Admittedly, it’s early to be thinking about Hollywood’s biggest night. The Academy Awards won’t be handed out until March 14 — and even the earliest major ceremony, the Critics Choice Awards, aren’t until the new year. To the movie studios, though, the awards campaign is in full swing, as movies hit theaters and position themselves as likely contenders for top prizes. If you wait until the dead of winter, there will be far too many movies to catch up on, so get a head start: Here are 10 likely nominees that you can watch now (or at least soon).

What 2026 Movies Might Be Up for an Oscar Nomination?

La Bola Negra

Co-director Javier Ambrossi told the Guardian that La Bola Negra, which he made with co-director Javier Calvo and co-screenwriter Alberto Conejero, came out of a desire to make “the biggest, gayest war movie ever.” A sweeping drama that unites stories from three timelines connected by the Spanish Civil War, La Bola Negra already won the Best Director prize at Cannes alongside numerous other festival laurels.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best International Film, many more.

Where to See It: In select theaters starting November 16; streaming on Netflix beginning December 2.

I Play Rocky

Hollywood loves movies about the movies, so I Play Rocky has an easy path to at least getting the Academy’s attention. The film follows a young Sylvester Stallone as he fights to get his screenplay for Rocky produced — with himself playing the title role. Director Peter Farrelly took home Best Picture for Green Book in 2019, so he clearly knows what appeals to the voters; rising star Anthony Ippolito will also try to break through a crowded Best Actor field.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor (Anthony Ippolito); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Casting.

Where to See It: In select theaters starting November 6; in wide release starting November 20.

The Odyssey

The question isn’t whether or not The Odyssey will be an Academy darling — it’s whether or not it can break the record for most nominations. That mark was set just a year ago, when Sinners scored 16 nods; The Odyssey will at least submit for consideration in 19 categories, including multiple possible acting nominations. It also has a good chance of taking home Best Picture; it’s seen as one of the leading early contenders for the night’s top prize, along with La Bola Negra, Project Hail Mary and Wild Horse Nine.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Every possible category.

Where to See It: In theaters now. Available to rent or buy via digital on-demand services starting November 17.

The Invite

It’s a rarity: A lauded comedy with serious awards buzz that’s actually funny. The Invite, a comedy of misunderstandings and relationship trouble directed by Olivia Wilde, is laugh-out-loud funny — a sharp contrast to most awards bait, which is either deadly serious or wryly sardonic. A quartet of excellent performances adds to the film’s Oscar prospects; it’s also a serious comeback for Wilde after the whole Don’t Worry Darling mess.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actress (Olivia Wilde); Best Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz); Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton); Best Adapted Screenplay.

Where to See It: Now streaming on HBO Max.

Primetime

The lukewarm critical and commercial reaction to this film, a fictionalized account of the rapid rise and fall of the television series To Catch a Predator, certainly hurt its Oscar prospects. (The fact that director Lance Oppenheim also has a much more prominent contender — see below — also doesn’t do Primetime any favors.) But Robert Pattinson is deserving of a nomination for his unctuous performance as host Chris Hansen; a nod would cap the actor’s ascent from Twilight heartthrob to thoughtful, nuanced performer.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Actor (Robert Pattinson), Best Supporting Actress (Merritt Wever)

Where to See It: Available to rent or buy via digital on-demand services.

Obsession

Despite usually being a bridesmaid at the Oscars, horror films cleaned up at last year’s ceremony, with Sinners nabbing four trophies, Frankenstein picking up three and Amy Madigan winning Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. While Obsession isn’t likely to break the genre’s Best Picture drought — ongoing since 1991, when Silence of the Lambs claimed all the top prizes — a few nominations are very possible for Curry Barker’s unnerving thriller, particularly a well-deserved Best Actress nod for Inde Navarrette.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actress (Inde Navarrette); Best Original Screenplay

Where to See It: Now streaming on Peacock.

Project Hail Mary

Each year, a few movies remain in Oscar contention for (what should be) the purest reason: They’re very, very good. Such is the case with Project Hail Mary, the science-fiction epic starring Ryan Gosling as a wayward astronaut who befriends an unusual alien named Rocky. The film, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Andy Weir (who also wrote The Martian), was both a box-office hit and universally respected — enough to not only keep it in the race, but even to be considered a possible Best Picture winner.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Supporting Actress (Sandra Hüller), Best Adapted Screenplay, most craft categories.

Where to See It: Now streaming on Prime Video.

Wild Horse Nine

Writer/director Martin McDonagh’s previous film, The Banshees of Inisherin, received eight Oscar nominations; it did not, however, take any prizes home. If current odds hold, Wild Horse Nine may do better: John Malkovich, who stars as an aging CIA operative, is the current favorite to win Best Actor. It would both be an acknowledgement of a great performance and a de facto lifetime achievement award for the widely respected actor — and the Academy is fond of giving out acting prizes to overdue stars.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actor (John Malkovich); Best Supporting Actor (Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi); Best Supporting Actress (Mariana di Girolamo, Parker Posey); Best Original Screenplay; Best Casting; Best Score.

Where to See It: In theaters now.

Wildwood

It’s the longest work of stop-motion animation ever made, clocking in at 132 minutes. That in and of itself is a monumental achievement considering the extraordinary effort required to capture every frame; the fact that Wildwood is universally acclaimed (currently sitting at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes) means that this heartwarming fable won’t just be a nominee, but should duke it out with Toy Story 5 for Best Animated Feature.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Animated Feature; Best Score.

Where to See It: In theaters now.

You Can See Everything

Who would’ve thought a three-hour documentary about Elizabeth Holmes would be a top Oscar contender? Certainly no one before You Can See Everything debuted as a surprise screening in September at the Telluride Film Festival. You know the story from there: The doc became the center of film discourse as it sold out cinemas en route to establishing itself as one of the most successful, and talked about, documentaries of all time. So rapturous is the response that there’s even speculation of a category-breaking acting nomination for … well, that would be a spoiler.

Possible Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Supporting Actress; Best Documentary Feature

Where to See It: In theaters now.

Read Sean Collier’s movie reviews in our guide to the arts, culture, and entertainment.

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

Featured Photo Courtesy of The Academy

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