The highly anticipated countdown to the 98th Academy Awards has officially begun, with Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman announcing the 2026 Oscar nominations on Thursday morning. The announcement, which kicked off at 5:30 a.m. PT, was streamed across official Oscar platforms and ABC's “Good Morning America,” marking the start of a competitive Oscar season. Conan O’Brien is set to return as host for the 98th Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled for March 15 at the Dolby Theatre, airing live on ABC and streaming on Hulu.

Early predictions point to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” as major frontrunners. “One Battle After Another” has already garnered significant acclaim, winning four Golden Globes, including best motion picture – drama, best supporting actress for Teyana Taylor, and awards for Anderson's direction and screenplay. “Sinners,” a 1930s Southern vampire drama, is also expected to be a dominant force, with Variety’s awards editor Clayton Davis projecting as many as 15 nominations for the film. This could potentially break the long-standing record of 14 nominations held by cinematic classics such as “All About Eve,” “Titanic,” and “La La Land.”

This year’s nominations introduce a significant expansion with the debut of the Achievement in Casting category, bringing the total number of Oscar categories to 24. This new category, created by the Academy’s Casting Directors Branch formed in 2013, recognizes the integral contribution of casting directors to film. The inaugural nominees are predominantly women, including Nina Gold for “Hamnet,” Jennifer Venditti for “Marty Supreme,” Cassandra Kulukundis for “One Battle After Another,” Francine Maisler for “Sinners,” and Gabriel Domingues for “The Secret Agent.” Maisler, a strong advocate for the category, emphasized the overdue recognition of casting directors' work, while Gold shared insights into the intricate process of casting Jacobi Jupe for “Hamnet.”

The acting races are particularly fierce. In the Best Actor category, nominees include Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” and Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent.” Chalamet, at 30, makes history as the youngest male actor to earn three acting nominations, and also the youngest person ever to be double-nominated for producing and acting in the same year for “Marty Supreme.” Wagner Moura has achieved a historic milestone as the first Brazilian to be nominated for Best Actor for his performance in “The Secret Agent,” a film also nominated for International Feature and Best Picture. Moura is only the sixth Latino to receive a best actor nod and the first South American actor to translate a Cannes Best Actor win to an Oscar nomination since Antonio Banderas. For Best Actress, the nominees are expected to include Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”), Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”), Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”), and Emma Stone (“Bugonia”).

As always, the nominations brought a mix of snubs and surprises. Notable snubs include “Wicked,” with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo missing out, and Chase Infiniti failing to secure a lead actress nod despite earlier predictions. Paul Mescal for “Hamnet,” “Superman” for VFX, “No Other Choice” for Best International Film, and “Weapons” for Original Screenplay were also overlooked. Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in “Die My Love,” Miley Cyrus’s song “Dream As One,” and Guillermo del Toro’s direction for “Frankenstein” were among other significant snubs. On the surprise front, Delroy Lindo snagged a supporting nod for “Sinners,” Kate Hudson earned a nomination for “Song Sung Blue,” and Elle Fanning received a supporting nomination for “Sentimental Value.” Unexpected nominations also went to “The Ugly Stepsister” for Makeup and Hairstyling, “F1” for Best Picture, and “The Lost Bus” for Visual Effects.

Final Oscar voting is scheduled from February 26 to March 5, culminating in the 98th Academy Awards ceremony on March 15. Viewers can look forward to a night celebrating cinematic achievements, hosted by Conan O’Brien and broadcast on ABC and Hulu.