2026 Best Picture Nominees for the Oscars and where to watch
Photo courtesy of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences/Wikimedia Commons
On Sunday, Mar. 15, one of the most anticipated film events of the year, the 2026 Oscars (98th Academy Awards) will act as the arbiter of fate once again. Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the show will air live at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC and stream on Hulu. Here are the nominees for the Best Picture category and where to catch them before their seals of fate.
Bugonia (2025)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the film follows the kidnapping of a powerful CEO (Emma Stone) in the hands of two conspiracy theorists (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who are convinced that she is an extraterrestrial who is determined to end the world. The dark satire thriller is a remake of the South Korean film Save the Green Planet! (2003) by Jang Joon-hwan and stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone.
Rotten Tomatoes: 87 percent
Where to watch: Peacock
F1 (2025)
Starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem, and directed by Joseph Kosinski, the sports drama follows Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a former Formula One racing driver as he makes his return after three decades in an attempt to save his past teammate’s underground team from crumbling.
Rotten Tomatoes: 82 percent
Where to watch: Apple TV
Frankenstein (2025)
This Gothic sci-fi drama, directed, produced, and written by Guillermo del Toro, follows the journey of scientist Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), whose hubris and ambitious experiments result in detrimental repercussions. The story is based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. The cast of the film consists of Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz
Rotten Tomatoes: 85 percent
Where to watch: Netflix
Hamnet (2025)
Starring Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, director Chloé Zhao dramatizes the profound grief of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes Hathaway (Jesse Buckley) as they grapple with the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet. The biographical period drama is based on the 2020 novel Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, who worked closely on the production, co-writing the screenplay alongside Zhao.
Rotten Tomatoes: 86 percent
Where to watch: Peacock
Marty Supreme (2025)
Directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, and Kevin O’Leary. Taking place in the 1950s, the comedy-drama follows table tennis player, Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet), who is loosely based on table tennis champion Marty Reisman, and his pursuit of becoming world champion.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93 percent
Where to watch: Can be rented on various platforms
One Battle After Another (2025)
Directed, produced, and written by Paul Thomas Anderson, this dark comedy action-thriller, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland as stated by an article on People, follows an off-the-grid ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) who in order to protect and save his kidnapped daughter, must confront his combative past. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94 percent
Where to watch: HBO Max
The Secret Agent (2025)
This Portuguese historical and political thriller film written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, follows a former professor (Wanger Moura) who hides from his hometown in Recife to escape persecution. The film explores navigating the Brazilian military dictatorship in the 1970s and stars Wagner Moura, Carlos Francisco, Tânia Maria, Robério Diógenes, Alice Carvalho, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, and Udo Kier.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98 percent
Where to watch: Hulu
Sentimental Value (2025)
Directed by Joachim Trier, this intimate family drama explores the complicated relationships between a father and his daughter as unresolved tensions and buried memories resurface. The story centers on an aging filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgård) attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Renate Reinsve) by casting her in his new film, forcing both to confront their past. The drama stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning.
Rotten Tomatoes: 96 percent
Where to watch: Can be rented on various platforms
Sinners (2025)
Directed by Ryan Coogler, this supernatural period drama follows twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who return to their hometown in the American South hoping to leave their troubled past behind. However, they soon discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. The horror and historical and social commentary film stars Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, and Wunmi Mosaku.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97 percent
Where to watch: HBO Max, Prime
Train Dreams (2025)
Directed by Clint Bentley, this historical drama follows Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a railroad laborer navigating isolation, loss, and the shifting landscape of the early 20th-century American West. Based on Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, the film stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Nathaniel Arcand, Clifton Collins Jr., John Diehl, Paul Schneider, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94 percent
Where to watch: Netflix