The annual Academy Awards take place in the middle of March at the Dolby Theatre, standing in the heart of Hollywood. The first Oscars were in May of 1929, hosted as a private dinner rather than a televised production with a red carpet. Though there are many recognizable faces nominated this year, there can only be one winner for each category, so here are our 2026 Oscar predictions.

Best Actor: Our pick to win the Best Actor award is Timothee Chalamet. Chalamet gave a heartfelt performance as Marty Mauser in A24’s Marty Supreme, loosely inspired by the table tennis player Marty Reisman. The film follows a 1950s ping-pong player in New York who is trying to make it big. In the film, Mauser’s character is manipulative and controlling of the people around him to achieve his table tennis aspirations. Chalamet takes on Marty’s paradoxical characteristics, showcasing Chalamet’s ability to switch personas within a role. Marty is different from the characters in his previous films, demonstrating Chalamet’s ability to bring depth to any project he’s given and making him a frontrunner for the Best Actor award.

Best Actress: For this category, our choice is Jessie Buckley. Buckley played William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in the 2025 film Hamnet. The film, based on the Shakespeare play Hamlet, has won a Golden Globe, an Actor Award, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award, with Jessie Buckley’s role winning a Critics’ Choice Award. Her performance in the film was raw and vulnerable, depicting a mother’s experience after losing her child. This year, Buckley has won the BAFTA for Best Leading Actress, the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama, the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. Across these victories, one throughline has been her ability to show a range of emotions.

Best Supporting Actor: We think 65-year-old actor Sean Penn will take home the award for Best Supporting Actor.  In the action thriller One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Penn plays Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, a harsh military official who opposes Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Bob Ferguson. Colonel Steven is a washed-up revolutionary, and the pressures put on him throughout his life antagonize him. Penn brings a darkly humorous light to the relatively provocative role, showing his range as an actor. His previous wins of a BAFTA and an Actor Award, both for Best Supporting Actor in this role, make him a frontrunner for this esteemed Academy Award. 

Best Supporting Actress: Our winner of the Best Supporting Actress award is Wunmi Mosaku, a Nigerian-British actress who plays Annie in the record-breaking film Sinners, which earned 16 Academy Award nominations across all categories. Mosaku brought a spiritual presence to the film, and in this role, she shines a light on resilience against the 1932 Jim Crow South. With a recent BAFTA win, critics expect her to take home the golden statue next week.

Best Visual Effects: The Avatar series is no stranger to jaw-dropping visual effects. Director James Cameron pushes the boundaries of computer graphics; both Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water previously won in this category, making the newest film Avatar: Fire and Ash a notable candidate for this award. The Avatar series is known for its highly developed computer-generated imagery, using it for environments in the film such as Pandora. With the help of visual effects company Wētā FX, the cards are in favor of the film when it comes to this year’s votes from the Academy. 

Best Sound: Our choice for best sound is F1. This technical category recognizes films that combine music and immersive audio to create a unique experience, making F1 a strong contender. The racing film relies on audio recordings of Formula 1 engine sounds and radio communication to bring the racing to life. The film’s sound team includes esteemed composer Hans Zimmer, whose music, blended with the engine sounds, heightens the intensity of racing scenes throughout the film. Along with Zimmer, composing artists like Tate McRae, Don Toliver, and Ed Sheeran contributed to the film’s soundtrack, creating an exciting pace and adding to the scene’s emotion. These factors, combined with F1’s win of best sound at the 2026 BAFTA awards, make an effective case to win the best sound category. 

Best Original Song: “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters has taken over our radios, tunneling into fans’ hearts around the globe. The catchy song has already won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media, making history as the first K-Pop song to win in that category. If it wins at the Academy Awards, it will also be the first K-Pop song to win for Best Original Song. With these milestones in mind, the Academy is sure to recognize the song’s influence.

Best Picture: Sinners merges storytelling, vibrant performances, and memorable filmmaking into a profound product. Director Ryan Coogler’s film stands out for its distinctive visual style and quality, which appeals to Academy voters. The cast, consisting of world-renowned actors including headliner Michael B. Jordan, further boosts Sinners’ popularity. It has also won a long list of awards leading up to the Oscars, including a Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award. This recognition heading into the Oscars makes Sinners a strong contender for Best Picture.   

The 98th Academy Awards will celebrate powerful performances across all parts of the filmmaking process, from the actors and actresses in the films to the sound team working behind the scenes. All things considered, this year’s nominees and winners have shown remarkable talent and dexterity. The Oscars ceremony will be a tribute to each of their performances.