The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled its preliminary contenders for the 2026 Academy Awards.
Shortlists were announced across 12 distinct categories, including Casting, Cinematography, Original Score, and Original Song. Leading the pack with seven mentions each are Ryan Coogler’s vampire horror film Sinners and the musical sequel Wicked: Part Two.
Notable Russian-language entries also made the cut in the short film categories: Timur Kognov’s animated project Three Sisters and Alexander Molochnikov’s live-action short Extremist, which tells the story of imprisoned artist Sasha Skochilenko.
The full shortlists are provided below:
• International Feature Film
“Bethlehem” — Argentina
“Homecoming” — India
“All That’s Left of You” — Jordan
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” — Tunisia
“The Sound of Falling” — Germany
“Southpaw” — Taiwan
“Method of Exclusion” — South Korea
“National Treasure” — Japan
“Night Shift” — Switzerland
“Palestine 36” — Palestine
“The Presidential Cake” — Iraq
“A Simple Accident” — France
“Secret Agent” — Brazil
“Sentimental Value” — Norway
“Sirat” — Spain
• Best Casting:
“Battle After Battle”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: Part Two”
“Marty Supreme”
“Weapons”
“Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sirat”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
• Best Cinematography:
“The Ballad of a Small Player”
“Battle After Battle”
“Bugonia”
“Sinners”
“The Sound of Falling”
“Wicked: Part Two”
“Marty Supreme”
“New Wave”
“Song Sung Blue”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sirat”
“Train Dreams”
“Die, My Love”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“F1”
• Best Original Score:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Battle After Battle”
“Bugonia”
“Hedda”
“Sinners”
“Diane Warren: Relentless”
“Jay Kelly”
“House of Dynamite”
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
“Wicked: Part Two”
“Captain America: Brave New World”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nuremberg”
“Truth and Treason”
“Train Dreams”
“Sirat”
“Tron: Ares”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“F1”
• Best Visual Effects:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: Part Two”
“Jurassic World Rebirth”
“Superman”
“Tron: Ares”
“Frankenstein”
“School Bus”
“The Electric State”
“F1”
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for the night of March 15, 2026. The final list of nominees will be announced on January 22.
