ReasonForOurHope

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Sunday Best: Oscar Game and Predictions 2026

   


Tonight are the Oscars.  

This used to be my yearly Super Bowl.  And while the bloom is off the rose, I still watch every year.

Once again, there are not many movies to root for.  In fact, if you read my mini review roundup, you know that most of the movies nominated are pretty awful.

What is interesting is that the race is in a constant state of flux.  At first it seemed like One Battle After Another had a lock on most of the awards and then Timothée Chalamet was definitely going to win the Best Actor Oscar.  But Sinners has gained a lot of momentum and it is a more entertaining movie than either of those other films (except for Frankenstein and F1).


Here are some of my main predictions:

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Honestly, this is a toss-up between this and Sinners.  Rather than being an artistic judgment, I think this is more about who has the momentum of popularity.  And while Sinners has won more of the recent awards and has the most overall nominations, Sinners was actually a hit at the box office.  I think this is more of a detriment to its chances of winning, since the Oscars likes to give consolation prizes to the movies that Hollywood thinks we should like than the ones that are actually popular.  However, I was wrong about Conclave last year, so who knows?


Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme


Last year I went with my gut and said Chalamet was going to win, but I was wrong.  And here I am doing it again.  But as much as I loathed Marty Supreme, his performance is outstanding and it really is the best of the year.  Chalamet proves he can do difficult independet films like this and big franchise like Dune.   I think he deserves this, but Michael B. Jordan might come away with the upset win.


Best Actress: Jessie Buckley

I haven't seen this movie, but all of the smart money is on her.  I also think she is lucky that voting ended before the bomb of The Bride! was released.


Best Supporting Actor/Actress:  Sean Penn/Amy Madigan

Penn was awful in One Battle After Another (don't get me wrong, he is a fantastic actor, but he is given nothing interesting to work with in the material), but he will probably win.  Madigan's twisted villain made and impression.  I didn't recognizer as the lead actress from Field of Dreams, she was so distorted and horrific.  I think her award would be well deserved.


Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Anderson is a very skilled director.  The problem is that the story he directed was not worth telling.  But he showed enough skill and it was popular enough with Hollywood brain trust that I think he will come out ahead here.  As someone who thinks that action movies can be the purest form of cinema, I would like to Kosinski win for F1, but that won't happen.


This is also the last chance to enter the Oscar Game.  Just fill out the chart below.  The winner will get bragging rights and a mention on this blog.  And just to keep everything above board, I am publishing my votes for tonight as well.

Good luck and enjoy the Oscars tonight!

Click the link below to play the game.
Link







Here are my choices so far:

BEST PICTURE - MY CHOICEF1 (Apple); Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
BEST PICTURE - MY PREDICTIONOne Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers
BEST DIRECTOR - MY CHOICESinners (Warner Bros.), Ryan Coogler
BEST DIRECTOR - MY PREDICTIONOne Battle After Another (Warner Bros.), Paul Thomas Anderson
BEST ACTOR - MY CHOICETimothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme (A24)
BEST ACTOR - MY PREDICTIONTimothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme (A24)
BEST ACTRESS - MY CHOICEKate Hudson in Song Sung Blue (Focus Features)
BEST ACTRESS - MY PREDICTIONJessie Buckley in Hamnet (Focus Features)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY CHOICEJacob Elordi in Frankenstein (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY PREDICTIONSean Penn in One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY CHOICEAmy Madigan in Weapons (Warner Bros.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY PREDICTIONAmy Madigan in Weapons (Warner Bros.)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICEFrankenstein (Netflix); Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTIONOne Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICESinners (Warner Bros.); Written by Ryan Coogler
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTIONSinners (Warner Bros.); Written by Ryan Coogler
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY CHOICEFrankenstein (Netflix); Alexandre Desplat
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY PREDICTIONSinners (Warner Bros.); Ludwig Goransson
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY CHOICE“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix); Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY PREDICTION“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix); Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY CHOICEKPop Demon Hunters (Netflix); Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTIONKPop Demon Hunters (Netflix); Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY CHOICETrain Dreams (Netflix), Adolpho Veloso
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY PREDICTIONSinners (Warner Bros.), Autumn Durald Arkapaw
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY CHOICEFrankenstein (Netflix); Kate Hawley
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY PREDICTIONFrankenstein (Netflix); Kate Hawley
BEST FILM EDITING - MY CHOICEF1 (Apple); Stephen Mirrione
BEST FILM EDITING - MY PREDICTIONOne Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Andy Jurgensen
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY CHOICEFrankenstein (Netflix); Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY PREDICTIONFrankenstein (Netflix); Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY CHOICEFrankenstein (Netflix); Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY PREDICTIONFrankenstein (Netflix); Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
BEST SOUND - MY CHOICEF1 (Apple) Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta
BEST SOUND - MY PREDICTIONF1 (Apple) Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY CHOICEAvatar: Fire and Ash (Walt Disney); Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY PREDICTIONAvatar: Fire and Ash (Walt Disney); Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
BEST CASTING - MY PREDICTIONMarty Supreme (A24); Jennifer Venditti
BEST CASTING - MY CHOICESinners (Warner Bros.); Francine Maisler
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTIONNorway, Sentimental Value
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - MY PREDICTIONThe Perfect Neighbor (Netflix); Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - MY PREDICTIONAll the Empty Rooms (Netflix); Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTIONButterfly (Sacrebleu Productions); Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTIONA Friend of Dorothy; Lee Knight and James Dean

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