2026 Oscars Shortlists Revealed

The Film Academy has revealed the shortlists in 12 categories for the 2026 Oscars, highlighting this award season’s top contenders in certain fields as we get closer to Oscar nominations next month.

The announcement included movies that are in consideration for the following categories: best documentary and international feature, song, score, visual effects, cinematography, sound, makeup and hairstyling and the new category of best casting. The shortlists also include the three short-film categories: animated, live-action and documentary. The official Oscar nominees in these categories will be determined from the below lists.

Wicked: For Good and Sinners led with mentions in eight categories, with Frankenstein following with six, and Sirât, One Battle After Another and F1: The Movie coming in with five. Marty Supreme and Train Dreams received four mentions each. Other films that were among the shortlisted in multiple categories also include Hamnet, Sentimental Value and One Battle After Another.

In the documentary category, The Alabama Solution, Apocalypse in the Tropics, The Perfect Neighbor and 2000 Meters to Andriivka were among the titles.

Nominations voting runs from Jan. 12 to Jan. 16. The 2026 Oscar nominations will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 22 ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, March 15. Conan O’Brien will return to host the show that is airing live on ABC and will be televised in more than 200 countries around the world.

See below for the full shortlists below, along with the Academy’s comments about every category.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Fifteen films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. One hundred thirteen films qualified in the category. Academy members from the Animation Branch and Short Films Branch were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.

In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Autokar
Butterfly
Cardboard
Éiru
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Hurikán
I Died in Irpin
The Night Boots
Playing God
The Quinta’s Ghost
Retirement Plan
The Shyness of Trees
Snow Bear
The Three Sisters

CASTING

Ten films will advance in the Casting category for the 98th Academy Awards. Members of the Casting Directors Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from the shortlisted films and pre-recorded interviews with their casting directors on Friday, January 9, 2026, in Los Angeles and London, and in New York on Saturday, January 10, 2026.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle after Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Sirât
Weapons
Wicked: For Good

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Sixteen films will advance in the Cinematography category for the 98th Academy Awards. Members of the Cinematographers Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Per the awards rules for the 98th Academy Awards, the preliminary round of voting will determine a shortlist of between 10 and 20 films.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Ballad of a Small Player
Bugonia
Die My Love
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Nouvelle Vague
One Battle after Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Sirât
Song Sung Blue
Sound of Falling
Train Dreams
Wicked: For Good

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM

Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. Two hundred one films were eligible in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

The Alabama Solution
Apocalypse in the Tropics
Coexistence, My Ass!
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cover-Up
Cutting through Rocks
Folktales
Holding Liat
Mr. Nobody against Putin
Mistress Dispeller
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Seeds
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Yanuni

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. One hundred seventeen films qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

All the Empty Rooms
All the Walls Came Down
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Bad Hostage
Cashing Out
Chasing Time
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
Classroom 4
The Devil Is Busy
Heartbeat
Last Days on Lake Trinity
On Healing Land, Birds Perch
Perfectly a Strangeness
Rovina’s Choice
We Were the Scenery

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. Films from 86 countries or regions were eligible in the category.

Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.

In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Argentina, Belén
Brazil, The Secret Agent
France, It Was Just an Accident
Germany, Sound of Falling
India, Homebound
Iraq, The President’s Cake
Japan, Kokuho
Jordan, All That’s Left of You
Norway, Sentimental Value
Palestine, Palestine 36
South Korea, No Other Choice
Spain, Sirât
Switzerland, Late Shift
Taiwan, Left-Handed Girl
Tunisia, The Voice of Hind Rajab

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Fifteen films will advance in the Live Action Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. Two hundred seven films qualified in the category. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.

In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Ado
Amarela
Beyond Silence
The Boy with White Skin
Butcher’s Stain
Butterfly on a Wheel
Dad’s Not Home
Extremist
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
Pantyhose
The Pearl Comb
Rock, Paper, Scissors
The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Ten films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 98th Academy Awards. Members of the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 10, 2026.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

The Alto Knights
Frankenstein
Kokuho
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
One Battle after Another
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Wicked: For Good

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Twenty scores will advance in the Original Score category for the 98th Academy Awards. One hundred thirty-two scores were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are:

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Bugonia
Captain America: Brave New World
Diane Warren: Relentless
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Hedda
A House of Dynamite
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
One Battle after Another
Sinners
Sirât
Train Dreams
Tron: Ares
Truth and Treason
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Wicked: For Good

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Fifteen songs will advance in the Original Song category for the 98th Academy Awards. Sixty-five songs were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:

“As Alive As You Need Me To Be” from Tron: Ares
“Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless
“Dream As One” from Avatar: Fire and Ash
“Drive” from F1
“Dying To Live” from Billy Idol Should Be Dead
“The Girl In The Bubble” from Wicked: For Good
“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters
“Highest 2 Lowest” from Highest 2 Lowest
“I Lied To You” from Sinners
“Last Time (I Seen The Sun)” from Sinners
“No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good
“Our Love” from The Ballad of Wallis Island
“Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from Come See Me in the Good Light
“Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from Viva Verdi!
“Train Dreams” from Train Dreams

SOUND

Ten films will advance in the Sound category for the 98th Academy Awards. All eligible members of the Sound Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from each of the shortlisted films beginning Saturday, January 10, 2025, in the San Francisco Bay area, London and New York, followed by Los Angeles on Sunday, January 11, 2026.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle after Another
Sinners
Sirât
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Superman
Wicked: For Good

VISUAL EFFECTS

Ten films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 98th Academy Awards. The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 10, 2026. Visual Effects Branch members will vote to determine the nominees.

Avatar: Fire and Ash
The Electric State
F1
Frankenstein
Jurassic World Rebirth
The Lost Bus
Sinners
Superman
Tron: Ares
Wicked: For Good

View this article at The Hollywood Reporter.