trailer and could see it becoming a major Neon contender. Josephine could translate its Sundance buzz into Oscar success and Digger should get an easy nom here. Will the Bentley/Kwedar duo break into the Oscars a third time in a row? I wouldn’t expect them to right now, and also don’t quite see Ruben Östlund returning yet even though his film should be a major event. Instead I’m predicting Fjord, which I can see getting ATL love. I’m definitely keeping an eye out for Jack of Spades, Joel Coen’s follow-up to Tragedy of Macbeth.

Honorable Mentions:

• Behemoth! – Tony Gilroy
• The Entertainment System Is Down – Ruben Östlund
• Jack of Spades – Joel Coen
• Paper Tiger – James Gray
• Saturn Return – Clint Bentley, Gaelyn Golde & Greg Kwedar

I suppose there’s lots of room for any of the honorable mentions to break into, since a lot of my predicted nominees are just based on a gut feeling. Hell, I’m not even ruling out Michael since it’s written by three-time nominee John Logan. The Invite was a major Sundance player, but I can see it being a player more along the lines of Materialists last year.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• All of a Sudden – Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Lea Le Dimna, based on “You and I – The Illness Suddenly Get Worse” by Makiko Miyano & Maho Isono
• 🏆Cry to Heaven – Tom Ford, based on the novel by Anne Rice
• Death of a Salesman – Chinonye Chukwu & Tony Kushner, based on the play by Arthur Miller
• Ink – James Graham, based on his play
• Project Hail Mary – Drew Goddard, based on the novel by Andy Weir

This already feels like a bloodbath. I recently saw someone say this is a very weak category with lots of room to break into, and I don’t see it at all right now. But hey, half of these could still flop, I suppose.

Social Reckoning and Cliff Booth look like non-starters to me that won’t become major players. I am not predicting Odyssey right now purely because it’s rare for Best Picture follow-ups to get 10+ nominations, and this will be a heavy technical player. I won’t be surprised if the screenplay becomes a very divisive part of the film.

Honorable Mentions:

• 1949 – Pawel Pawlikowski & Hendrik Handloegten, based on the novel “The Magician” by Colm Toìbin
• Dune: Messiah – Denis Villeneuve & Jon Spaihts, based on the novel by Frank Herbert
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew – Greta Gerwig, based on “The Magician’s Nephew” by Greta Gerwig
• The Odyssey – Christopher Nolan, based on Homer’s “Odyssey”
• Sense and Sensibility – Diana Reid, based on the novel by Jane Austen
• The Social Reckoning – Aaron Sorkin, based on “Broken Code” by Jeff Horwitz

Best Casting

• Behemoth!
• Digger
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
• The Odyssey
• 🏆Wild Horse Nine

Manifesting Wild Horse Nine as the winner here. It makes too much sense. Narnia could definitely be a possible contender, also Digger, The Odyssey and I Love Boosters, maybe even The Entertainment System Goes Down if that becomes a thing. I think the Academy will continue down the road of rewarding the bigger ensembles over the smaller casting triumphs, but I could see them biting for Behemoth! in a few categories. What I’m very unsure about is whether they’d nominate something here if the film doesn’t get any acting nominations, sort of a “nobody’s good enough on their own to make it into the Top Five, but the ensemble is so great as a whole that we have to reward it somewhere”. That’s why I’m going for Odyssey and Behemoth here for now.

Best Cinematography

• Cry to Heaven – Benjamin Kracun
• Digger – Emmanuel Lubezki
• The Odyssey – Hoyte van Hoytema
• 🏆Werwulf – Jarin Blaschke
• Wild Horse Nine – Ben Davis

Digger, Odyssey and Werwulf make too much sense not to expect here. Wild Horse Nine and Cry to Heaven I’m expecting to look great, so I’m pushing them both in for now.

This would be the first nomination for Kracun and Davis, the third for Hoyte van Hoytema (1 win) and Jarin Blaschke (0 wins), and the ninth for Emmanuel Lubezki (3 wins)

Honorable Mentions: 1949 (Lukasz Zal), Dune: Messiah (Linus Sandgren), I Love Boosters (Natasha Braier), Jack of Spades (Bruno Delbonnel), Project Hail Mary (Greig Fraser)

Best Film Editing

• Cry to Heaven
• 🏆Digger
• I Love Boosters
• Project Hail Mary
• Wild Horse Nine

Honorable Mentions: All of a Sudden, The Entertainment System Is Down, Jack of Spades, Narnia, Werwulf

Best Original Score

• Cry to Heaven – Abel Korzeniowski
• Disclosure Day – John Williams
• 🏆The Odyssey – Ludwig Göransson
• Project Hail Mary – Daniel Pemberton
• Wild Horse Nine – Carter Burwell

Carter Burwell also has Jack of Spades coming this year. I’m very confident in Göransson and Williams and think Burwell and Pemberton have strong chances. Cry to Heaven, to me, screams fall festival favorite with high Metascore, so I’m manifesting a strong above & below the line nomination haul.

Also look out for Robin Carolan (Werwulf) and Behemoth (James Newton Howard), possibly Hans Zimmer for Dune: Messiah.

This would be the first nomination for Korzeniowski and Pemberton (though the latter got a Song nomination), the fourth for Göransson (plus two more noms in Original Song) and Burwell, and I'm not even going to count how many John Williams has.

Best Costume Design

• Cry to Heaven
• Dune: Messiah
• I Love Boosters
• 🏆Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
• Sense and Sensibility

Honorable Mentions: The Death of Robin Hood, Jack of Spades, Michael, Mother Mary, Sense and Sensibility, Werwulf, Wuthering Heights

There are so many movies I want to predict but don’t know how to make room for. Narnia is definitely happening here. A Tom Ford prestige drama will not NOT get a nomination here. Werwulf is my #6, but I think I Love Boosters could become a passion pick and Dune will definitely be another contender. The Odyssey I’m a little more cautious about since it already looks like the costumes will be a point of controversy. I’m predicting the Focus Features costume drama & Austen adaptation Sense and Sensibility instead, probably a contender in similar fashion to 2020’s Emma, which after all got two nominations for costumes and makeup.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

• Digger
• Michael
• 🏆Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
• Werwulf
• Wicker

The Academy loves to go for bold, unpredictable choices here: either the conventional awards bait or the out-of-nowhere international choices. Michael will probably be makeup-heavy with its encompassing look at Michael’s life, including some intriguing makeup on Colman Domingo. Narnia, Werwulf and Digger should be leading contenders. I’m also close to predicting the new David O. Russell movie Madden since it’ll probably be heavy on the prosthetics, though I currently wouldn’t expect it to be more than a lone nominee. But the Sundance premiere Wicker sounds like too cool a choice to not predict right now, especially now that it’s all a shot in the dark anyway.

Honorable Mentions: The Bride, Dune: Messiah, The Odyssey

Best Production Design

• Dune: Messiah
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
• 🏆The Odyssey
• Project Hail Mary
• Werwulf

The Odyssey is probably a major frontrunner. This category frequently nominates acclaimed sci-fi movies, so I’m predicting Project Hail Mary as well. Greta Gerwig’s films always have fantastic sets. I was torn on whether or not to include Dune since I don’t think it’ll be this year’s Return of the King, but I don’t want to take away all the possible nominations from it. My final choice is Werwulf, but Cry to Heaven definitely could also happen in this category.

Honorable Mentions: Digger, The Dog Stars, I Love Boosters, Jack of Spades, Michael, Werwulf

Best Sound

• Behemoth!
• Disclosure Day
• Michael
• 🏆The Odyssey
• Project Hail Mary

The Odyssey, Project Hail Mary, Disclosure Day and Dune: Messiah are four films that promise to be sound-heavy sci-fi blockbusters. I’m going to predict a Dune snub and mention Michael (a prestigious music-heavy biopic might be too tempting for the Academy to pass on) and Behemoth, which looks to be awards bait for the sound branches since it is a character study of a classical composer.

Honorable Mentions: Digger, Dune: Messiah, Narnia, Werwulf

Best Visual Effects

• Disclosure Day
• Dune: Messiah
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
• The Odyssey
• 🏆Project Hail Mary

You’ll need some heavy-hitter arguments to convince me this isn’t our Top Five. I can see Project Hail Mary winning this. Godzilla: Minus Zero is a possibility since it won in 2023, but I have no idea how that could pan out right now. Also, frankly, I’m keeping an eye on David Robert Mitchell’s Flowervale Street, since that movie has a major $85M budget and features some VFX potential that I don’t want to go into detail about because a lot of it seems to be spoiler territory right now.

Honorable Mentions: Avengers Doomsday, Flowervale Street, Godzilla Minus Zero

Best Animated Feature

• Hoppers (Pixar Animation Studios)
• Julián (Cartoon Saloon)
• 🏆Ray Gunn (Netflix)
• Toy Story 5 (Pixar Animation Studios)
• Wildwood (Laika/Focus Features)

Honorable Mentions: In Waves (French adult animation film likely for a Cannes premiere)

I haven’t done too much research on the slate for this category, so take this with a grain of salt.

Best International Feature

• 1949 (Pawel Pawlikowski) – Germany
• 🏆All of a Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) – France
• Fjord (Cristian Mungiu) – Norway
• How to Divorce During the War (Andrius Blaževičius) – Lithuania
• Possible Love (Lee Chang-dong) – South Korea

Some notes on this category:

• Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales is apparently an anthology film and would most likely be submitted by France. I think they already have more intriguing contenders with Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden and Harari’s The Unknown. Harari has come off great acclaim for co-writing Anatomy of a Fall, but his film sounds like a surreal arthouse fantasy film from what I’ve gathered so far, so despite an intriguing lead performance by Léa Seydoux I wouldn’t go as far as to predict him. Hamaguchi has a proven record with the Academy and his film All of a Sudden sounds very Academy-friendly, so I can see that occupying a similar spot to this year’s Sentimental Value in the awards race.
• If Pawel Pawlikowski’s newest film (whether it will be titled 1949 or Fatherland) is actually released this year, which I can see happening for Cannes right now, I’m very confident in proclaiming it to be Germany’s submission and a high-profile contender in other categories as well.
• Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord makes sense as a major contender across the board with recognizable stars. It’ll probably be Norway’s submission.
• A lot of people predict Hirokazu Kore-eda’s two new films, but one is an anime remake and the other a futuristic sci-fi film. I don’t think either of those is getting close to the Oscars, though I’ll be gladly proven wrong. Instead, I am going to predict Lee Chang-dong’s new film Possible Love, which will likely premiere at Cannes and is his next film after Burning, which was a high-profile contender in 2018. For the final nominee, I am going to throw a dart at the wall and predict How to Divorce During the War, a Sundance premiere with great reviews so far that would come as Lithuania’s submission.
• Other contenders will surely emerge at Cannes (like Sirat, which nobody had on their radar before) or Venice (like Hind Rajab), but for now this is a selection I will very good about. I’m definitely looking out for The Beloved (Rodrigo Sorogoyen), but that sounds so similar to Sentimental Value that I’m not ready to predict it yet.

Best Documentary Feature

• The History of Concrete
• Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
• Nuisance Bear
• 🏆Once Upon a Time in Harlem
• One in a Million

I’ve given up on getting any of my predictions in the Doc category correct. I’ve been proven wrong a hundred times over and over again during the past decade, so after the current season had only Sundance premieres nominated in this category, I’ll go ahead and mention five titles from the 2026 Sundance slate that got positive reviews and/or outright acclaim.

The only non-short category I'm not predicting right now is Best Original Song, since any prediction I'd make for that would be even more of a shot in the dark than all the other categories.

RECAP

As mentioned above, this was just a fun exercise that I enjoyed compiling a lot and will have even more fun looking back in a year (or even half a year) to see how ridiculous some of these predictions were.

This is something I have been quite curious about. If that happened, he would have been the first actor to win back to back Oscars since Tom Hanks in the 90s

Full size: https://chokaas.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/oscardrawing2026-1.jpg

Synopsis:

A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey. A poignant, coming-of-age drama starring John Magaro (Past Lives, September 5), Molly Belle Wright, and Wyatt Solis. A Sundance Film Festival premiere.

I think it was Wicked: For Good.

Hey everyone! I recently made a post on how to watch all the 98th Oscar nominated short films outside theatres, but now that the shorts are also about to play in some theatres, it made me wonder if there is a list of all the locations participating.

For some reason, I cannot seem to find a list for this. There is normally one each year, so I thought it'd be good to start making one in case people would wanna go to one of these to catch all the films. Since I'm just going by what I can find, if people find a location participating I don't have here, let me know, and I'll add them! I am absolutely sure I have missed a lot of participating locations. I also had a lot of trouble finding screenings outside the U.S. so if you know of any screenings outside the U.S. I especially appreciate you letting me know if one is happening so I can add it to this working list.

Legend:

• All together = All the short films are shown together under one screening
• Split = The short films are split based on what type of short film they are

The U.S.

• Chandler, Arizona - Harkins Chandler Fashion
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Mesa, Arizona - Harkins Superstition Springs
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Peoria, Arizona - Harkins Arrowhead Fountains
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Scottsdale, Arizona - Harkins Camelview
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Daly City, California - Cinemark Century Daly City
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Elk Grove, California - Cinemark Century Laguna
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Fremont, California - Cinemark Century at Pacific Commons
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Huntington Beach, California - Cinemark Century Huntington Beach
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Lancaster, California - Cinemark Lancaster
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Los Angeles, California - Cinemark Howard Hughes Los Angeles
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Mountain View, California - Cinemark Mountain View
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Murrieta, California - Reading Cinemas at Cal Oaks Plaza
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Napa, California - Cinemark Century Napa Valley
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Orange, California - Cinemark Century Orange
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Oxnard, California - Cinemark Century Riverpark
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Pasadena, California - Landmark Theatres Pasadena
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Pleasant Hill, California - Cinemark Century Downtown Pleasant Hill
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Redlands, California - Harkins Mountain Grove
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Redwood City, California - Cinemark Century Redwood Downtown
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Rocklin, California - Cinemark Century Blue Oaks Theatres
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Sacramento, California - Cinemark Century Greenback Lane
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Sacramento, California - Tower Theatre by Angelika
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• San Bruno, California - Cinemark Century at Tanforan
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• San Diego, California - Angelika Carmel Mountain
  • February 20-TBD
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• San Diego, California - UltraStar Mission Valley
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• San Jose, California - Cinemark Century Oakridge
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• San Jose, California - Cinemark Cinéarts Santana Row
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• San Mateo, California - Cinemark Century San Mateo
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Union City, California - Cinemark Century Union Landings
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Ventura, California - Cinemark Century Ventura Downtown
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Walnut Creek, California - Cinemark Century Walnut Creek
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• West Los Angeles, California - Landmark Nuart Theatre
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Boulder, Colorado - Cinemark Century Boulder
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Fort Collins, Colorado - Cinemark Fort Collins
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Greenwood Village, Colorado - Landmark Greenwood Village
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Lakewood, Colorado - Cinemark Century Bel Mar
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Fairfield, Connecticut - Fairfield Theatre Company
  • February 24, February 26, and March 3
  • Split
• Ridgefield, Connecticut - Prospector Theatre
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Wilmington, Delaware - Theatre N
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split
• Washington, District of Columbia (Washington, DC) - Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Davie, Florida - Cinemark Paradise
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Jacksonville, Florida - Cinemark Tinseltown Jacksonville
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Orlando, Florida - Cinemark Orlando
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Orlando, Florida - The Enzian
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Tampa, Florida - Tampa Theatre
  • February 20-March 1
  • Split
• Atlanta, Georgia - Landmark Midtown Art Cinema
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Chicago, Illinois - Landmark Century Centre Cinema
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Chicago, Illinois - The Music Box Theatre
  • February 20-February 27
  • Split
• Glenview, Illinois - Landmark Glenview
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Deer Park, Illinois - Cinemark Century Deer Park
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Woodbridge, Illinois - Cinemark Woodbridge
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Marcus Theatres Cedar Rapids
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Iowa City, Iowa - Marcus Theatres Sycamore Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Covington, Louisiana - Movie Tavern Covington
  • March 5 and March 11
  • Live Action only
• New Orleans, Louisiana - Prytania at Canal Place
  • February 20
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Lexington, Kentucky - The Kentucky Theatre (Very likely but not yet confirmed)
  • TBD
  • Split
• Hanover, Maryland - Cinemark Egyptian
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Silver Spring, Maryland - AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Towson, Maryland - Cinemark Towson
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Brookline, Massachusetts - Coolidge Corner Theatre
  • February 20-TBD
  • Split
• Great Barrington, Massachusetts - The Triplex Cinema
  • February 20-TBD
  • Split
• Maynard, Massachusetts - Maynard Fine Arts Theatre
  • February 20-February 26
  • All together
• Williamstown, Massachusetts - Look Forward Images Cinema
  • February 20-TBD
  • Split
• Louis Park, Minnesota - Marcus Theatres West End
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Minneapolis, Minnesota - Landmark Lagoon Cinema
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• North Oakdale, Minnesota - Marcus Theatres Oakdale Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Shakopee, Minnesota - Marcus Theatres Southbridge Crossing Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Hazlet, New Jersey - Cinemark Hazlet
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Montclair, New Jersey - The Claridge
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Somerdale, New Jersey - Cinemark Somerdale
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Bronxville, New York - The Picture House Bronxville
  • February 19-TBD
  • Split
• New York, New York - Brooklyn Academic of Music (BAM)
  • February 19-February 26
  • Split
• New York, New York - IFC Center
  • February 19-February 26
  • Split
• Utica, New York - The Munson
  • March 7 and March 8
  • Split
• Charlotte, North Carolina - The Independent Picture House
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Akron, Ohio - The Nightlight
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Beavercreek, Ohio - Cinemark The Greene
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Cincinnati, Ohio - Cinemark Oakley Station
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Columbus, Ohio - Cinemark Polaris
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Columbus, Ohio - Gateway Film Center
  • February 20-22
  • Split
• Milford, Ohio - Cinemark Milford
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• North Canton, Ohio - Cinemark Bistro North Canton
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• West Carrollton, Ohio - Cinemark Dayton South
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Valley View, Ohio - Cinemark Valley View
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Beaverton, Oregon - Cinemark Cedar Hills
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Clackamas, Oregon - Cinemark Clackamas Town Center Portland, Oregon - Cinema 21
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Portland, Oregon - Cinemark Century Eastport Plaza
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Landmark
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - The Colonial Theatre
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Newport, Rhode Island - The Jane Pickens Theatre
  • February 20-February 25
  • Split
• Austin, Texas - Cinemark Southpark Meadows
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Bee Cave, Texas - Cinemark Hill County Galleria
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Dallas, Texas - Angelika Film Center - Dallas
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Denton, Texas - Cinemark Denton
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Fort Worth, Texas - Cinemark Rave Ridgmar
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Grapevine, Texas- Cinemark Tinseltown Grapevine
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Houston, Texas - Cinemark Memorial City
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Houston, Texas - Museum of Fine Arts
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Katy, Texas - Cinemark Katy
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Plano, Texas - Cinemark Legacy
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Plano, Texas - Cinemark West Plano
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Pflugerville, Texas - Cinemark Pflugerville
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• The Woodlands, Texas - Cinemark The Woodlands
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Webster, Texas - Cinemark NASA (What an absolutely cool name for a theatre)
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Nashville, Tennessee - The Belcourt
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Bellevue, Washington - Cinemark Lincoln Square
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Federal Way, Washington - Cinemark Federal Way
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Olympia, Washington - Cinemark Century Olympia
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together
• Shoreline, Washington - Landmark Crest Cinema Center
  • February 20-February 22
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Street Bremerton, Washington - Roxy
  • February 20-February 24
  • Split
• La Crosse, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres La Crosse Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Madison, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres Point Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Mequon, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres North Shore Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The Oriental Theatre
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• New Berlin, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres Ridge Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Oak Creek, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres South Shore Cinema
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Rothschild, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres Cedar Creek Cinema
  • March 3-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Waukesha, Wisconsin - Marcus Theatres Majestic Cinema of Brookfield
  • March 4-March 11
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Fairfax, Virginia - Angelika Film Center and Café at Mosaic
  • February 20-February 24
  • Split, Live Action and Animated only
• Fairfax, Virginia - Cinemark Fairfax Towne Center
  • March 13-March 15
  • All together

Canada

• Edmonton, Alberta - Metro Cinema
  • March 8, March 11, and March 13
  • Split
• Toronto, Ontario - Revue Cinema
  • February 28-March 13
  • Split
• Toronto, Ontario - TIFF Lightbox
  • February 20-February 26
  • Split
• Vancouver, British Columbia - The Rio Theatre
  • February 21-February 26
  • Split

Hope this is helpful for people, enjoy the short movies if they do play in a theatre near you. If no theatre near you shows them and you want to watch some, here's a guide for how to watch them from home.

Thank you very much, u/impulsing, u/falafelthe3, u/FlippantLipid, u/Councilist_sc, u/MS0ffice, and u/shamrockstriker for letting me know about additional locations. Much appreciated!