Every year, it feels like Awards Season adds another wrinkle. And this year, we're all talking about the Oscars shortlist, or those movies that are eligible for nomination for the Academy Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the shortlists in 12 categories for the 2026 Oscars, and we got to see which films are emerging as potential powerhouses.
The shortlisted categories were Best International Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Cinematography, Best Song, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best Live Action Short. Ten films, meanwhile, are moving forward in Best Casting, Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects, and Best Score.
Out of the 12 categories they released, Sinners and Wicked: For Good were listed as eligible in 8 categories.
Here are the 2026 Oscars shortlists in 12 categories.
Let's dive into the noms.
Best Casting Shortlist
This is a new category. So, how do you vote on who did the best casting work?
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.
Then they can vote after that.
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
‘Weapons’Credit: Warner Bros.
Best Cinematography Shortlist
Members of the Cinematographers Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. 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
'Sinners'Credit: Warner Bros.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling Shortlist
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
'Wicked: For Good'Credit: Universal Pictures
Best Score Shortlist
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
'A House of Dynamite'Credit: Eros Hoagland/Netflix © 2025
Best Song Shortlist
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 song 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
'KPop Demon Hunters'Credit: Netflix
Best Sound Shortlist
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
'F1'Credit: Apple Originals
Best Visual Effects Shortlist
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.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- The Electric State
- F1
- Frankenstein
- Jurassic World Rebirth
- The Lost Bus
- Sinners
- Superman
- Tron: Ares
- Wicked: For Good
'Avatar: Fire And Ash'Credit: Disney
Best Documentary Feature Shortlist
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
'The Perfect Neighbor'Credit: Netflix
Best International Feature Shortlist
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
'Left-Handed Girl'Credit: Netflix
Best Animated Short Shortlist
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”
'The Girl Who Cried Pearls'Credit: National Film Board of Canada
Best Documentary Short Shortlist
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”
'Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud'Credit: HBO
Best Live-Action Short Shortlist
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”
'Rock, Paper, Scissors'
