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The Films Nominated for Best Picture at the 2026 Academy Awards
- Chris Olson
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Film Feature by Chris Olson
It is that time of year again. The air is thick with the scent of overpriced popcorn and the desperate, cloying hope of publicists across the globe. The 2026 Academy Award nominations have been announced, and the Best Picture shortlist is, as always, a fascinating microcosm of where the industry thinks its head is at.
As a critic for UK Film Review, I find myself in a somewhat peculiar position this year. Usually, by the time the nominations drop, I have ticked off most of the heavy hitters. However, due to a complete inability to manage my time well, I have only managed to sit down with one of these ten titans so far.
That film was Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which we discussed at length on a recent episode of the UK Film Club Podcast. I loved it; it was a gothic masterpiece that reminded us why we go to the cinema in the first place (even though it was released on Netflix!). But as for the other nine? I am looking at them from the outside in, armed only with the industry buzz and my own fairly cynical intuition - as well as my co-host Brian's favourite picks. I don’t know who will win—honestly, looking at this list, I am not sure the Academy does either—but let’s pick through the bones of the 98th Best Picture race.
Bugonia
Yorgos Lanthimos is back, and if the early word is anything to go by, he’s as wonderfully unhinged as ever. Bugonia marks another collaboration between the Greek auteur and Emma Stone, a pairing that has become one of the most reliable stamps of quality in modern cinema. This film apparently dives into the deep end of conspiracy theories, following two men who kidnap a high-powered CEO convinced she is an alien intent on destroying Earth. It sounds like a paranoid black comedy that only Lanthimos could pull off. Whether the Academy has the stomach for his particular brand of clinical oddness after the success of Poor Things remains to be seen, but you can never count out a Lanthimos-Stone joint.
Read our Bugonia film review.
F1
Then we have the literal high-octane entry. F1 is the kind of big-budget, theatrical spectacle that the Oscars have started to embrace again in the wake of Top Gun: Maverick. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by a small army including Brad Pitt and Jerry Bruckheimer, this looks to be the technical marvel of the year. Captured during actual Grand Prix weekends, the immersive camera work is meant to be revolutionary. While sports dramas can sometimes feel a bit "paint-by-numbers," the sheer scale of this production suggests it’s more about the visceral experience of the cockpit than just the trophy at the end of the race.
Frankenstein
This is the one I can speak on with the authority of someone who has actually breathed the same air as the frames. Guillermo del Toro has been chasing this monster for decades, and his Frankenstein is a triumph of production design and empathy. It’s a gothic, soulful adaptation that moves away from the "bolt-necked" clichés and returns to the existential ache of Mary Shelley’s prose. Jacob Elordi’s performance as the Creature is being talked about as a career-shifter, and the makeup work is, quite frankly, astonishing. Having reviewed it for the podcast, I can say it is the benchmark for every other film on this list in terms of pure, distilled "cinema". That being said, Jack Salvadori, a well-respected film critic and occasional contributor to UK Film Review, was less than impressed. Read his Frankenstein film review.
Hamnet
The British contingent will no doubt be rallying behind Hamnet. Chloé Zhao directing an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s beloved novel feels like a match made in heaven—or at least in a very picturesque Stratford-upon-Avon. Starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, the film explores the domestic life of William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, as she deals with the loss of their son. Zhao has a gift for finding the vastness in small, intimate moments, and with producers like Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes involved, this has "Oscar Royalty" written all over it. It’s the kind of period drama that the Academy usually devours with a silver spoon.
Read our Hamnet film review.
Marty Supreme
Josh Safdie has stepped away from his brother for this one, but the energy seems no less frantic. Marty Supreme stars Timothée Chalamet as a professional table tennis player in the 1950s. It’s a premise that sounds almost too quirky to be a Best Picture contender, yet the Safdie brand of street-level intensity usually yields something far more profound than the logline suggests. With Chalamet also acting as a producer, this feels like a significant "grown-up" moment for the actor. If it’s half as stressful as Uncut Gems, I’ll need a lie-down before I even get to the cinema.
One Battle after Another
Paul Thomas Anderson. Leonardo DiCaprio. A politically charged action thriller. On paper, One Battle after Another is the heavyweight champion of this list. PTA is a filmmaker who commands a level of respect that borders on the religious, and seeing him move into a more kinetic, contemporary space is tantalising. It has already hoovered up nominations at the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes, and the buzz suggests DiCaprio is giving one of those gritty, transformative performances that he seems to save specifically for directors of this calibre. It feels like the "prestige" pick of the bunch.
Read our Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle after Another Film Review.
The Secret Agent
This is the intriguing international wildcard. Directed by Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent is a 1970s-set thriller that explores the dark corners of the Brazilian military dictatorship. It’s a film that has been described as narratively knotty and politically fearless. The Academy has become much more global in its outlook over the last few years, and seeing a challenging, non-English language thriller in the main category is a testament to that shift. Wagner Moura in the lead role is reportedly spectacular.
Sentimental Value
Joachim Trier rounds out his "Oslo Trilogy" with Sentimental Value, another Norwegian entry that has captured the hearts of the festival circuit. Our own Jack Salvadori loved it when he saw it a Cannes Film Festival. Trier’s ability to map the internal geography of his characters is second to none, and with Renate Reinsve returning, the film looks to be a deeply moving exploration of family and memory. It’s a quieter, more contemplative nominee compared to the F1 cars and the Frankenstein monsters, but those are often the films that linger the longest in the voters' minds.
Read our Sentimental Value film review.
Sinners
If PTA is the heavyweight, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is the record-breaker. It arrived with an astonishing 16 nominations, the most in Oscar history. And was Brian's Film of the Year on our podcast. A Jim Crow-era vampire horror starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual role? It is perhaps the most audacious "genre" film to ever lead the pack. Coogler has a knack for blending high-concept spectacle with deep sociological weight, and Sinners looks to be his most ambitious swing yet. It’s a film that has seemingly united the critics and the "popcorn" crowd, making it a very formidable frontrunner.
Read our Sinners film review.
Train Dreams
Finally, we have Train Dreams, based on the novella by Denis Johnson. This is a story of a day labourer in the American West at the start of the 20th century. It’s a rugged, poetic, and somewhat mystical look at a changing world. It feels like the quintessential "American" story on this list—sparse, brutal, and hauntingly beautiful. In a year filled with vampires and aliens, a grounded, historical character study like this might just provide the grounded emotional anchor the voters are looking for.
It is a crowded field, and without having seen nine of them, I wouldn't dare to place a bet. But if they can match the craft and soul of del Toro’s Frankenstein, then 2026 is shaping up to be a vintage year for the silver screen.
