'Tis the season of the golden statuette, inciting whispers of predictions, thumping hearts, and decisions that could change the lives of some thespians forever. The Academy, through its unique tempo, begins the year with autumn's initial contender hints and concludes with the Oscar award ceremony. The 98th Academy Awards voting period, however, functions as the most essential turn of the season because it determines the winners. 

Cloaked within an invisible core, the Academy members conduct their final evaluation of performances, directors, screenplays, and technical artistry before results become official. 

The 2026 Oscars will begin their essential final round of voting period on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 9 AM PT and continue until Thursday, March 5, 2026. During this time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members will vote to select the winners of the industry's top awards, which include Best Picture as well as acting, directing, writing, and technical awards. Oscar voting occurs via secret online ballots, which are counted by the independent firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

This voting period, which lasts for 8 days, becomes crucial for contenders because films achieve their winning momentum during this time. The films that received steady backing from critics who supported these movies due to their industry recognition, as well as favorable audience responses, tend to emerge as the winners after the final voting period. This is because at this juncture the Academy voters consider memorable screenings and campaign events, and the likes to give a final push to the nominees.

The choices that audience members make before the deadline on March 5 will establish the path that leads to the Oscars, which will take place on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The primary voting procedure for all 24 categories not only includes the determination of winners but also nominations (January 12-16, 2026), which are picked by eligible members from all 19 Academy branches in the case of Best Picture.

In the final voting round, all eligible Academy members may vote in all 24 award categories, which concludes this Thursday at 5 PM PT. Movie buffs will find this timeline exciting because Academy voting results will determine Oscar race outcomes, cementing the ranks of their favorite movies of the year as well as actors in history.

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From literary adaptations to period pieces and intensely sentimental family dramas, this year's contenders list for the Oscars is one for the history books.

The Best Picture lineup for the Oscars 2026 includes Bugonia, F1, Sinners, Sentimental Value, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Train Dreams. The Best Director category includes nominees Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another, and Ryan Coogler for Sinners.

The Best Actor category will have Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, and Wagner Moura compete against each other. And the Best Actress category will see Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve, and Emma Stone battle for the ultimate win.

The Best Supporting Actor category includes nominees Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn for One Battle After Another, Delroy Lindo for Sinners, and Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value, while the Best Supporting Actress category includes Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Amy Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Teyana Taylor. With a new casting category launched this year, the competition is going to be as enticing as enriching for Hollywood as the voting period ends.

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Who will end up winning major votes? Let us know your predictions in the comments.