‘Sinners,’ ‘Wicked: For Good’ Lead 2026 Oscar Shortlists Reveal/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The Academy has released its shortlists for 12 Oscar categories, with Sinners and Wicked: For Good leading with eight mentions each. Breakout titles like KPop Demon Hunters and international entries from France, South Korea, and Iraq also made the cut. Final nominations for the 98th Oscars will be announced January 22.
2026 Oscar Shortlists Quick Looks
- Sinners and Wicked: For Good lead with eight mentions each.
- Shortlists announced in 12 Oscar categories including score, song, and casting.
- New Oscar category for casting debuts with 10 contenders.
- KPop Demon Hunters advances in best original song with “Golden.”
- Songs by Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, and Sara Bareilles also shortlisted.
- Diane Warren eyes a potential 17th Oscar nomination.
- International shortlist includes entries from France, South Korea, Brazil, Iraq.
- Notable documentaries include 2000 Meters to Andriivka and The Perfect Neighbor.
- Below-the-line categories recognize surprising picks like Tron: Ares and The Electric State.
- Final nominations will be announced January 22; Oscars air March 15.
Deep Look
Oscar Shortlists Unveiled: ‘Sinners,’ ‘Wicked: For Good’ Dominate Early Contender List
The road to the 98th Academy Awards officially began Tuesday with the release of Oscar shortlists in 12 categories, highlighting frontrunners in music, international features, documentaries, and a new category celebrating casting. Leading the early pack are Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s atmospheric vampire thriller, and the highly anticipated musical adaptation Wicked: For Good, each earning eight mentions.
Both films stand out in several major crafts categories—sound, score, makeup and hairstyling, visual effects, cinematography, and the Academy’s newly introduced casting award. They also have multiple original songs in the running, underscoring their cultural and musical impact.
For Wicked: For Good, Stephen Schwartz’s compositions “The Girl in the Bubble” and “No Place Like Home” earned shortlist spots. Sinners secured recognition for “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” by Ludwig Göransson, Miles Caton, and Alice Smith, as well as “I Lied to You” by Göransson and Raphael Saadiq.
Another unexpected but popular contender, KPop Demon Hunters, also made waves with the song “Golden” by EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick making the original song shortlist.
The music category featured other high-profile names:
- Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner for Train Dreams
- John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Blake Slatkin for F1’s “Drive”
- Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile, and Andrea Gibson for “Salt Then Sour Then Sweet”
- Miley Cyrus, Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, and Simon Franglen for Avatar: Fire and Ash’s “Dream as One”
Veteran songwriter Diane Warren may be headed toward a remarkable 17th Oscar nomination with her entry “Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless.
New Casting Category Debuts
For the first time in Oscar history, the Academy introduced a category honoring casting direction. The 10 shortlisted titles include Sinners, Wicked: For Good, Frankenstein, Sirât, Sentimental Value, One Battle After Another, and Hamnet. Noticeably absent were anticipated contenders like Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and Jay Kelly.
International Feature and Documentary Highlights
The Best International Feature shortlist showcases global storytelling at its finest. Among the 15 titles selected:
- Sentimental Value (Norway)
- Sirât (Spain)
- No Other Choice (South Korea)
- The Secret Agent (Brazil)
- It Was Just an Accident (France)
- The President’s Cake (Iraq)
- The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)
Documentary contenders include My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow, The Perfect Neighbor, The Alabama Solution, and Cover-Up. One standout is 2000 Meters to Andriivka, a powerful war documentary co-produced by The Associated Press and PBS Frontline.
Surprises in Visual and Technical Categories
While many contenders fit the mold of Oscar hopefuls, a few outliers made surprising appearances in technical categories. The visual effects shortlist includes critically panned but visually ambitious titles such as Tron: Ares and The Electric State. Notably, Tron: Ares also appears on the shortlists for original score and song, with Nine Inch Nails’ “As Alive As You Need Me To Be.”
Other unexpected entries include The Alto Knights for makeup and hairstyling.
Among score contenders, names like Ludwig Göransson (Sinners), Jonny Greenwood (One Battle After Another), Max Richter (Hamnet), Alexandre Desplat (Frankenstein), and Kangding Ray (Sirât) are poised to compete for a spot among the final five.
What’s Next?
Oscar shortlists are decided by Academy members within each discipline, though each branch follows different voting guidelines. Final nominations for the 2026 Academy Awards will be announced on January 22, with five nominees in each category.
The 98th Oscars ceremony, hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien, will air live on ABC on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET.
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