Academy shares 2026 Oscar shortlists in casting, international, more categories

Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Weapons all made the shortlist for the Academy's inaugural Best Casting Oscar.

By Drew Gillis  |  December 16, 2025 | 3:00pm
Screenshot: ABC/YouTube
Film News 2026 Oscars
Academy shares 2026 Oscar shortlists in casting, international, more categories

Next year’s Oscar race comes ever-so-slightly more into focus today as the Academy shares its shortlists for 12 categories at the 98th ceremony. Notably, the 2026 Oscars will be the first ceremony to feature an award for casting directors, and we now know for sure that Sinners, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, and Weapons are among the films that could potentially go home with the inaugural Oscar. 

Overall, Sinners and Wicked: For Good lead the list today, with both films grabbing eight spots across seven different categories. (Both have two entries on the Best Original Song list.) Frankenstein follows behind with six spots, followed then by One Battle After Another and Sirât, each with five nods. Of course, a good chunk of these preliminary spots won’t lead to an actual nomination. Many of the shortlists have at least 15 contenders (with Original Score having 20) in categories that will only ultimately nominate five films. 

The full list of 2026 Oscar nominations will be unveiled on January 22, 2026. The ceremony will air on March 15, 2026 on ABC. Take a peek at all of the shortlisted nominees below.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

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

 

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle after Another

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Sirât

Weapons

Wicked: For Good

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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)

 

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)

 

“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

 

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

 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

The Electric State

F1

Frankenstein

Jurassic World Rebirth

The Lost Bus

Sinners

Superman

Tron: Ares

Wicked: For Good

 
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