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Oscars 2026: Everything we already know about the ceremony
The 98th edition of the Academy Awards is near, and some elements of the event are starting to come out – date, venue, host, new releases and films in competition. Scheduled for March 2026, the Oscars could mark a historic turning point with the introduction of a brand-new award. As France has just selected Jafar Panahi’s A Simple Accident to represent the country in the category Best International Feature Film, here is a detailed overview, based on the latest news from the Anglo-Saxon press.
Published on 18 September 2025. Updated on 18 December 2025.
Oscars 2026: The Academy aims for novelty
The Academy Awards remain first and foremost a Hollywood ritual. The next edition, set for March 15th, 2026, will once again take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Conan O’Brien, who had previously hosted the event in 2025, was once again chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to host the ceremony.
As Vanity Fair notes, his ironic, laid-back tone has won over audiences tired of overly scripted shows. Producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, joined by Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney, are also back with their team. Nothing new under the sun.
As usual, the ceremony will be broadcast on ABC this year. But that won’t be the case starting from 2029, since the ceremony will be streamed on YouTube… An unexpected, groundbreaking change.
Best casting, a long-overdue new category
The ceremony isn’t prepared in a matter of weeks, but rather with an almost military precision and commitment. According to the Academy’s official website, submissions closed on November 13th, followed by the Governors Awards on November 16th, 2025. The shortlists were unveiled on December 16th, a few weeks before the nominations announcement on January 22nd, 2026. They include the features named in categories, such as International Feature Film or Documentary Short Film.
But the major innovation lies in the addition of an unprecedented award: Best Casting of the Year. As The Hollywood Reporter reminds us, this is a first in the history of the Oscars. That decision, widely welcomed by industry professionals, finally acknowledges the central role casting directors play in the making of a film. The initiative could shift the perception of certain genres, especially comedies and independent films, often overlooked during award ceremonies.
What are the favorites?
It is still too early to draw up the official list of contenders, but some media are already sketching a potential overview. According to Entertainment Weekly, works like Marty Supreme (2025) by Josh Safdie, Hamnet (2025) starring Paul Mescal, and Wicked: For Good (2025) by Jon M. Chu are among the potential contenders for Best Picture. As for blockbusters, Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) by James Cameron, F1 (2025) with Brad Pitt and Sinners (2025) by Ryan Coogler are cited as serious contenders too.
Of course, forecasting is always a risky game, but it already fuels debates in Hollywood. On an international scale, the British press highlights Sentimental Value (2025) by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier and the Japanese feature Kokuho (2025) as possible contenders for Best International Feature Film.
Predictions also extend to the performers. Timothée Chalamet is mentioned for his role in Marty Supreme (2025), Jessie Buckley for Hamnet (2025), Cynthia Erivo for Wicked: For Good (2025) and Julia Roberts for After the Hunt (2025).
It Was Just An Accident, French contender for the Oscar
France chose the 2025 Cannes Palme d’Or winner, It Was Just An Accident by Jafar Panahi, to represent the country at the Academy Awards. A psychological portrait exploring the lingering effects of trauma inflicted by the Iranian government. The feature, filmed in secret, was selected on September 17th, 2025, from a shortlist of five contenders in the category Best International Feature Film.
Just a week earlier, the CNC had indeed unveiled the shortlist of films in the running to represent France at the upcoming Academy Awards. The other contenders were The Little Sister, Rebecca Zlotowski’s A Private Life, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, and Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco.
And the awards go to Tom Cruise and Dolly Parton…
We already know the names of two award recipients this year. American actor Tom Cruise received an Honorary Oscar Award for lifetime achievement at the Governors Awards on November 16th, 2025. “I was this little kid in this darkened theater. I remember that beam of light cut across the room. I looked up, and it seemed it just exploded on the screen. Suddenly, the world was so much larger than the one that I knew.” Iconic singer Dolly Parton was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian prize for “outstanding contribution to humanitarian causes” that same night.
The upcoming Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 15th, 2026.
The 2026 Oscars shortlists
International Feature Film
- Belén (Argentina)
- The Secret Agent (Brazil)
- It Was Just An Accident (France)
- Sound of Falling (Germany)
- Homebound (India)
- The President’s Cake (Iraq)
- Kokuho (Japan)
- All That’s Left of You (Jordan)
- Sentimental Value (Norway)
- Palestine 36 (Palestine)
- No Other Choice (South Korea)
- Sirât (Spain)
- Late Shift (Switzerland)
- Left-Handed Girl (Taïwan)
- The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)
Casting
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
- Sirât
- Weapons
- Wicked: For Good
Cinematography
- 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
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
But also…
Visual effects
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- The Electric State
- F1
- Frankenstein
- Jurassic World Rebirth
- The Lost Bus
- Sinners
- Superman
- Tron: Ares
- Wicked: For Good
Music (Original Score)
- Frankenstein by Alexandre Desplat
- Sinners by Ludwig Göransson
- Marty Supreme by Daniel Lopatin
- F1 by Hans Zimmer
- Tron: Ares by Nine Inch Nails
- Hamnet by Max Richter
- Bugonia by Jerskin Fendrix
- Sirât by David Letellier (aka Kangding Ray)
- Train Dreams by Bryce Dessner
- Wicked: For Good by John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
Music (Original Song)
- As Alive As You Need Me To Be by Nine Inch Nails | Tron: Ares
- Dream As One by Miley Cyrus | Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Drive by Ed Sheeran | F1
- I Lied To You by Miles Caton | Sinners
- Last Time (I Seen The Sun) by Alice Smith and Miles Caton | Sinners
- The Girl In The Bubble by Ariane Grande | Wicked: For Good
- No Place Like Home by Cynthia Erivo | Wicked: For Good
- Golden by Huntrix | KPop Demon Hunters
- Our Love by Carey Mulligan and Tom Badsen | The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Salt Then Sour Then Sweet by Sara Bareilles | Come See Me in the Good Light
- Sweet Dreams of Joy by Ana María Martínez | Viva Verdi!
- Train Dreams by Nick Cave | 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
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
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
