Oscars

All the films nominated for the 2026 Academy Awards: how to watch them on Netflix, HBO, Prime Video, Disney+

We review where to watch and which are the top contenders this year according to the betting odds and the awards already given.

David Arroyo

Update: Mar 13th, 2026 12:13 EDT

The full list of Oscar nominees is finally here, and the road to the 2026 Academy Awards has begun. The season will reach its peak during the ceremony held overnight from March 15 to 16.

The Sinners has already made history as the most‑nominated film ever, setting up a fierce showdown with One Battle After Another in several major categories, including Best Picture. In the meantime, it’s the perfect moment to catch up on the films the Academy is celebrating.

‘One Battle After Another’

Streaming on HBO Max
MeriStation review: “Look no further — the movie of the year is here.”

Despite being overlooked by the Oscars in the past, this finally looks like Paul Thomas Anderson’s year. The filmmaker behind There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, and Boogie Nights delivers a wildly entertaining, high‑octane action film that doubles as a sharp portrait of America’s political and social climate.

With powerhouse performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn—both near‑locks for Oscar nominations—the movie skewers everything from government cruelty and elite‑driven immigration policies to the absurdity and volatility of the opposing side. Anderson blends razor‑sharp dialogue, laugh‑out‑loud moments, emotional beats, and adrenaline‑charged sequences into one of the standout cinematic achievements of the 21st century.

‘The Sinners’

Streaming on HBO Max and Movistar Plus+
MeriStation review: “Vampires set to blues in the Deep South of the 1930s.”

It’s rare for a film that premieres as early as April 2025 to stay in the Oscar conversation a full year later, but The Sinners has managed to unite critics and audiences in a way few expected. The movie became both a critical darling and a box‑office smash, with many calling it the best film of the year—at least until One Battle After Another arrived.

Set in early‑20th‑century Mississippi, this vampire tale blends supernatural horror with a powerful racial drama. It has everything: a show‑stopping musical number, an exuberant cast, lush production design, and the star power of director Ryan Coogler and lead actor Michael B. Jordan, reuniting after Black Panther and Creed. With three Golden Globes already under its belt, it’s one of the major contenders this season.

‘Hamnet’

Still in theaters
Review: Chloé Zhao’s film that could dethrone ‘Una batalla tras otra’ at the Oscars

Chloé Zhao, who won Best Picture and Best Director for Nomadland, returns with another awards juggernaut. Hamnet dominated the Toronto International Film Festival and took home the Golden Globe for Best Drama. Now the question is whether it can repeat Zhao’s Oscar triumph.

Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, the film explores the emotional origins of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Paul Mescal (Gladiator) plays a shattered version of the playwright grappling with the death of his son, while Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter) delivers a towering performance as his wife, Agnes. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Hamnet is an intimate, poetic drama about grief, creativity, and the birth of a literary masterpiece.

‘Marty Supreme’

Review: Timothée Chalamet reaches the greatness he’s been chasing

Anyone who thought Timothée Chalamet missed his shot at Oscar glory after A Complete Unknown was mistaken. His latest project is a high‑energy biopic about Marty Reisman, one of the most iconic table‑tennis players in U.S. history.

Directed by Josh Safdie and co‑starring Gwyneth Paltrow, the film races through Reisman’s life, highlighting the risky hustles and underground tricks he used to survive between tournaments. It’s part sports drama, part love story, part crime tale—and it features what many are calling the best performance of Chalamet’s career.

‘Sentimental Value’

Streaming on Movistar and Filmin starting March 27
Review: A masterpiece poised to shake up the Oscars

Joachim Trier, who broke out internationally with The Worst Person in the World, returns with Sentimental Value, a film that has swept awards at Cannes, Toronto, and Locarno. It’s tender, sharp, and features the year’s best cinephile joke—hidden in plain sight.

The story follows a once‑legendary filmmaker, now in decline, who decides to make a movie about his own family after the death of his wife. The decision sparks conflict with his two daughters, especially when he offers the lead role to the one who’s an actress—and she refuses, still hurt by years of absence and neglect. With echoes of Ingmar Bergman, Trier crafts a moving drama about home, communication, and the fractures that shape families. The cast—Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, and Stellan Skarsgård—shines throughout.

‘Frankenstein’

Streaming on Netflix
MeriStation review: “A film as beautiful as it is hollow.”

Guillermo del Toro’s long‑awaited adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic is finally here, and Oscar voters are paying close attention. Del Toro has spent more than 30 years developing this version, which trades the supernatural for science and re-imagines the creature as a symbol of abandonment, identity, and the search for meaning.

The film is a visual fable steeped in melancholy, compassion, and existential dread, featuring an all‑star cast: Oscar Isaac, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, and Jacob Elordi. Its gothic production design recalls Crimson Peak, while its themes echo Nightmare Alley. It’s become Netflix’s flagship contender this awards season.

‘The Secret Agent’

Still in theaters
Review: A film with a touch of the “Assassin’s Creed syndrome”

Brazilian cinema continues its hot streak. After last year’s I’m Still Here made the final Oscar shortlist, The Secret Agent is now emerging as the country’s next big contender.

Set in 1977 during Brazil’s military dictatorship, the political thriller follows Marcelo, a professor and tech expert hunted by a government that rules through repression, surveillance, and paranoia. Violent, layered, and unflinching in its portrayal of a brutal era, the film’s standout is Wagner Moura (Narcos), who may be Timothée Chalamet’s biggest rival this awards season.

‘Train Dreams’

Streaming on Netflix
Review: A sublime Joel Edgerton meets pure cinematic beauty

The biggest surprise of the list is this intimate, deeply human film whose cinematography evokes Terrence Malick. Joel Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, a man living in the vast forests of the American West. The film spans decades of his life, capturing universal themes—love, loss, identity, time—through small, delicate moments.

More than its plot, Train Dreams stands out for its breathtaking imagery, meditative pacing, and the quiet emotional atmosphere it creates the moment it begins to play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd_5HcTujfc&pp=ygUe4oCYQnVnb25pYeKAmSBvZmZpY2lhbCB0cmFpbGVy0gcJCcUKAYcqIYzv

‘Bugonia’

In theaters; available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Rakuten TV, and Prime Video
MeriStation review: “A wild sci‑fi oddity that could use a little more green.”

The creative partnership between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone is now approaching the legendary status of DiCaprio and Scorsese. After The Favourite and Poor Things, their latest collaboration is a bold satire blending sci‑fi, dark humor, and conspiracy‑theory paranoia.

The story follows two young people who kidnap the CEO of a major corporation, convinced she’s an alien. Expect symmetrical shots, uncomfortable dialogue, and a deeply unsettling atmosphere—classic Lanthimos.

‘F1: The Movie’

Streaming on Apple TV
Review: A thrilling spectacle that raises the bar for racing films

One of the dark‑horse contenders for a Best Picture nomination, F1: The Movie ultimately made the cut—proof of its impressive craftsmanship. As reviewers put it: “It’s pure Formula 1 and a luxurious window into the thrill of competition. Maybe there’s a bit too much fiction driving the plot, but who cares? This is exactly the kind of spectacle we go to the movies for.”

‘Sirat: Trance in the Desert’

Premiered June 6, 2025; now streaming on Movistar+

Spain’s official Oscar submission joins a prestigious list of past contenders in the Best International Feature category. The film follows Luis and his son Esteban as they arrive at a remote rave in the mountains and deserts of Morocco, searching for Mar, the family’s missing eldest daughter.

From there, Óliver Laxe turns the story into a physical and moral odyssey—hypnotic at times—where electronic music, sand, and exhaustion strip life down to its essentials: family, guilt, faith, and the terrifying possibility of crossing a bridge with no way back.