The Oscars Nominations Have Officially Been Released, and the Academy Definitely Did Not Just Google “Famous Actors” This Year

🛑 BREAKING: The Oscars Gave Out Nominations Like Candy at a Diabetes Parade 🍬

Ladies, gentlemen, and confused people trying to explain to their parents what a “K-Pop Demon Hunter” is—the 98th annual Academy Awards nominations have officially dropped! 📉 Yes, the same people who once gave Crash the Best Picture trophy are back to judge your favorite actors for living their best lives in fancy gowns.

On Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre, the elite will gather to see if they can squeeze into their tailored tuxes one more time. But first, we have to survive the nominations announcement, hosted by the legendary duo Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman, who definitely woke up early for this. 😴

Hollywood truly lost its mind this year, handing out nominations like participation trophies at a kindergarten soccer match. The biggest shocker? Sinners—a movie about people who do bad things, presumably—shattered the record books with a ridiculous 16 nominations. 🏆 This obliterates the previous record held by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land, all of which only got 14. Sucks to be them, I guess! The Sinners cast is probably already printing their “I <3 Oscar” mugs.

Let’s talk about Ryan Coogler’s passion project, which sounds like something he made in his garage on a weekend. Apparently, it’s a big deal. But he’s not alone in the “High Number Club.” One Battle After Another managed to scrounge up 13 nominations. Do these movies even have plots, or is it just two hours of people staring at walls? Meanwhile, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, and Sentimental Value each got 9 nominations. Warner Bros., despite the industry “tumult” (which is fancy talk for “we have no money”), somehow tricked the Academy into giving them 30 nominations total. 💰 Coincidence? I think not.

And guess who’s back from the dead? Conan O’Brien! 🤡 The ginger comedian is returning to host after his 2025 gig. Why? Because the Academy loves watching him try to make Lily Gladstone laugh. You can watch the chaos live on ABC or stream it on Hulu, YouTube TV, or whatever app you have that hasn’t banned you yet.

But let’s get to the part that actually matters: which movies are going to cause Twitter wars this year? 🍿

Here is the full list of people and things that the Academy likes more than they like you:

Performance by an actor in a leading role (The “Who Can Cry the Best” Category)

• Timothée Chalamet in “Marty Supreme” (He’s probably whispering again)
• Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle after Another” (Finally, a reason to scream at a bear again? 🐻)
• Ethan Hawke in “Blue Moon” (He looks sad, so he’s definitely winning)
• Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners” (He’s just too handsome not to win)
• Wagner Moura in “The Secret Agent” (Pablo Escobar is back… wait, no?)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role (The “We Don’t Get Enough Screen Time” Category)

• Benicio Del Toro in “One Battle after Another” (He’s probably wearing a weird hat)
• Jacob Elordi in “Frankenstein” (Is he the monster or the hair? 🧟‍♂️)
• Delroy Lindo in “Sinners” (The man is a national treasure)
• Sean Penn in “One Battle after Another” (He’s probably angry about something)
• Stellan Skarsgård in “Sentimental Value” (He’s in everything, including your walls)

Performance by an actress in a leading role (The “Who Can Yell the Loudest” Category)

• Jessie Buckley in “Hamnet” (She’s intense)
• Rose Byrne in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (Great title, 10/10)
• Kate Hudson in “Song Sung Blue” (Is she singing? Is she blue? 🎶)
• Renate Reinsve in “Sentimental Value” (European, so probably good)
• Emma Stone in “Bugonia” (She’s probably playing a weirdo again)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Elle Fanning in “Sentimental Value” (She was probably 12 in Superbad, now she’s an Oscar nominee)
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in “Sentimental Value” (I can’t pronounce this, but I hope she wins)
• Amy Madigan in “Weapons” (She’s had that Oscar hunger since Uncle Buck)
• Wunmi Mosaku in “Sinners” (More screen time for the MVP)
• Teyana Taylor in “One Battle after Another” (From MTV to Oscar? We love a glow-up 💅)

Best animated feature film of the year (Movies for adults who refuse to grow up)

• “Arco” (Produced by Natalie Portman, so it’s automatically artsy)
• “Elio” (Disney trying to make us cry again)
• “KPop Demon Hunters” (I have no words. Just… 🎤🔪)
• “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (This sounds aggressively French)
• “Zootopia 2” (Finally, a sequel nobody asked for but everybody needs)

Best animated short film (Aka the bathroom break category)

• “Butterfly” (Metaphorical, probably)
• “Forevergreen” (Trees are cool, I guess)
• “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” (She cried what now? 💎)
• “Retirement Plan” (Ouch, topical)
• “The Three Sisters” (Chekhov is rolling in his grave)

Achievement in Casting (The “We Called Their Agent” Award)

• “Hamnet” (Nina Gold got paid)
• “Marty Supreme” (Jennifer Venditti found the guy)
• “One Battle after Another” (Cassandra Kulukundis said “yes” to the budget)
• “The Secret Agent” (Gabriel Domingues needs a raise)
• “Sinners” (Francine Maisler collected the whole cast)

Achievement in cinematography (The “Who Made It Look Pretty” Award)

• “Frankenstein” (Dark and gloomy, just how we like it)
• “Marty Supreme” (Darius Khondji is a god, fight me)
• “One Battle after Another” (Michael Bauman saw the light)
• “Sinners” (Autumn Durald Arkapaw made it look expensive)
• “Train Dreams” (Adolpho Veloso saw the vision)

Achievement in costume design (The “Clothes Make the Man” Award)

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (Blue people need clothes too)
• “Frankenstein” (Probably a lot of zippers)
• “Hamnet” (Shakespearean core)
• “Marty Supreme” (Bespoke suits?)
• “Sinners” (Probably Gucci sinning)

Achievement in directing (The “Yelling ‘Action!’ from a Chair” Award)

• “Hamnet” Chloé Zhao (She won before, she’ll probably win again)
• “Marty Supreme” Josh Safdie (Anxiety-inducing cinema)
• “One Battle after Another” Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA is always a contender)
• “Sentimental Value” Joachim Trier (The Norwegian knife)
• “Sinners” Ryan Coogler (He’s the MVP of 2026 🏆)

Best documentary feature film (The “I’m Better Than You Because I Watched This” Category)

• “The Alabama Solution” (Sounds like a country song)
• “Come See Me in the Good Light” (Flattery will get you nowhere)
• “Cutting through Rocks” (Sounds painful)
• “Mr. Nobody against Putin” (Spicy!)
• “The Perfect Neighbor” (Probably not perfect)

Best documentary short film

• “All the Empty Rooms” (Existential dread)
• “Armed Only with a Camera” (Journalism is dangerous)
• “Children No More” (Sad 😢)
• “The Devil Is Busy” (He’s always working)
• “Perfectly a Strangeness” (Weird flex, but ok)

Achievement in film editing (The “We Cut This for Pace” Award)

• “F1” (Fast cuts, obviously)
• “Marty Supreme” (Bronstein and Safdie panic-edited this)
• “One Battle after Another” (Andy Jurgensen held the mouse)
• “Sentimental Value” (Olivier Bugge Coutté is a name)
• “Sinners” (Michael P. Shawver made the cuts)

Best international feature film of the year (Subtitles for the win)

• Brazil – “The Secret Agent” (Brazil is having a moment)
• France – “It Was Just an Accident” (Likely a lie)
• Norway – “Sentimental Value” (Cold people, deep movies)
• Spain – “Sirāt” (Sounds mysterious)
• Tunisia – “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Important)

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling (The “How Ugly Can We Make Them?” Award)

• “Frankenstein” (Monster makeup is a given)
• “Kokuho” (Probably elaborate)
• “Sinners” (Just good skin care routines)
• “The Smashing Machine” (Prosthetics galore)
• “The Ugly Stepsister” (Self-explanatory)

Achievement in music (Original score)

• “Bugonia” (Jerskin Fendrix is weirdly good)
• “Frankenstein” (Desplat is a legend)
• “Hamnet” (Max Richter is the sad violin guy)
• “One Battle after Another” (Jonny Greenwood noises)
• “Sinners” (Ludwig Göransson is collecting checks)

Achievement in music (Original song)

• “Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless (Diane will never stop)
• “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters (Catchy, probably)
• “I Lied To You” from Sinners (Relatable anthem)
• “Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from Viva Verdi! (Classical bop)
• “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams (Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner)

Best motion picture of the year (The Big Cheese 🧀)

• “Bugonia” (Yorgos Lanthimos is the king of weird)
• “F1” (Fast cars go brrr)
• “Frankenstein” (Del Toro makes art)
• “Hamnet” (Historical drama alert)
• “Marty Supreme” (Indie darling)
• “One Battle after Another” (The blockbusters are fighting)
• “The Secret Agent” (The international underdog)
• “Sentimental Value” (Probably about feelings)
• “Sinners” (The favorite to win it all, don’t @ me)
• “Train Dreams” (Probably a slow burn)

Achievement in production design (The “Built That Set” Award)

• “Frankenstein” (Dark laboratories)
• “Hamnet” (Old houses)
• “Marty Supreme” (Cool apartments)
• “One Battle after Another” (Expensive cars?)
• “Sinners” (Sinful interiors)

Best live action short film (The “Nobody Watched These” Category)

• “Butcher’s Stain” (Visuals sound gross)
• “A Friend of Dorothy” (Subtle)
• “Jane Austen’s Period Drama” (Ha! Periods. 🩸)
• “The Singers” (Karaoke night)
• “Two People Exchanging Saliva” (Gross, but artistic)

Achievement in sound (The “Turn It Up” Award)

• “F1” (Vroom vroom)
• “Frankenstein” (Thunder and lightning)
• “One Battle after Another” (Gunshots?)
• “Sinners” (Whispering and screaming)
• “Sirāt” (Wind blowing)

Achievement in visual effects (The “Fake Stuff” Award)

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (James Cameron spent billions on this)
• “F1” (CGI cars)
• “Jurassic World Rebirth” (Dinosaurs are back, again 🦖)
• “The Lost Bus” (Where did it go?)
• “Sinners” (Probably invisible demons)

Adapted screenplay (We stole this from a book)

• “Bugonia” (Based on what?)
• “Frankenstein” (Based on… Frankenstein)
• “Hamnet” (Based on history)
• “One Battle after Another” (Based on the news)
• “Train Dreams” (Based on dreams)

Original screenplay (We made this up)

• “Blue Moon” (Robert Kaplow wrote it)
• “It Was Just an Accident” (Jafar Panahi is a boss)
• “Marty Supreme” (The Safdie brothers are crazy)
• “Sentimental Value” (Norwegian feelings)
• “Sinners” (Ryan Coogler is a genius)

So there you have it. The movies Hollywood thinks you should watch. 🍿 Grab your popcorn, prepare your Twitter takes, and remember: if Sinners doesn’t win Best Picture, we riot. Or at least we complain loudly on the internet. 🎥✨