Twenty 2026 Oscar Contenders You Can Watch Right Now

Are the Academy Awards over eight months away? Yes. Have most of the likely nominees premiered yet? No. Are we making predictions anyway? Yes.

If you try hard enough, all seasons are awards season, and even though the 2026 Oscars won’t air until March 2026, we’re already pondering who will win. While most of next year’s Academy Awards nominees have yet to reveal themselves, we’ve already got one massive Best Picture contender and a number of movies that could be up for other prizes.

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Every movie released theatrically between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2025, is eligible for a little gold man. Massive blockbusters are on the hunt for Sound and Visual Effects Oscars, indie documentaries are hoping to gain momentum, and actors are already schmoozing voters and building Oscar buzz. Nominations morning (Jan. 22, 2026) will be here before you know it, and the statuettes will be passed out on March 15, 2026.

To aid you in choosing which movies to watch and keep you up-to-date on the Oscar race, here’s a list of all the films released to date (through July 2025) that have some Oscar buzz, and where you can stream them.

Parade will be updating this post as we progress through the season. 

Predicting the Top Oscar Contenders for 2026

1. Diane Warren: Relentless

What it’s about: The life and career of prolific songwriter Diane Warren.

Why it has buzz: Warren has been nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar 16 times and lost every single one of them. The music branch of the Academy seem hell-bent on getting Warren an Oscar, as she’s been nominated every year since 2017, but the larger Academy have consistently overlooked her work when it comes to choosing a winner.

Potential nominations: Warren wrote an original song for her documentary that will almost certainly be nominated. However, given the field of original songs this year from the likes of Sinners and Wicked: For Good, I’m not sure this is her year to win.

How to watch: Video on demand

2. Eddington

What it’s about: A small New Mexico town living through the thick of COVID-19 and a mayoral election.

Why it has buzz: While Ari Aster‘s movies have never really connected with the Academy, Eddington is perhaps his most straight-forward film, and with Oscar darlings like Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone in the cast, it has potential.

Potential nominations: Best Original Screenplay and Best Production Design seem most likely, but Phoenix could nab a Best Actor nom and Editing, Cinematography, Sound and Score are all possible. With the Casting Oscar making its debut this year as well, Eddington‘s large cast could be one to watch.

How to watch: In theaters

Related: Dylan O’Brien Had 1 Stipulation Before Agreeing to Play Twins in ‘Twinless’ (Exclusive)

3. Elio

What it’s about: An 11-year-old boy gets abducted by aliens.

Why it has buzz: While Elio performed rather abysmally at the box office (especially for a kids’ movie), it does have the weight of Disney/Pixar behind it. The only eligible, original Pixar movie not to be nominated for Best Animated Feature to date is The Good Dinosaur, so it would be odd for the critically well-regarded movie to miss out.

Potential nominations: Best Animated Feature is the most likely nomination here.

How to watch: In theaters

4. F1

What it’s about: An old-school race car driver joins an F1 team to show a young whippersnapper how it’s done.

Why it has buzz: It’s Joseph Kosinski‘s follow-up to Oscar juggernaut Top Gun: Maverick and features both Brad Pitt and some spectacular big-budget action sequences.

Potential nominations: The F1 response makes a Best Picture/Director nom seem unlikely here, but I think you can pencil it in for Best Sound and Visual Effects. The Hans Zimmer score could also snag a nom.

How to watch: In theaters

5. Grand Theft Hamlet

What it’s about: A group of actors try to stage a virtual performance of Hamlet within the world of Grand Theft Auto during the pandemic.

Why it has buzz: It’s one of the buzziest documentaries of 2025 to date, which makes it a contender for the notoriously picky and eccentric documentary branch of the Academy.

Potential nominations: Best Documentary Feature is its only real play.

How to watch: Mubi

6. How to Train Your Dragon

What it’s about: The live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon with animated dragons (because dragons obviously aren’t real).

Why it has buzz: The film did extremely well at the box office, and Disney’s live-action remakes have managed to nab some Oscar noms.

Potential nominations: Best Visual Effects seems like the main play here.

How to watch: In theaters

7. Jurassic World Rebirth

What it’s about: Scientists and mercenaries going to collect fluids from large dinosaurs for vaguely scientific reasons.

Why it has buzz: The original Jurassic Park won three Oscars, and the dinosaurs here look cool.

Potential nominations: While the other Jurassic World movies have blanked at the Oscars, I think there’s potential here for a Best Visual Effects nomination.

How to watch: In theaters

8. KPop Demon Hunters

What it’s about: Demon hunters moonlight as a K-pop girl group while their boy band rivals are secretly demons.

Why it has buzz: With Elio underperforming, Netflix’s animated musical is currently the season’s frontrunner. Especially after Flow won last year, this category seems primed for another non-Disney/Pixar winner.

Potential nominations: Best Animated Feature seems like a strong bet, but we could also see it nab a Best Original Song nomination.

How to watch: Netflix

9. The Life of Chuck

What it’s about: A Stephen King adaptation about the life of a man name Chuck.

Why it has buzz: The Life of Chuck won the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award in 2024, and every winner of that prize since 2011 has gone on to snag a Best Picture nomination. While The Life of Chuck‘s release was delayed a year, you shouldn’t count it out.

Potential nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture seem like the most likely options even if its summer release makes it a bit of a long shot. Editing and Casting could also happen.

How to watch: In theaters

Related: The 15 Best Movies of 2025 (So Far)

10. Materialists

What it’s about: A NYC matchmaker finds herself in a love triangle with a rich new suitor and a poor ex-boyfriend.

Why it has buzz: Celine Song‘s previous film Past Lives scooped up Best Picture and Original Screenplay nominations. While Materialists is more commercial, it’s equally as well written.

Potential nominations: Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture seem like the best bets here.

How to watch: In theaters

11. Mickey 17

What it’s about: A man clones himself on a space expedition so that his clones can be killed off as collateral damage during exploration.

Why it has buzz: It’s Bong Joon Ho‘s follow up to Parasite, one of the best films in recent memory and a Best Picture winner.

Potential nominations: While Mickey 17 did not receive the rapturous reviews that Parasite did, I do think there’s potential here for Visual Effects, Production Design, Score and Sound nominations.

How to watch: HBO Max

12. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

What it’s about: Tom Cruise running fast and saving the world.

Why it has buzz: Its predecessor Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning landed nominations in both Visual Effects and Sound, so those seem well within grasp again this year.

Potential nominations: Best Visual Effects and Sound are the two plays.

How to watch: Video on demand

Related: Hayley Atwell Learned to Pickpocket for ‘Mission: Impossible’ and Then Robbed Tom Cruise (Exclusive)

13. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

What it’s about: A Zambian woman returns home after living in the UK only to find her uncle’s dead body in the middle of the road.

Why it has buzz: It earned rave reviews during the 2024 festival season, but was held over for release in 2025.

Potential nominations: If Zambia submits this as its Best International Feature contender, then it could definitely scoop up a nomination there.

How to watch: HBO Max

14. One of Them Days

What it’s about: Two women running around Los Angeles trying to find rent money before they get evicted.

Why it has buzz: While it performed extremely well at the box office, it’s not your usual Oscar fare. However, the movie does boast an original song from DivaGurl and Keke Palmer.

Potential nominations: Best Original Song is the play here, and who doesn’t want to see Keke give an acceptance speech?

How to watch: Netflix

15. Opus

What it’s about: A group of journalists travel to the compound of an eccentric musician only to be murdered.

Why it has buzz: A movie about a fictional musician with hit music produced by Nile Rodgers and The-Dream is always going to be in consideration for Best Original Song.

Potential nominations: This is another movie on the hunt for that Best Original Song nomination. The field is getting CROWDED.

How to watch: HBO Max

16. The Phoenician Scheme

What it’s about: A rich arms dealer trying to implement a shady business plot while outrunning assassins.

Why it has buzz: Six of Wes Anderson‘s previous films have racked up an impressive 16 nominations and five wins (including one for Anderson himself in Best Live Action Short).

Potential nominations: While The Phoenician Scheme doesn’t seem to have garnered strong enough reviews to earn a Best Picture nomination, the film could easily snag Production Design and Costume Design nominations.

How to watch: Video on demand

Related: Michael Cera Explains How He Crafted His Norwegian Accent in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ (Exclusive)

17. Sinners

What it’s about: Twin brothers return home from Chicago to open up a juke joint in Mississippi only to be beset upon by vampires.

Why it has buzz: Sinners is far and away the most critically loved and financially successful film of 2025, and therefore is sitting pretty as the Oscar frontrunner heading into the fall festivals. We could see a Everything Everywhere All at Once-level sweep if more strong contenders don’t emerge.

Potential nominations: It’s probably easier to list the categories that Sinners isn’t competitive in, but Best Picture and Best Director for Ryan Coogler seem like locks at this point. Nominations for Michael B. Jordan in Best Actor and for Coogler in Best Original Screenplay also seem like sure bets. Below the line Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound, Original Score, Original Song, Makeup and Hairstyling and Casting all seem likely. Delroy Lindo seems like the best bet after Jordan in the acting categories, but if the Academy loves this movie we could also see Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell and Wunmi Mosaku in contention.

How to watch: HBO Max

18. Sovereign

What it’s about: A father and son go head-to-head with the police as a part of an anti-government fringe movement.

Why it has buzz: Nick Offerman delivers a career-best performance in this dramatic true crime narrative.

Potential nominations: Best Actor for Offerman seems like the main play.

How to watch: In theaters

Related: Nick Offerman Reveals His Acting Bucket List and How ‘Sovereign’ Gave Him Another Dream Role (Exclusive)

19. Superman

What it’s about: Superman.

Why it has buzz: James Gunn‘s reboot of the DC comic book universe received rave reviews from critics and is a box-office success.

Potential nominations: Best Visual Effects and Best Sound are the main two.

How to watch: In theaters

20. Thunderbolts*

What it’s about: A rag-tag group of superheroes come together to fight a big bad.

Why it has buzz: The Marvel Cinematic Universe has racked up 27 Oscar nominations over the years, and Thunderbolts* was extremely well-regarded. Especially if The Fantastic Four fails to gain mass appeal, Thunderbolts* could be Marvel’s horse in the race.

Potential nominations: Best Visual Effects and Best Sound are yet again the best options for a big-budget flick.

How to watch: Video on demand

Related: ‘Thunderbolts*’ Is the First Great Marvel Movie in Years (Review)

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