Welcome to Oscar Nominations Day! Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman announced the nominees this morning at 7:30 a.m. CT (5:30 a.m. PT / 8:30 a.m. ET)…

Unlike last year, I actually am pretty happy with this year’s nominations. There isn’t anything glaring or head-scratching like Emilia Pérez getting 13 nominations. The biggest surprise of the year is Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS, earning a historical 16 nominations, breaking Titanic’s record of 14 by a single film back in 1998. James Cameron’s film ultimately won 11 Oscars out of those 14, so I’m curious how many trophies SINNERS would walk away with. It’s extra special for Coogler’s film as it’s a period horror film, and typically, the horror genre doesn’t fare well at the Oscars. But hey, if there is a filmmaker who could somehow break the Oscars’ “curse,” it’d be Coogler!!

I think Sinners is a unique and well-crafted movie, featuring a plethora of phenomenal performances led by Michael B. Jordan in a dual role. Even Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jack O’Connell are terrific. I’m thrilled that Jordan is now an Academy Award nominee, ’bout darn time, I’d say! 

Jordan is in good company, here are this year’s first-time nominees:

1. Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You)
2. Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)
3. Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value)
4. Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
5. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value)
6. Delroy Lindo (Sinners)
7. Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)
8. Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)
9. Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)
10. Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)
11. Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value)

It makes me happy to see the racial and ethnic diversity amongst the nominees… mostly driven by the acting nominees for Sinners: Jordan, Lindo, and Mosaku, woo wee!!

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Nominations By Studio
(excluding short films)

Warner Bros – 30
Neon – 18
Netflix – 16
Focus Features – 13
A24 – 11
Apple – 6
Disney – 4

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I have a lot of thoughts about this year’s nominations, so let’s get right down to it, shall we?

Egregious Snubs

There’s no Award season without some obvious snubs, even in a year where most of the Oscar nominations seem to be on point. These are the ones that I find a bit tough to swallow: 

• Every year, five excellent movies seemingly direct themselves… most notably: Frankenstein and The Secret Agent; so Guillermo Del Toro and Kleber Mendonça Filho are criminally robbed this year! I’d easily swap out Josh Safdie with either one of those directors. I do not think Safdie deserves to be nominated as Marty Supreme is overly frenetic and exasperating to watch, definitely one I’d never watch again.
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• I feel like I’m the only one who loves Rental Family 😦 I knew it’d be a long shot, but I still think that movie and its director, Hikari, delivered an Oscar-worthy work.

• Similarly, another first-time female filmmaker, Eva Victor, is sadly overlooked for her writing and directing work for Sorry, Baby. I think that’s a much better film than Marty Supreme!!
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• Given that the Academy seems to no longer be averse to the horror genre, I wish 28 Years Later got some love. If I had my way, I would swap out Benicio Del Toro with Ralph Fiennes‘ transformative acting as Dr. Ian Kelson in the Best Supporting Actor category. I mean, no offense, Benicio, but you can’t even compare the degree of artistry of the two performances. Fiennes’ performance is a tour de force that stands out even amongst his award-winning roles in the past few decades. 

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• Sad that I didn’t see Hans Zimmer‘s name in the Best Music category. His score for F1 is sensational, definitely one of my top 3 of the year!

• Speaking of music… I’m flabbergasted that Wicked: For Good is completely shut out in that category. What is the Academy’s voters’ obsession with Dianne Warren??! [scratch head] I think Stephen Schwartz’s songs The Girl in the Bubble and No Place Like Home are both beautiful. I especially love the latter. I just love Cynthia Erivo’s voice, and she gives the song such emotional weight.
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Exciting Surprises

• A Brazilian film is recognized two years in a row!! I’m thrilled that The Secret Agent is singled out for Best Picture and Wagner Moura gets in under Best Actor, yay!! Moura made history today by being the first Brazilian male actor to be nominated in the leading performance category! 
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• Cheers for Delroy Lindo on his first Oscar nomination!! The 73-year old British-American thespian has been acting for nearly five decades, with a career spanning from the mid 70s. I thought he was fantastic in The Harder They Fall (2021), a good movie that was overlooked at the Oscars.

• Speaking of actors with an incredible track record, Swedish legend Stellan Skarsgård finally nab his first Oscar nomination, too! The 74-year-old Skarsgård has also been acting for five decades since the mid 60s. It’ll be hard to choose between these two, but if I must choose only one, I’d go with Skarsgård as he has more screen time in Sentimental Value.

  Interesting that most of the Supporting Actor nominees are over the age of 55 (Benicio Del Toro is 58, and Sean Penn is 65), with Jacob Elordi being the youngest at 28!

• In the Best Supporting Actress category, I’m pleasantly surprised to see both Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas made the cut! I think each of them gave an Oscar-worthy performance, though if I had to choose, I’d go with Lilleaas as it’s the more understated, but crucial role.

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• Last year, I said that the Academy seemed to be embracing the horror genre as three horror flicks got some love: Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and Alien: Romulus were recognized in technical categories, while The Girl With The Needle scored a Best International Feature nomination. Well, this year we see Sinners as the top nominee, while Amy Madigan‘s performance in the horror film Weapons is singled out in the Best Supporting Actress category.

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///FULL LIST OF OSCAR 2026 NOMINEES

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Conan O’Brien will once again host the 98th Academy Awards. The ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, March 15, 2026, starting at 7 pm EST (4 pm PST, 6pm CST). 

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Well, what do you think of the 2026 Oscar nominations? Thoughts on the biggest snubs and surprises?