What’s up, Streamers!?!? The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced recently. As a movie review blog, we at Stream to Big Screen feel obligated to highlight this annual event. From the crop of 2025 releases, there were surprises and snubs. We have seen and/or reviewed many of these movies that came away with nominations. Below, we will give our best initial guesses on who will prevail in the top categories at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026.
And the nominees are:
BEST PICTURE:
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Train Dreams
Congratulations, Sinners! Sinners set a record for the most nominations in a year for any movie at 16 nominations. Sinners, basically, got a nomination in every category in which it was eligible. It would be reasonable to assume that the vampire period drama has a great shot and the most support for a win in Best Picture. However, One Battle After Another received 13 nominations, and it only really missed in one category, Best Actress. Plus, One Battle has been collecting Best Picture prizes from critic’s groups and the Golden Globes; and its message is extremely relevant in these political times. Frankenstein, Sentimental Value, Hamnet and Marty Supreme seem to round out the top six films with a lot of support across the board, but it’s pretty clear that this is a two-horse race. It is not a given that the Best Picture winner comes into Oscar night with the most nominations, so our early prediction for the win here: One Battle After Another.
BEST DIRECTOR:
Chloe Zhao, Hamnet
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Best Picture and Best Director have often gone hand-in-hand but not always. The five films represented in this category have a lot of goodwill across the Academy as evidenced by their individual nomination totals. Nevertheless, this race has to be between Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler. Before this year, Paul Thomas Anderson had 11 Academy Award nominations and zero wins. He has a respected filmography including There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, Boogie Nights and Magnolia. How does he not already have an Oscar? Ryan Coogler is a visionary that has brought an artistic, thoughtful eye to blockbuster fare like Black Panther and Creed. It seems like the “it’s his time” narrative for Paul Thomas Anderson is too big to ignore this year. Our early prediction for Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another.
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Actor is probably locked up. Timothee Chalamet’s virtuoso performance in Marty Supreme is the reason that film has been so successful and respected. Yes, Michael B. Jordan and Leonardo DiCaprio are the leads of the two biggest films in this race, but Chalamet’s star is at its peak. Ethan Hawke and Wagner Moura are in movies that haven’t been as widely seen as the others, so I’d assume their chances are hurt by the lack of visibility. Early prediction for Best Actor: Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
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
Let’s get this out of the way – Kate Hudson is very good in Song Sung Blue. It’s a very dramatic performance where she gets to sing, fall in love, have trauma and addiction. It checks all of the Best Actress boxes, but the movie itself is not great. Jessie Buckley plays a mother in mourning in a period drama. Catnip for Academy voters. My favorite performance is probably Rose Byrne, but If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is a very difficult movie that I fear voters may avoid. Emma Stone is entering Meryl Streep territory with her 7th nomination, but this won’t be her third win in Best Actress. Sentimental Value is a respected international film, which is a double-edged sword for Reinsve who doesn’t have household name cache yet. Hamnet is probably the closest of these films to Best Picture, so I’m going with its lead to win in this category. Early Best Actress prediction: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet.
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgaard, Sentimental Value
This is a difficult category to predict. Any of these actors could win. My personal favorite is Benicio Del Toro in One Battle After Another. He’s easily the best part of that film, and his character is more likeable than Sean Penn’s Lockjaw. Also, Sean Penn already has two Oscars for Best Actor – why does he need a third? Stellan Skarsgaard and Delroy Lindo are respected veterans on their first nominations. The Academy could go for either. They like veterans in this category (ex. James Coburn, Christopher Plummer, Jim Broadbent, Morgan Freeman, etc.) Jacob Elordi plays an endearing creature and essentially a co-lead in Frankenstein. I’m clouded by my preference, so for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, the early guess: Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another.
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas , Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Here’s another difficult category. Since I think the supporting actresses from Sentimental Value will cancel each other out, that would leave this race, in my guess, between Madigan, Mosaku and Taylor. Unfortunately for Madigan, she is the only nomination that Weapons received, which should give a leg up to Mosaku and Taylor. Mosaku and Taylor have impactful roles in the two movies with the most nominations. Mosaku is the heart and soul of Sinners. Taylor is the catalyst for everything else that happens in One Battle, kind of like Mahersala Ali was in Moonlight. I’m giving the edge to Taylor because the Best Picture winner has to carry an acting win along with it, right? I don’t know. Early prediction for Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
I feel like this one is a no-brainer. Here’s the Academy’s easiest opportunity to get Ryan Coogler on stage without having to choose between Sinners and One Battle After Another. Moreover, if you look back over recent Oscar history, a Screenplay Oscar has been a consolation prize for a number of Black directors (for ex. Spike Lee for Blackkklansman, Jordan Peele for Get Out, Barry Jenkins for Moonlight, and Cord Jefferson for American Fiction). I think Coogler will join those ranks. My current Best Original Screenplay prediction for the win: Ryan Coogler, Sinners.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Again, the Academy will likely go for the Best Picture frontrunner in the category, One Battle After Another. It’s another way to honor Paul Thomas Anderson, who has never won an Oscar; and it doesn’t matter that he may win three on the night. Sean Baker walked away last year with four Oscars for Anora, so why not PTA for three!?!? For those reasons, my early prediction for Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another.
MISCELLANEOUS THOUGTS:
From Trip: In general, 2025 was a good year for film. I think this set of nominations is a decent group, especially with truly original and thought-provoking movies like Sinners and One Battle After Another leading the pack. My biggest quibble with these nominations is how narrowly focused the Academy is on the 10 films that make up its Best Picture line-up. I’m glad Sinners and One Battle got so many mentions, but it would have been nice to see some more representation in a few more categories for things like Weapons, Wicked: For Good, Hedda, 28 Years Later, Sorry, Baby, or Black Bag – and many others that go little to no recognition. Nevertheless, as long as “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters wins, then all will be right with the world.
Tell us your thoughts about the Oscar nominations, leave your comments about our too-early predictions and make some predictions of your own. Were there any movies left out of these nominations that you wish had been included? Speak up!
The 98th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu.
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