Wednesday, January 21, 2026

One Thing After Another: The Maven's Fearless (and Probably Foolish) Oscar Nominations Predix!

 It's that time once again, when we're in the nadir of Winter, where I don't give a shit about anything, and my classes are settling in. 

I don't have much of a preamble this time because I'm recovering from a broken arm (I wasn't even drunk!), as well as having graded seven classes of work for a recently-deceased colleague that I am still not exactly over. 

I don't have much to say as a preamble this time, except to say I think (finally!) that P.T. Anderson will have a slew of nominations for One Battle After Another. I'll leave it at that for now, so as not to jinx him. 

OBAA and Sinners will do well. We'll see how it shakes out six week from now. So without further ado, here's where I think things will land in the morning:

BEST PICTURE

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Marty Supreme

Hamnet

Sentimental Value

Frankenstein

Train Dreams

Bugonia

Wicked: For Good

The Secret Agent

---

It Was Just an Accident

Wicked: For Good


BEST DIRECTOR

PT Anderson

Ryan Coogler

Chloe Zhao

Guillermo Del Toro

Josh Safdie

---

Joachim Trier

Jafar Panahi


BEST ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio

Timothee Chalamet

Michael B. Jordan

Ethan Hawke

Joel Edgerton

---

Wagner Moura

Jesse Plemons

Hugh Jackman


BEST ACTRESS

Jessie Buckley

Chase Infinit

Rose Byrne

Emma Stone

Renate Reinsve

---

Kate Hudson

Jennifer Lawrence

Amanda Seyfried


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sean Penn

Benicio Del Toro 

Jacob Elordi

Paul Mescal

Stellan Skarsgard

---

Delroy Lindo

Adam Sandler

Jack O'Connell


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Teyana Taylor

Amy Madigan

Ariana Grande

Wunmi Mosaku

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas

---

Elle Fanning

Odessa A'zion

Regina Hall


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

One Battle After Another

Hamnet

Train Dreams

Bugonia

Frankenstein

---

Wicked: For Good

No Other Choice

The Life of Chuck


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Sinners

Marty Supreme

Sentimental Value

It Was Just an Accident

The Secret Agent

---

Sorry, Baby

Weapons

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Sinner

One Battle After Another

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Sirat

---

Marty Supreme

Bugonia

Train Dreams


BEST SONG

"Golden"--KPop Demon Hunters

"I Lied To You"--Sinners

"Dear Me"--Diane Warren: Relentless

"No Place Like Home"--Wicked: For Good

"Train Dreams"--Train Dreams

---

"The Girl in The Bubble"--Wicked: For Good

"Dream as One"--Avatar: Fire and Ash

"Billy Idol Should Be Dead"--Dying To Live


BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Sentimental Value

It Was Just an Accident

The Secret Agent

No Other Choice

Sirat

---

The Voice of the Rind Rajab

The President's Cake

Left-Handed Girl


BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Perfect Neighbor

My Undesirable Friends

The Alabama Solution

Seeds

Yanuni

---

2000 Meters to Andriivka

Cover-Up

Apocalypse in the Tropics


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Sinners

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

Train Dreams

Frankenstein

---

Marty Supreme

F1

Song Sung Blue


BEST EDITING

One Battle After Another

Sinners

F1

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

---

Train Dreams

Sentimental Value

A House of Dynamite 


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Frankenstein

Sinners

Wicked: For Good

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

---

Marty Supreme

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Superman


BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Frankenstein

Wicked: For Good

Hamnet

Sinners

Marty Supreme

---

The Testament of Ana Lee

One Battle After Another

Nuremberg 


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Superman

F1

Frankenstein 

Sinners

---

Wicked: For Good

The Lost Bus

Tron: Ares


BEST MAKEUP/HAIR

Frankenstien

Sinners

The Smashing Machine

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

---

The Ugly Stepsister

Kokomo

The Ugly Stepsister


Nominations

One Battle After Another    13

Sinners    12

Hamnet     9

Marty Supreme    9

Frankenstein 8


This is a pretty predictable year. So, what is the surprise nominee? I say George Clooney in Jay Kelly, but even that's a stretch. 

That's it for now. I'll watch the nominations live with my class in the morning and hope I don't scream or throw something. 

There will be more to come. In the interim, Seasons Screenings!





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