10 movies are competing for the most coveted Oscar of the year. Time to look at all 10 2026 Best Picture nominees, ranked worst to best!
If you’re reading this, you’re probably part of the increasingly small pool of people who know that the 2026 Academy Awards are drawing near. While we wait for the sometimes good, often wonderfully cringey Oscar ceremony itself, let’s take a look at this year’s 10 Best Picture nominees. I’ll be honest and say that, after what I consider the least exciting year for movies in a while, the highs of this lineup aren’t quite as mind-blowing as in previous years. However, not only are plenty of great films still on the table, but this is the very rare year where I’m at least positive on every single nominee… Please remember that when you see my bottom few picks. With that said, let’s get straight to all 10 2026 Best Picture nominees, ranked worst to best!
10. The Secret Agent
Brazil’s entry for Best International Feature, The Secret Agent is a movie about important topics, but in an underwhelming and often scattershot way. The film takes place in 1977 Brazil, where former professor Armando (Wagner Moura, Civil War) returns to his home under an alias while the country is under its military dictatorship, only to find himself hunted due to his past transgressions. Said transgressions shouldn’t even be high-stakes or worthy of death in an ideal world, but The Secret Agent’s biggest strength is showing how the people who are petty, shallow, and wicked enough to put out such a hit have infected every branch of power during this time.
The film takes a few major risks, mainly near the end, that mostly pay off in making important statements with just a select number of metanarrative touches. Although there’s a nutty risk in the middle that feels completely shoehorned in and probably took a lot of people out of the movie. The Secret Agent has similar issues in that it touches on many different ideas, but few of them are fully realized. Characters are set up but then have little relevance, the main focus shifts a bit too often, and there’s an extraneous subplot involving human remains in a shark whose only purpose is to emphasize statements the film is already making. At that point, the movie is just putting a hat on a hat. The Secret Agent is a fine film with great moments, but it’s too thinly sprawling to have a shark-like bite.
9. Sentimental Value
I hate putting the only two foreign-language nominees at the bottom, although we wouldn’t have that problem if one of them was No Other Choice. This is the only other film that I’d call just alright, but again with really high highs. Two sisters – Nora (Renate Reinsve, A Different Man) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) – are reunited with their estranged father, renowned director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård, Dune: Part Two). Gustav is making a film based on his childhood and casts a famous actress (Elle Fanning, A Complete Unknown) as his deceased mother. To get the negatives out of the way, I’m not a big fan of how scenes in this movie just sort of come and go, moving onto the next one with little narrative flow. Moments that I’m ready to see keep going are often left behind for a while as we shift to a different part of the story.
The film also maybe downplays its heavier drama a bit too much for the sake of subtlety, the end result of which made me feel more distant from these people than what I think was intended. But for every time this approach doesn’t land, there are just as many instances in which it does. Reinsve and Lilleaas are outstanding, both trying to cope with generations’ worth of passed-down trauma that goes deeper than even they can grasp. Meanwhile, Fanning is equally great as the outsider looking in and becoming more shaken by what she ends up finding. There’s value – sentimental value, in fact – in presenting unspoken resentment and anxiety so softly, letting the knife slowly carve its way to the cores of these people. I just didn’t feel the knife’s sharp edge as much as a result.
8. Bugonia
No matter what I’ve thought of a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, Bugonia is the first one that left me disappointed that it isn’t way weirder. That said, it’s still very good. A pair of conspiracy theorist cousins, led by Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons, Killers of the Flower Moon), kidnap a powerful CEO (Emma Stone, Poor Things) under the staunch belief that she’s an alien. The interplay between these three characters, especially in how tactical the CEO is in such a frightening position, is what gives the film a ton of life and intrigue in what is otherwise a surprisingly straightforward story for Lanthimos. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s consistently amusing and filled with tension regarding who’s crazy, who’s ahead of the curve, and whether anyone’s mind has any form of validity.
No spoilers, but the ending is a suitably sad statement about how we, for lack of a better word, alienate people without trying to see what they can truly offer. But it’s also a statement that we’ve heard before, and the least interesting outcome of all my predictions going in turned out to be the actual outcome. There could’ve been a lot more clever satire here, like playing up the fact that CEOs often do behave like aliens and not human beings or exploring more of how Teddy became this way outside of small mentions. As is, Bugonia works well as an entertaining abduction story that’s boosted by great performances and direction. It just doesn’t go far above and beyond that, despite its clear efforts to shoot for the alien-infested stars.
7. Frankenstein
There have been so many versions of “Frankenstein” that it’s harder for a new one to stand out than ever. For the two people who don’t know the story, Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) is a brilliant scientist determined to create life after the death of his mother. The result is a “Creature” (Jacob Elordi, Wuthering Heights) who runs loose, torn between self-fulfillment and vengeance. Divorced from any other adaptations of the story, Frankenstein is a fantastic film with all the themes, layers, and Gothic horror of its source material, and there’s an almost painterly aesthetic that doesn’t go so far as to suck you out of these environments. But it’s taken down a few pegs by the fact that, yeah, we’ve seen a lot of this already.
The problem especially shows in Part I, where a lot of time is spent going into the familiar mechanics and science of creating the Creature. It also leaves some characters either underexplored or superfluous. Part II similarly treads old water, but it’s the best part of the original book and therefore translates to being the better half. It’s also where Jacob Elordi shines as a shockingly good version of the Creature, since his take is unique among other adaptations. The film homes in on his status as a “son” looking for a father, cleverly paralleling Victor’ parental issues as a child and leading to an ending that’s just as powerful as any other adaptation of “Frankenstein.” Guillermo del Toro is a match made in Heaven with this material, and he does it great justice. But it’s no contender as the definitive version of the story.
6. F1: The Movie
Oh boy, this’ll be fun. F1 is by far the most glaring and surprising inclusion in the Best Picture lineup. But you know what? It’s also the most pure fun as a viewing experience. Brad Pitt (Bullet Train) is veteran Formula One racer Sonny Hayes, who returns to the sport after a decades-old accident to help his friend’s (Javier Bardem, Dune) new team, while butting heads with the team’s rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Sure, we don’t have that fresh of a story here, but it’s still a very loveable one thanks to razor-sharp banter delivered perfectly by these actors, who in turn are under the same assured, earnest, yet tactful approach director Joseph Kosinksi brought to Top Gun: Maverick. It’s old meets new, a battle of egos, with those in the middle just trying to prove their own worth. Standard, but extremely enjoyable.
And then Kosinski makes his Top Gun action look cute by comparison. The wild, kinetic, insanely dangerous rush of speed grabs you by the collar and sends you down one of the best roller coaster rides a movie can provide. And if the roaring engines don’t please your ears, Hans Zimmer’s pulsating score – somehow snubbed from an Oscar nom itself – will. Even the strategy of the racing is elaborately laid out and excitedly presented, and most importantly, you care about the characters you’re there to watch. I know the straightforward lessons, predictable romance, and pointless third-act fallout are clichéd, but I frankly don’t care when the passion and energy are this infectiously palpable. If a four-quadrant blockbuster was going to be nominated, I’m just glad it’s this one and not another James Cameron tech demo.
5. One Battle After Another
By contrast, this is the film that everybody knew would get nominated, and the one most likely to win. So, why is it only at #5? First, the setup sees ex-revolutionary Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up) in hiding as a recluse with his teenage daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). When they’re discovered by white supremacist Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn, Licorice Pizza), a mad dash to escape and reunite ensues. And “mad” really is the key word, because One Battle After Another is an explosion of chaos and urgency from the very start all the way through. It borders on implausibility, but everything is either comically exaggerated or brutally realistic in exactly the right places. Even when things are quieter, there’s a relentless snappiness to the editing that weaves us from one of many threads to another without getting messy. The title does not lie.
One Battle After Another is also aggressively political, but not in the way you might think. It of course speaks out in favor of fighting oppressive governments, but it also demonstrates the dangers of going too far in that direction or doing so for the wrong reasons. It also, through Ferguson, sympathizes with those who are in over their heads trying to keep up with the ensuing, evolving warfare. He’s ultimately just a man trying to get his daughter back. Unfortunately, his bond with Willa is the film’s main shortfall. You see it for a bit, but showing their lives in greater detail before s**t hits the fan would’ve greatly boosted the emotional investment. The movie also has a bit of a dry lull after the middle, only recovering in the finale. Other than that, this is one of the year’s most unique, impressive cinematic experiences that has a lot of people talking for good reason.
4. Train Dreams
The Will Patton narration could’ve been dialed back by 20-30%. That is my only gripe with this otherwise wonderfully lyrical movie, which kicks off our excellent tier. In the early 20th century American West, Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton, The Green Knight) finds harsh logging work, maintaining a loving if not always in-person relationship with his wife (Felicity Jones, The Brutalist) and child. He goes through social injustices, economic hardships, and personal losses on a level we might not know firsthand but can all relate to in some way. But then, there’s the kindness, unexpected friendships, cherished memories, and hidden gifts that again tie into everyday experiences we all recognize, even in a largely different life from our own.
By showing us pretty much the entire life of this one man, Train Dreams paints a haunting sensory portrait of what our places in the world mean to us, even if the world itself seems determined to take that meaning away. It aptly compares life itself to the cutthroat essence of the woodlands, where we’re all at the mercy of whichever way the wind or rivers flow. But with gorgeous cinematography from Adolpho Veloso, we’re taken on a meditative journey through the quiet beauty of the literal woods while Bryce Dessner’s soft score croons us to a sometimes peaceful, sometimes fitful sleep. If your life feels adrift right now, so caught up in uncontrollable complications but also somehow empty, this is the perfect movie to put on and have whisper, “It’s okay. We’ve all been there in some way. Just take it all in when you can.”
3. Marty Supreme
I don’t want to pile onto the bandwagon of how much better Josh Safdie’s new movie is than his brother’s, but… man, I hope Benny does something special with his Bowser Jr. money. Marty Supreme keeps the Safdie madness coming as shoe salesman Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet, Bones and All) aspires to lie, cheat, and steal his way into a coveted table tennis championship. I know that sounds like a joke, but for one thing, this movie makes table tennis way, way more exhilarating than I ever imagined it could be. For another, Marty is consistently down-on-his-luck financially and personally, which only fuels his toxic competitiveness to a point where lives are literally at stake.
Timothée Chalamet gives his most potent and ferocious performance to date. Marty is an absolute bastard of a man, but Chalamet gives him so much charisma and infectious confidence that you stay on his side, especially when he’s surrounded by a whole slew of other foul a-holes that make his scramble all the more cutthroat. Everyone matches the panic-inducing filmmaking that, like a table tennis ball in the heat of the sport, just keeps gaining speed and losing control the more it goes on. This is a movie about competitiveness, the drive to be the best, and how it can warp the world into something ugly when everyone is out for themselves. The score from Daniel Lopatin is top-notch electric, the culture of the 1950s is captured well, and a few WTF moments are sprinkled in for the hell of it. It’s a Best Picture nominee that reigns supreme… except for the next two.
2. Hamnet
From what I can gather, Hamnet is the most divisive Best Picture nominee this year, and I can clearly see why. In fact, almost halfway through, I was prepared to simply call it alright. The film is very loosely about the life of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal, Triangle of Sadness), his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley, Women Talking), their children, and the events that inspired Shakespeare’s magnum opus “Hamlet.” For a while, Hamnet is a nice little look at a strange, witchy woman, the different ways her life is similar and different to that of a frustrated Shakespeare, and the fears of her family’s history repeating itself, all with theatric yet simple cinematography from Łukasz Żal. But when things take a very tragic turn, all of the seemingly aimless setup pays off in one of the most emotional, gut-wrenching stretches of film I’ve seen in the 2020s.
Paul Mescal and especially Jessie Buckley – who is the indisputable lead of the film – give stellar performances as their characters deal with shocking loss in their own isolating ways, questioning what they know and bringing the story’s heightened, stagey nature crashing down to Earth. Everything leads to the creation of “Hamlet,” which is recontextualized as a staggeringly gentle tribute to the unexpected power of art as a form of closure. If “Hamlet” the play is about confronting one’s mortality, Hamnet the film is about creating immortality. And if all the world’s a stage, Hamnet is an example of taking our forced roles into our own hands. It’s a very love-it-or-hate-it movie that demands an acquired taste even if you get what it’s going for. I firmly love it, whether its Best Picture win is to be or not to be.
1. Sinners
What’s even left to say about Sinners at this point? It sunk its fangs into the Oscar competition almost a year ago, and its record-breaking 16 nominations are proof that the bite is still being felt. Michael B. Jordan (Creed III) plays identical twins Smoke and Stack in 1932 Mississippi. They open an underground juke joint and reacquaint themselves with their estranged old flames, until their night is interrupted by a horde of vampires. Yes, a horror movie is one of our biggest Best Picture hopefuls. Why? Because it adds a brain, heart, and sense of mysticism to what could have been a run-of-the-mill story. Smoke and Stack win you over very quickly by riding the line between upstandingness and duplicity, a line that’s especially difficult for Black men of that time but nonetheless must be confronted.
Sinners lets you enjoy literally dancing with the devil, celebrating history, finding love and joy in places thought to have lost it long ago… Only for the devil, in forms real and unreal, to come tear it all down. If you want to see the movie as just buildup to the gory goodness, you can. If you want to just cheer or cry for richly developed characters you’ve come to love, that’s all there too. But when you think about how they reflect the conflict that artistic expression brings, the way beauty is so often devoured and appropriated, and the temptations that come from the chances to save oneself through assimilation, Sinners goes from fun to brilliantly spiritual.
Everyone’s praised the film’s musical montage centerpiece as one of the best cinematic experiences of the year, and the music as a whole – from audial chameleon Ludwig Göransson – is as essential to the film as any character. In a year where so few popular movies were willing or able to land big swings, this one has pretty much everything you could ask for and even more of what you’d never think to ask for. All in its own singular way that no film could quite replicate. If rooting for this over favorites like One Battle After Another or Marty Supreme makes me a sinner, then I’ll gladly claim my place down here in the dark.
The 98th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Download our printable Oscars ballot sheet below!