Oscars 2026: The Final Battle for the Golden Statuette
Academy members are voting on the winners of the 98th Academy Awards starting February 26th — One Battle After Another is the frontrunner, Sinners holds a record with 16 nominations, and the K-pop song Golden is making history.
Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have been voting on the winners of the 98th Academy Awards since Wednesday, February 26, 2026. Voting will continue until March 5th, and the golden statuettes will be presented on March 15th at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Comedian Conan O'Brien will host the ceremony.
Frontrunner: One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson's epic political film is dominating this year's awards season. It triumphed at the British BAFTA awards with six wins: Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Michael Bauman), Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn). With 13 Oscar nominations, Anderson is the clear favorite — bookmakers give him odds of 1:25 for the Best Director award, and the Polymarket prediction platform estimates his chances of winning Best Picture at 75 percent.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the lead role, earning his sixth nomination for Best Actor. The competitive field also includes Timothée Chalamet, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, and Wagner Moura. Actress Teyana Taylor also received her first career nomination.
Record Breaker: Sinners with 16 Nominations
Ryan Coogler's horror blockbuster "Sinners" remains the strongest challenger with a record-breaking 16 nominations — more than any other film in Oscar history. The previous record of 14 nominations was shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016).
The story takes place in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta, where Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who return home only to encounter a supernatural evil. Producer Zinzi Coogler became the first Filipino producer nominated for Best Picture, while cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first Filipino woman nominated for Best Cinematography — both writing new chapters in Oscar history.
K-pop at the Oscars: Golden from KPop Demon Hunters
The Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" — the most-watched film in the platform's history — has achieved a historic milestone. The song Golden has become the first K-pop song nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category. The song has received a strong boost before the final vote: it won at both the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. The film is also nominated for Best Animated Feature.
Final Sprint: Guilds Decide
Two key events will take place before voting closes on March 5th. The Producers Guild (PGA Awards) will announce its winners on February 28th — its decision is historically a reliable indicator, as it uses the same voting system as the Oscars. The Screen Actors Guild Awards (original SAG Awards) will be held the following day, March 1st, determining the favorites in the acting categories.
2026 promises to be one of the most dramatic years in the history of Hollywood awards. The battle for gold between Anderson's political epic and Cogler's record-breaker will be suspenseful until the very ceremony on March 15th.
