This year had one of the more exciting award seasons Hollywood has seen in recent years. The season is coming to a monumental occasion with the 2026 Oscars. Since the first edition of the annual awards in 1929, the event has become a tradition in Hollywood and is coveted as the most prestigious award. Millions of dollars are spent on award campaigns and PR strategies to enhance a film’s chances of winning. 

2025 was undoubtedly a great year for movies. Audiences were captivated by high-quality films and made their way to the big screen. This led to an increase in habitual cinemagoers and a surge of Gen Z movie fans filling theater seats. Recently, the Academy revealed its nominees for this year’s coveted Oscars, with some surprises and mostly expected names. 

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” led the way with 16 nominations, breaking the record for the most nominated film in Oscar history.  Interestingly, this edition of the Oscars will feature a new category: Best Casting. This comes after the announcement of the upcoming Best Stunts category and is sure to impact studio decisions that are striving to win the awards. 

The following are some major categories for the Oscars and who I think would win them. 

Best Picture

This year, the Best Picture category is stacked. Films from Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Josh Safdie highlight the top ten films. The Academy’s nominated films are “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Marty Supreme,” “Bugonia,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” and “Train Dreams.” The surprise pick was “F1: The Movie.” While the Brad Pitt motorsport drama did exceptionally well at the box office, it was never a true contender for the big prize. 

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is my pick. The dark comedy-drama was my favorite film of the year and undoubtedly the best film of the last year. The film’s impressive awards haul (including a Golden Globe) is a clear indication of the warm critical and awards-worthy reception. I would be surprised at a “Sinners” win since it is consistently being overlooked by the voters in recent award programs, but I personally think it has every right to be in serious contention. “Hamnet” emerged into the season as a serious contender and could very well upset the big favorite, “One Battle After Another.” Any other win would be a huge surprise, and an “F1” win would be blasphemous. I say this because “One Battle After Another” has swept the ‘Best Picture’ category at almost every major award show this year. 

Projected Winner: “One Battle After Another” 

Best Director

Five great directors made at least five great films this year. Paul Thomas Anderson is nominated for the season’s favorite film, “One Battle After Another.” He joins Ryan Coogler, the director of “Sinners,” and Josh Safdie for “Marty Supreme,” alongside Joachim Trier and previous winner Chloe Zhao. 

While this category boasts great quality from all of its nominees, I expect the Academy to award the favorite of this award season, “One Battle After Another.” I think Paul Thomas Anderson is going to walk away with the Oscar, as he deservingly should. As much as I have a personal bias and would love to see Anderson win, I can also see a case for Ryan Coogler, mastermind of the ground-breaking “Sinners.” But at the end of the day, I do think that the recent award trends and voting history point to a clear PTA win. 

Projected Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Supporting Actress

One of the biggest surprises of the season was “Wicked: For Good” being snubbed in all major categories that the film was expected to challenge for. After Ariana Grande was frequently mentioned last year for her performance in “Wicked,” some expected her to be the favorite this year. This is not the case, but the nominated performances are all powerhouses in their own regard. 

Teyana Taylor earns a nod for her portrayal of Perfidia Beverly Hills in “One Battle After Another,” alongside Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter for “Sentimental Value,” Amy Madigan for “Weapons,” and Wunmi Moskau for “Sinners,” rounding up the roster. All of these performances were compelling and award-worthy, but my pick would go to Amy Madigan for “Weapons.” She was fierce and terrifying as Gladys, standing out in a great year for horror films. This would be one of the most closely contested battles between Madigan and Taylor, and I could see either person winning this award. 

Projected Winner: Amy Madigan

Actress in a Leading Role 

The competition only gets fiercer in this category. While many expect “One Battle After Another” to sweep the Best Picture Oscar without much concern from other competitors, the race for Best Actress is a little more complicated. 

Jessie Buckley’s nomination for “Hamnet” positions her as the favorite. Rose Byrne, Renate Reinsve, Emma Stone, and Kate Hudson are all nominated, with Emma Stone breaking Meryl Streep’s long-standing nomination record. Ultimately, I expect Buckley to take home the Oscar. She has the voters behind her and comes into this race with unstoppable momentum, as she swept the category at most major award shows. 

Projected Winner: Jessie Buckley

Best Supporting Actor 

Similar to the race for the Best Supporting Actress, the competition is very fierce for Best Supporting Actor. “One Battle After Another” had two great performances from Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro as Colonel Lockjaw and Sergio “Sense” St. Carlos, respectively. Both performances managed to balance humor with the film’s heavy subject matter. Paul Mescal’s performance in “Hamnet” also gets the nod against Delroy Lindo for “Sinners,” in a surprise choice for a deserving performance. Jacob Elordi also gets in for his role in “Frankenstein.” 

However, based on the amazing performance and track record at the current awards season, I expect Stellan Skarsgård to walk away with the award. His performance in “Sentimental Value” was amazing and deserving of the award. Personally, my favorite performance in this category was Sean Penn as Steve Lockjaw in “One Battle After Another,” but I expect that the nomination of Benicio Del Toro also complicates this scenario in a vote-split situation. 

Projected Winner: Stellan Skarsgård

Best Actor 

This year, the Best Actor award is the talk of the season. After missing out on the award last year and losing to Adrian Brody for “The Brutalist,” Timothée Chalamet emerged as one of the frontrunners this year for his performance in “Marty Supreme.” Chalamet has campaigned heavily for the award, and his performance gained widespread critical and audience recognition. He is up against one of his heroes, Leonardo DiCaprio, for his performance in “One Battle After Another.” 

Those two frontrunners are nominated against Wagner Moura, Michael B. Jordan, and Ethan Hawke for their great performances this year. After losing out on the coveted award last year, I expect the Academy to rally behind Chalamet this year and finally award him with the Best Actor Oscar. However, a DiCaprio upset would not be fully off the cards. 

Projected Winner: Timothee Chalamet

Best Casting 

This year will mark the first time that the Academy recognizes achievements in casting and awards the collective ensemble that constructs the film. Similar to the nominees for Best Picture, the Casting Oscar is a battle between “Hamnet,” “The Secret Agent,” “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” and “Marty Supreme.” 

Here, I think that the Academy will support Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” So far, the film has had a less-than-stellar awards season, which is surprising, considering that it was touted to sweep the season when it was released. That said, “Sinners” has a great cast that brings the horror and musical aspects of the film to life. Miles Catton’s introduction stands out as a musical and acting powerhouse. 

Projected Winner: “Sinners”

Best Writing (Both Original and Adapted Screenplays)

Both writing categories have tough competition. For Original Screenplays, Ryan Coogler is nominated for “Sinners,” and Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt for “Sentimental Value.” They are pitted up against Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein for “Marty Supreme,” Jafar Panahi for “It Was Just an Accident,” and Robert Kaplow for “Blue Moon.” 

I expect “Sinners” to walk away with gold. It seems to be in pole position to grab the writing Oscar, as the film was praised for its great characterization and sharp dialogue. 

From the screenplays that are nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, I think “One Battle After Another” will claim another Oscar. The film is a favorite for this award over screenplays like “Bugonia,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” and “Train Dreams.” 

Projected Winners: Ryan Coogler (Original) & Paul Thomas Anderson (Adapted)

Best International Feature Film 

Historically, a film that is nominated for both ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best International Feature’ boosts a film’s chances of winning the ‘Best International Feature’ Oscar. This is great news for Joachim Trier and the entire “Sentimental Value” team, as the film positions itself as the favorite in this category over “The Secret Agent,” “It Was Just an Accident,” “Sirat,” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” 

I think “Sentimental Value” has the best chance to walk away with the Oscar, but a surprise win for “The Secret Agent” would not be out of the question entirely. 

Projected Winner: Sentimental Value