As we head into 2026, the actors and studios behind the films of 2025 hope to snag the industry’s biggest prize: the Academy Award for Best Picture. In January, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) nominated 10 films that are competing for the honor of being named Best Picture.
Bugonia
Bugonia is based on the 2003 remake of the South Korean film Save the Green Planet! Directed by Jang Joon-Hwan, the movie stars Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Don (Aiden Delbis), who kidnaps Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. The movie is also nominated for three more awards, including Stone for Best Actress. This will be her fifth nomination after winning two for performances in La La Land and Poor Things.
F1
Perhaps the most surprising Best Picture nomination is F1. The story follows race car driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), who returns to his former teammate’s Formula 1 team after a life-threatening accident 30 years ago. This movie features actual F1 cars racing on real tracks such as the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and Silverstone in England. This film is also nominated for 3 more awards.
Frankenstein
For the eighth consecutive year, Netflix has received a Best Picture nomination. This year’s nomination is Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, a rendition of the 1818 classic novel by Mary Shelley. The film is broken down into two parts. First, it tells the story from the eyes of Dr. Frankenstein (Oscar Issac) and the second part of the story, it tells the eyes of Frankenstein’s creature (Jacob Elordi) after he was created. The movie is also nominated for 8 more awards, including Elordi for Best Supporting Actor.
Hamnet
Based on the 2020 novel by Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet is a film about William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley), coping with the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet Shakespeare. This movie is also known for Mescal’s performance not being nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film is also nominated for seven additional awards, including Chloé Zhao for Best Director and Buckley for Best Actress.
Marty Supreme
Marty Supreme was likely the most anticipated movie of the year, and many predict it will result in actor Timothée Chalamet receiving his first Academy Award. The story follows Marty Mouser, played by Chalamet, in his quest to become the world’s best table tennis player while he grapples with a chaotic personal life. This film became the 10th movie nominated for Best Picture by A24 Studios. It is also nominated for 8 more awards, including Josh Safdie for Best Director.
One Battle After Another
“¡Viva la Revolución!” According to Polymarket, One Battle After Another is favored to win the Best Picture award. The movie follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who was a former member of the French 75, trying to save his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) from Colonel Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn). Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the movie is also nominated for 11 additional awards, including Anderson for Best Director, DiCaprio for Best Actor, Penn and Benicio del Toro for Best Supporting Actor, Tetyana Taylor for Best Supporting Actress, and many more awards.
The Secret Agent
One of the two foreign films nominated for Best Picture is a Brazilian film called The Secret Agent, or O Agente Secreto in Portuguese. The movie stars Wagner Moura, who plays three separate characters: Armando Solimões, Marcelo Alves, and Fernando Soilimões. It takes place during the rise of the Brazilian military dictatorship, and Moura, as Armando, struggles to escape an authoritarian regime. The movie is also nominated for two more awards, including Moura for Best Actor.
Sentimental Value
The other foreign picture nominated, Sentimental Value, is a Norwegian film. The movie follows sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Igna Ibsdotter Lilleaas) as they reunite with their estranged dad, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), who is a movie director. The movie is also nominated for seven more awards, including Skarsgård for Best Supporting Actor, Ellie Fanning and Lilleaas for Best Supporting Actress, Reinsve for Best Actress, and Joachim Trier for Best Director.
Sinners
The movie that broke the record with an astounding 16 award nominations was Sinners. The film beat the previous record of 14, which was held by Titanic, La La Land, and All About Eve. Sinners takes place in the deep South during Jim Crow, following twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore (both played by Michael B. Jordan), who return to their hometown after World War I to start a juke joint. According to movie reviewers, this movie is going head-to-head with One Battle After Another for the win. The movie also nominated Ryan Coogler for Best Director, who also directed Black Panther and Creed, Jordan for Best Actor, and many more awards.
Train Dreams
Last on the Best Picture list, based on the 2011 novella by Denis Johnson, is Train Dreams. The movie follows Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger and railroad worker who witnesses the beauty of the rapidly changing America in the early 20th century. The movie is also nominated for three more Academy Awards.
The 98th edition of the Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will be live on Sunday, March 15th at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, starting at 4 PM on ABC.
