Photo: Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Just when you thought the awards race was getting predictable (and maybe had you nostalgic for the endless drama Emilia Pérez brought last year), this week’s Oscars nominations injected some new life into the awards predictions and watch lists. No need to catch up on Wicked: For Good, but now is a good time as any get around to Train Dreams and Blue Moon. Also: F1 is a Best Picture contender? The list below will help you Oscar obsessives tick off titles ahead of the ceremony on March 15. We’ll plan to update it as more titles make it to streaming. You’ve got two months to catch up.
Nominated for Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Emma Stone), Writing (Adapted Screenplay), and Music (Original Score).
Photo: Focus Features/Everett Collection
The Academy is still charmed by the director-actress combo of Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone. Even with a softer reception since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Bugonia managed to claim a Best Picture slot, and Stone landed another Best Actress nom for her portrayal of a pharmaceutical CEO kidnapped by a pair of cousins (Jesse Plemons and newcomer Aidan Delbis) consumed by the idea that she’s an alien. As surreal and unsettling as Lanthimos’s films are, our critic Bilge Ebiri noted, “It’s the first picture of his populated by characters who feel like they exist in the real world.” (Streaming on Peacock.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Film Editing, Sound, and Visual Effects.
Photo: Warner Bros./Everett Collection
It looks like Joseph Kosinski’s blockbuster nabbed the tenth spot in the Best Picture race, as Wicked: For Good and It Was Just an Accident lost steam in the awards race. Funnily enough, F1 was rumored to be Apple’s last theatrical effort if the box-office returns were soft, but it has since become one of Apple’s most successful films. The people love fast cars and unpredictable odds. (Streaming on Apple TV.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Jacob Elordi), Cinematography, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Sound, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Photo: Ken Woroner/Netflix
Guillermo del Toro’s take on the Mary Shelley classic has had quite the legs this awards circuit. Its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival brought a rousing ovation — maybe that metric does hold some water — and mixed reviews picking apart the film’s pacing, characterization, and audacity of ending the film with a Lord Bryon quote over one from Shelley. Frankenstein is a lofty and beloved text! But del Toro’s Frankenstein has managed to prevail with a healthy theatrical presence, even better viewing numbers on Netflix, and a sheer appreciation of del Toro. So despite the critiques, this drama has clearly found an audience, whether through the gorgeous costume and production design or Elordi’s stunning performance as the monster. (Streaming on Netflix.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Jessie Buckley), Directing (Chloé Zhao), Casting, Costume Design, Music (Original Score), Production Design, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Photo: Agata Grzybowska/Focus Features
Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, O’Farrell co-wrote the screenplay with 2021 Oscar winner Zhao to bring her Shakespeare family drama to the big screen. Paul Mescal stirs as the bard, complete with an earring, but it’s his co-star Buckley who breathes heart-wrenching life into Hamnet. It has been widely predicted to be her Oscar to lose since the film’s premiere back at Telluride. Buckley portrays Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, a strong-willed mother contending with unpredictable grief. Your tolerance for the film’s sentimentality may vary, but it seems the Academy’s tolerance is high. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Timothée Chalamet), Directing (Josh Safdie), Casting, Cinematography, Film Editing, Costume Design, Production Design, and Writing (Original Screenplay).
Photo: A24/Everett Collection
Chalamet’s high-energy press tour worked for Marty Supreme. He not only carved out the holiday season as his domain as a box-office draw but he earned himself another Best Actor nomination against one of his idols, Leonardo DiCaprio. It helps that writer-director Safdie’s heart-pumping table-tennis drama is pretty fantastic — bolstered not only by Chalamet’s determination but by an equally entertaining cast in Gwyneth Paltrow; Odessa A’zion; Tyler, the Creator; and even Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Actor in a Supporting Role (Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn), Actress in a Supporting Role (Teyana Taylor), Directing (Paul Thomas Anderson), Casting, Cinematography, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Sound, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros.
One nomination after another. Anderson’s drama around a group of revolutionaries has been steamrolling awards season, so its 14 nominations are not surprising. (What is a bit of a surprise is Chase Infiniti not getting recognition at the finish line.) The high tally puts One Battle nearly neck-and-neck with Sinners, which is funny when you realize it’s just Warner Bros. competing with itself. (Streaming on HBO Max.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (Wagner Moura), International Feature Film, and Casting.
Photo: Neon
It’s been exciting to see The Secret Agent maintain its awards momentum since its showing at Cannes, where Moura and Kleber Mendonça Filho won Best Actor and Director, respectively. Newly minted Oscar nominee Moura leads a great ensemble, which includes a stellar performance from Tânia Maria as a former academic in hiding from a vengeful enemy during the military dictatorship in ’70s Brazil. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Stellan Skarsgård), Actress in a Leading Role (Renate Reinsve), Actress in a Supporting Role (Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), Directing (Joachim Trier), International Feature Film, Film Editing, and Writing (Original Screenplay).
Photo: Kasper Tuxen/Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection
For a hot second, it looked as if Trier’s family drama would miss out on some key Oscar slots. SAG completely shut out the Sentimental Value actors, but that didn’t stop the Academy from rectifying that. It’s sort of hard to recognize the intimate family drama without crediting the actors bringing that complicated family to life. (Available on VOD.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (Michael B. Jordan), Actor in a Supporting Role (Delroy Lindo), Actress in a Supporting Role (Wunmi Mosaku), Casting, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing (Ryan Coogler), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song, “I Lied to You”), Production Design, Sound, Visual Effects, and Writing (Original Screenplay).
Coogler’s genre flick continues to set records. After an impressive theatrical run kicking off a great year for Warner Bros., Sinners broke the record for being the most Oscar nominated film ever. Hopefully, that will translate to some big wins for Coogler, Jordan, Lindo, Mosaku, and, honestly, the whole Sinners crew since this thriller was nominated in every technical category. Huge wins for horror and genre representation at the Oscars. (Streaming on HBO Max.)
Nominated for Best Picture, Cinematography, Music (Original Song, “Train Dreams”), and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Photo: Adolpho Veloso
Train Dreams is chugging along. No one is ever keen to give Netflix credit, but what seemed like a death knell (the streamer buying the intimate indie out of Sundance) might actually have propelled it to a Best Picture nomination. (Streaming on Netflix.)
Nominated for Documentary Feature Film.
For this painfully revealing documentary, directors Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman worked with incarcerated men to capture footage from inside Alabama prisons. (Streaming on HBO Max.)
Nominated for Animated Feature Film.
An animated film out of France, Arco follows a 10-year-old boy who time travels. The English dub features voice performances from Natalie Portman (one of the film’s co-producers), Mark Ruffalo, Flea, Andy Samberg, America Ferrera, and Will Ferrell. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Costume Design and Visual Effects.
Yes, you read that right: Avatar got a nomination for costume design. Any category works as long as we get the extra points for the Movies Fantasy League. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Actor in a Leading Role (Ethan Hawke) and Writing (Original Screenplay)
Hawke and Richard Linklater: yet another established actor-filmmaker duo scoring nominations this year. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Documentary Feature Film.
Co-produced by Tig Notaro, this documentary recounts the life of poet laureate and activist Andrea Gibson before her death in 2025. (Streaming on Apple TV.)
Nominated for Documentary Feature Film.
Filmmakers Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki document the journey of Sara Shahverdi, the first elected councilwoman in her village in Iran. (Not available yet.)
Nominated for Music (Original Song, “Dear Me”).
Diane Warren’s quest for an Oscar win … relentless. (Streaming on Kanopy and available on VOD.)
Nominated for Animated Feature Film.
A weird year for animation opened the field for Pixar’s softly received Elio to earn a nom. (Streaming on Disney+.)
Nominated for Actress in a Leading Role (Rose Byrne).
Byrne’s sheer charisma and talent has propelled this stressful indie from a premiere at last year’s Sundance all the way to the Oscars. There may be a strong Best Actress front-runner in Jessie Buckley, but if anyone can give her a run for her money, it’s Byrne. (Available on VOD.)
Nominated for International Feature Film and Writing (Original Screenplay).
The fact that director Jafar Panahi’s thriller won the Palme d’Or but isn’t a Best Picture nominee is such a strange choice for the Academy. (Available on VOD.)
Nominated for Visual Effects.
It’s hard to ignore dinosaurs. (Streaming on Peacock.)
Nominated for Makeup and Hairstyling.
A teen dedicates himself to the art of kabuki in this successful Japanese film. (In limited theaters February 6.)
Nominated for Animated Feature Film and Music (Original Song, (“Golden”).
You know what’s golden? An Oscar. Netflix may be eyeing two of them with its surprise hit of 2025, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’s musical comedy on K-pop stars who moonlight as demon hunters. (Streaming on Netflix.)
Nominated for Animated Feature Film.
A GKIDS film, Little Amélie centers on a young Belgian girl in Japan. (Available on VOD.)
Nominated for Visual Effects.
Presumably nominated for its huge fire that the titular bus drives through. (Streaming on Apple TV.)
Nominated for Documentary Feature Film.
A Russian schoolteacher documents his school’s rapid change amid the Russian-Ukrainian war. (Streaming on the Kino Film Collection.)
Nominated for Documentary Feature Film.
Composed of police body-cam footage, this documentary recounts the escalating dispute between neighbors that resulted in the killing of Ajike Owens in Florida. (Streaming on Netflix.)
Nominated for International Feature Film and Sound.
Another Neon acquisition from Cannes, Sirāt focuses on a father searching for his daughter across the Moroccan desert. (In theaters soon.)
Nominated for Makeup and Hairstyling.
Dwayne Johnson’s run for a Best Actor nod went about as well as the box office went for The Smashing Machine. But at least the Academy appreciated his physical transformation as UFC fighter Mark Kerr. (Streaming on HBO Max.)
Nominated for Actress in a Leading Role (Kate Hudson).
Hudson’s nominations at SAG and the Golden Globes should have prepped us more for this possibility. Music biopics have been losing their awards juice, but Hudson as a cover-band artist broke through. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Makeup and Hairstyling.
Another horror pick! (Streaming on Hulu and Shudder.)
Nominated for Music (Original Song, “Sweet Dreams of Joy”).
Most people predicted larger names in the Original Song category, like Miley Cyrus or Ariana Grande, so Viva Verdi! getting in was a surprise. Given that this documentary is all about elderly musicians mentoring the next generation, though, you can see how this would tug on the voting bodies’ heartstrings. (Not available yet.)
Nominated for International Feature Film.
Tunisia’s entry for the International Feature category, The Voice of Hind Rajab, a docudrama pulling from the real-life killing of a young Palestinian girl by IDF soldiers, first enraptured audiences at the Venice International Film Festival, where it received a record-breaking 23-minute standing ovation. (In theaters now.)
Nominated for Actress in a Supporting Role (Amy Madigan).
The grassroots campaign to get Madigan an Oscar nomination for her delicious portrayal of a youth-hungry witch proved successful. Well, maybe more so if she wins, but at least the Academy is making some strides in its usual aversion to horror. (Streaming on HBO Max.)
Nominated for Animated Feature Film.
Now, if only “Zoo” by Shakira were nominated. Cowards. (In theaters now.)
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