A Look at Deadline’s Reviews of the 2026 Oscar Best Picture Nominees

Oscar Contenders Highlighted as 98th Academy Awards Approaches

As the race for the 98th Academy Awards intensifies, seven of the ten films nominated for Best Picture made their world premieres at major film festivals. Hamnet was showcased at Telluride, while Bugonia and Frankenstein debuted at the Venice Film Festival. Train Dreams premiered at Sundance, Marty Supreme was revealed at New York, and both Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent were unveiled at Cannes. Competing for the coveted statuette are also Sinners, One Battle After Another, and F1.

Among the nominees, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is emerging as a strong contender. The film has garnered accolades, including Best Picture awards from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Gotham Awards, and the National Board of Review, accumulating an impressive thirteen nominations from the Academy. This places it slightly behind Sinners, which set an Oscar record with sixteen nominations, reinvigorating interest in Ryan Coogler’s film. Both productions hail from Warner Bros Pictures.

Representing Focus Features in the Best Picture category are Hamnet and Bugonia, while Netflix has put forward Frankenstein and Train Dreams. Neon is also on the list with Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent. A24 has Marty Supreme, and Apple Original Films is contributing F1.

The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Viewers can watch the event live at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC, with streaming available via Hulu. Conan O’Brien will host the event for the second consecutive year.