In less than a week, some of the biggest names in Hollywood will walk the star-studded red carpet, hoping to make history at the prestigious 98th Academy Awards, aka the Oscars. This year's awards season has been exciting and confusing, as well. Movies like Sinners and One Battle After Another dominated the season by winning almost every award on the horizon. Meanwhile, the acting categories, except Best Actress, have been wide open, with multiple contenders trading wins throughout the season.

By winning the Actor Award, Michael B. Jordan has made himself the frontrunner in the Best Actor (Male) race, while a three-way race in the Supporting Actor (Female) category has made this year's Oscars one of the most unpredictable ceremonies in recent memory.

Our staff has been following the awards season closely and has donned the experts' hats to predict which movie or which actor might take home the Golden Statuette. The staff seems to be divided into many categories, with only two categories seeing a unanimous choice. Here’s who we believe will walk away with the coveted trophies.

(Nominees: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams)

Aayush: One Battle After Another, and the reason here is not just the craft, but also the statistics. One Battle After Another has won the Directors Guild of America accolade and had a strong presence at the Producers Guild of America Awards, which becomes a major predictor. With One Battle After Another, Anderson brought together his signature storytelling ambition with large-scale filmmaking, something the Academy tends to reward. When an auteur combines artistic vision with epic scope, the film often becomes a natural Best Picture contender, and this year, it is this.

Manorath: As much as I want ‘Sinners’ to win this, I will have to wear the hat of logic here and hitch my wagon to the One Battle After Another train. So yeah, it's the PTA film for me.

Reubyn: One Battle After Another 

Itti: Sinners because it is the kind of film that swings big and actually pulls it off. Ryan Coogler blends Southern Gothic horror, blues music, and historical drama into something visually striking and emotionally layered. Michael B. Jordan’s dual performance anchors the story, while the film’s exploration of identity, community, and survival in the Jim Crow South gives it real weight beyond the spectacle. With 16 nominations, I think it is going to ace it here!

Hriddhi: One Battle After Another 

Shraddha: One Battle After Another (Will Win): One of the most jarring and emotionally heightened films of the year, the movie sustains an intense charge throughout its runtime with masterclass delivery from its entire ensemble, veteran actors, classic Hollywood A-listers, and supporting standouts. Given the Academy’s tendency to reward films with urgency and thematic weight, films that feel like they matter, this is the kind of sweeping, loaded narrative that tends to resonate strongly with Oscar voters.

2026 Oscar Predictions: Who Will Win At The Academy Awards?

Sinners (Should Win): The Academy needs a breakthrough moment where horror and vampire cinema finally enter the Best Picture conversation seriously, and there cannot be a better start. With its striking musical elements, exceptional color grading, sharp editing, and fluid storytelling that ebbs and flows, allowing the audience moments to process while also having them in a chokehold, Sinners delivers the kind of cinematic momentum and stylistic confidence that makes it a deserving winner. Meanwhile, the biopic lane, such as Marty Supreme, has seen stronger entries in previous years and does not quite carry the seismic Oppenheimer-level buzz that would justify another victory for the genre.

Adiba: Sinners!! (Frankenstein too)

Ajay: One Battle After Another

(Nominees: Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another, Chloe Zhao - Hamnet, Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme, Ryan Coogler - Sinners, and Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value)

Aayush: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another.’The Directors Guild of America award is historically the strongest predictor of the Best Director Oscar. With DGA in his briefcase already, it is almost certain that PTA is winning the Director’s trophy. The film combines his trademark artistry with large-scale production and narrative scope, highlighting the type of directorial command the Academy loves to reward.

Across decades of Oscar history, the DGA winner matches the Academy’s Best Director winner the vast majority of the time. Because DGA voters are working directors, the award often reflects the industry’s internal respect for a filmmaker’s craft.

Manorath: PTA here as well. 

Reubyn: Paul Thomas Anderson 

Itti: Ryan Coogler for Sinners. Coogler’s direction feels bold yet intimate, proving he can balance scale, symbolism, and emotion without losing the human core of the story.

Hriddhi: Paul Thomas Anderson 

Shraddha: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Will Win / Should Win): Gotta give it to Anderson’s masterful direction and storytelling ambition. Leave aside widespread claims; his narrow, narratively driven takeover of solid filmmakers like Ryan Coogler has served him pretty well. Moreover, DGAs have made it clear.

Adiba: Ryan Coogler/Guillermo del Toro (maximalism is back, baby, even the goths love it)

Ajay: Ryan Coogler

(Nominees: Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon, Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another, Michael B. Jordan - Sinners, Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent, and Timothee Chalamet - Marty Supreme)

Aayush: I am going to go way off here and pick Wagner Moura as the winner here. He has the support of the international wing of the Academy voters, and he might turn out to be a surprise winner. 

Manorath: Siding with Michael B. Jordan here. 

Reubyn: Leonardo DiCaprio 

Itti: No matter what he said about ballet and opera becoming art forms that people do not care about anymore, which has gotten him so much heat left and right, Timothée Chalamet deserves it for what he did in Marty Supreme. 

Hriddhi: Michael B. Jordan

Shraddha: Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme (Will Win): Riding massive awards buzz and critical acclaim, Chalamet’s transformative performance has him very well positioned as a strong frontrunner in a fiercely competitive race.

Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Should Win): Despite the claim, no one came close to this massively emotionally layered performance of the year. Not to mention the bounty of strong critical praise and career-best notices, with prior award nods making a strong case for Jordan’s Oscar. 

Adiba: MICHAEL B. JORDAN

Ajay: Michael B. Jordan

(Nominees: Jessie Buckley - Hamnet, Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue, Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You, Emma Stone - Bugonia, and Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value)

Aayush: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet. If you have seen the movie, you will realise the kind of emotions her performance evokes when she is on the screen. She does not just tell the story of her character; she makes us feel every single thing that she feels. There is a reason why the Best Actress race has been so one-sided this year.

Manorath: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet. There is no doubt she is not going to win it. 

Reubyn: Jessie Buckley

Itti: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet. Her portrayal of Agnes, William Shakespeare’s wife, feels deeply lived-in and emotionally raw, capturing a mother navigating love, intuition, and devastating grief after the loss of her child. Buckley moves effortlessly between tenderness and quiet ferocity, making Agnes the emotional center of the film. 

Hriddhi: Jessie Buckley

Shraddha: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (Will Win / Should Win): Buckley’s intense, commanding interpretation has drawn universal appeal. Needless to say, both her artistic standout and Oscar buzz make her a top choice.

Adiba: Jessie Buckely <3

Ajay: Jessie Buckley

(Nominees: Amy Madigan - Weapons, Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value, Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners, and Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value)

Aayush: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Manorath: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Reubyn: Wummi Mosaku

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Itti: Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners. She brings incredible depth to Annie, a spiritual healer and protector of her community, grounding the film’s supernatural chaos with quiet strength and emotional wisdom. 

Hriddhi:  Amy Madigan, Weapons

Shraddha: Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another (Will Win): Taylor’s performance was a scene-stealing dominance that even took over DiCaprio’s in certain moments. About time the African American talent gets her reward.

Ajay: Amy Madigan, Weapons

(Nominees: Sean Penn - One Battle After Another, Delroy Lindo - Sinners, Benicio Del Toro - One Battle After Another, Stellan Skarsgard - Sentimental Value, and Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein)

Aayush: Sean Penn, ‘OBAA’. After a long time, I saw a menacing villain appear on screen, overshadowing everyone. Penn gave a legendary performance that will be remembered for years. Moreover, with wins at the BAFTAs and the Actor Awards, he is the favorite to win. However, Stellan Skarsgard could be the dark horse here. 

Manorath: Sean Penn has bagged both the SAG and the Actor’s Award, and he will bag the Oscar too. 

Reubyn: Sean Penn 

Itti: Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein. Just look at what he did. He deserves it.

Hriddhi: Jacob Elordi

Shraddha: Sean Penn (Will Win): Powerful, flawless veteran performance combined with Academy goodwill, this surely gives Penn a strong edge in a tight supporting race.

Jacob Elordi (Should Win): Elordi’s breakout dramatic turn has to be recognised. There has hardly been such a craze for a rising star, winning critics and fans alike. 

Adiba: Jacob Elordi all the way.

Ajay: Delroy Lindo (But I hope Stellan Skarsgard takes the win)

(Nominees: Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Sirat, and The Voice of Hind Rajab)

Aayush: Sentimental Value. From the very beginning, I wanted The Voice of Hind Rajab to win this accolade. But Oscars have always been about momentum, and Sentimental Value has that momentum. The only movie to eclipse it is The Secret Agent.

Manorath: I know Sentimental Value is a favorite in the category. But I have to pick the Voice of Hind Rajab for my own mental peace. 

Reubyn: Sentimental Value 

Itti: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Tunisia. Gut-wrenching, puts you in the spot to feel and evaluate everything wrong in this world.

Hriddhi: Sentimental Value

Adiba: Voice of Hind Rajab

Ajay: Sentimental Value

(Nominees: K-Pop Demon Hunters, Zootopia 2, Arco, Elio, and Little Amelie or the Character of Rain)

Aayush: K-pop Demon Hunters

Manorath: Yeah, easy win in the bag for Netflix. K-Pop Demon Hunters

Reubyn: K-pop Demon Hunters

Itti: Zootopia 2, because honestly, K-Pop is not it.

Hriddhi: K-pop Demon Hunters

Adiba: Despite how enjoyable it is, K-pop Demon Hunters is not Oscar-worthy, Zootopia 2, it is. 

Ajay: K-Pop Demon Hunters

(Nominees: Ryan Coogler - Sinners, Robert Kaplow - Blue Moon, It Was Just an Accident - Jafar Panahi, Ronald Berstein and Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme, and Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value)

Aayush: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Manorath: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Reubyn: Ryan Coogler, Sinners 

Itti: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Hriddhi: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Adiba: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Ajay: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

(Nominees: Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another, Will Tracy - Bugonia, Guillermo del Toro - Frankenstein, Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Ferrell - Hamnet, and Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar - Train Dreams)

Aayush: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Manorath: I am going to go with Train Dreams here. 

Reubyn: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Itti: Train Dreams. There is no second doubt.

Hriddhi: Train Dreams

Adiba: Frankenstein

Ajay: Train Dreams

(Nominees: Sinners, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Marty Supreme)

Aayush: Sinners

Manorath: Sinners

Reubyn: Sinners

Itti: Sinners

Hriddhi: Sinners

Ajay: Sinners

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What do you think about our staff picks for the 2026 Oscars? Let us know your thoughts.