98th Oscars Nominations Announced as Awards Season Heats Up

Sinners, Frankenstein, and Hamnet lead the 98th Oscars field.

The 98th Oscar race officially began today when actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman announced this year’s Academy Award nominations.

Early results point to a wide-open season. However, a few titles already look like anchors. “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Sentimental Value” keep popping up across major categories. That spread suggests strong support across acting, directing and craft branches.

The 98th Oscars will be held Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The ceremony will air live on ABC, stream live on Hulu, and air live in more than 200 territories worldwide.

Best Picture Sets the Top-Tier Contenders

The Best Picture lineup lands a mix of prestige drama, auteur swings and big studio titles. Meanwhile, several of these films appear across multiple categories, which matters early.

Nominees for Best Picture:

• Bugonia
• F1
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Lead Acting Races Bring Star Power and Momentum

The leading categories include huge names and multiple Best Picture contenders. As a result, these races may define the season’s narrative.

Actor in a Leading Role:

• Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
• Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
• Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
• Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
• Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”

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”

Supporting Acting Highlights Breakouts and Heavyweights

Supporting categories often reveal deep film enthusiasm. Notably, “One Battle After Another” doubled up in Supporting Actor. Likewise, “Sentimental Value” doubled up in Supporting Actress.

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 Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”

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”

Directing and Writing Put the Auteur Race in Focus

Directing and screenplay nominations can signal top-tier passion. Therefore, films that land here often surge late.

Directing:

• Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
• Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
• Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
• Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
• Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

• “Bugonia” — Screenplay by Will Tracy
• “Frankenstein” — Written for the screen by Guillermo del Toro
• “Hamnet” — Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
• “One Battle After Another” — Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
• “Train Dreams” — Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Writing (Original Screenplay):

• “Blue Moon” — Written by Robert Kaplow
• “It Was Just an Accident” — Written by Jafar Panahi; collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian
• “Marty Supreme” — Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
• “Sentimental Value” — Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
• “Sinners” — Written by Ryan Coogler

Crafts, Music, and the New Casting Category Add Clarity

Craft categories often show what the Academy admired in execution. Meanwhile, the first-ever Casting nominees add a new lane to watch.

Casting:

• “Hamnet” — Nina Gold
• “Marty Supreme” — Jennifer Venditti
• “One Battle After Another” — Cassandra Kulukundis
• “The Secret Agent” — Gabriel Domingues
• “Sinners” — Francine Maisler

Cinematography:

• “Frankenstein” — Dan Laustsen
• “Marty Supreme” — Darius Khondji
• “One Battle After Another” — Michael Bauman
• “Sinners” — Autumn Durald Arkapaw
• “Train Dreams” — Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design:

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Deborah L. Scott
• “Frankenstein” — Kate Hawley
• “Hamnet” — Malgosia Turzanska
• “Marty Supreme” — Miyako Bellizzi
• “Sinners” — Ruth E. Carter

Makeup and Hairstyling:

• “Frankenstein”
• “Kokuho”
• “Sinners”
• “The Smashing Machine”
• “The Ugly Stepsister”

Film Editing:

• “F1” — Stephen Mirrione
• “Marty Supreme” — Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
• “One Battle After Another” — Andy Jurgensen
• “Sentimental Value” — Olivier Bugge Coutté
• “Sinners” — Michael P. Shawver

Production Design:

• “Frankenstein” — Tamara Deverell; Shane Vieau
• “Hamnet” — Fiona Crombie; Alice Felton
• “Marty Supreme” — Jack Fisk; Adam Willis
• “One Battle After Another” — Florencia Martin; Anthony Carlino
• “Sinners” — Hannah Beachler; Monique Champagne

Sound:

• “F1”
• “Frankenstein”
• “One Battle After Another”
• “Sinners”
• “Sirāt”

Visual Effects:

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
• “F1”
• “Jurassic World Rebirth”
• “The Lost Bus”
• “Sinners”

Music (Original Score):

• “Bugonia” — Jerskin Fendrix
• “Frankenstein” — Alexandre Desplat
• “Hamnet” — Max Richter
• “One Battle After Another” — Jonny Greenwood
• “Sinners” — Ludwig Göransson

Music (Original Song):

• “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless” — Music and lyric by Diane Warren
• “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” — Music and lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon, Teddy Park
• “I Lied To You” from “Sinners” — Music and lyric by Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson
• “Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!” — Music and lyric by Nicholas Pike
• “Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams” — Music by Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner; lyric by Nick Cave

Animation, Shorts, Docs and International Round Out the Early Shape

Animation and international categories often drive big audience conversations. Meanwhile, the shorts and documentary fields add depth to the slate.

Animated Feature Film:

• “Arco”
• “Elio”
• “KPop Demon Hunters”
• “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
• “Zootopia 2”

Animated Short Film:

• “Butterfly”
• “Forevergreen”
• “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
• “Retirement Plan”
• “The Three Sisters”

International Feature Film:

• Brazil — “The Secret Agent”
• France — “It Was Just an Accident”
• Norway — “Sentimental Value”
• Spain — “Sirāt”
• Tunisia — “The Voice of Hind Rajab”

Live Action Short Film:

• “Butcher’s Stain”
• “A Friend of Dorothy”
• “Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
• “The Singers”
• “Two People Exchanging Saliva” Documentary Feature Film:
• “The Alabama Solution”
• “Come See Me in the Good Light”
• “Cutting through Rocks”
• “Mr. Nobody against Putin”
• “The Perfect Neighbor”

Documentary Short Film:

• “All the Empty Rooms”
• “Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud”
• “Children No More: ‘Were and Are Gone’”
• “The Devil Is Busy”
• “Perfectly a Strangeness”

Taken together, the early nominations suggest a season with real breadth. Still, “Sinners” feels like the early constant, appearing across picture, directing, acting, writing, music and crafts. “One Battle After Another” also shows major strength, especially in acting and top-tier categories.

Watch the 98th Oscars on March 15, 2026, on ABC.

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