The main film ceremony of the year will take place in Hollywood on the night of March 16. Who will win the Oscar in the Best Picture category – “Sinners” or “One Battle After Another”? Will Jesse Buckley receive a well-deserved statuette for her brilliant work in the drama “Hamnet”? What are the chances of director Chloe Zhao winning an Oscar for the third time? The Vogue Ukraine editorial team shares its own predictions and favorites.
Best film
Favorite: “Sinners”
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The battle in the main category will be hot, as both favorite films are at the top of the world critics' and bookmakers' predictions. Ryan Coogler's “The Sinners” – a horror film set in Mississippi in the 1930s and about two gangster brothers who encounter vampires – has a record 16 Oscar nominations, while the drama “One Battle After Another” by one of the brightest directors of modern America, Paul Thomas Anderson – has 13.
Both films deserve to win. But most critics agree that on the night of March 16, we will see the triumph of “Sinners”, because it is a strong psychological drama that raises racial issues, and the Academy has been sympathetic to this topic in recent years. The film is also distinguished by the bright works of actors who have not previously been awarded nominations or victories. In particular, Michael B. Jordan brilliantly talented and flexible embodies the role of both brothers, Smoke and Stack, who must fight supernatural evil. Also in “Sinners” is the breakthrough work of Miles Caton – a 20-year-old actor who played a young musician, making his debut with this role in a big movie. In the winter, he was awarded the award for best young actor at the Critics Choice Awards 2026.
Read more arguments in favor of “Sinners” at the link.
Best Director
Favorite: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Paul Thomas Anderson, 55, is one of the leading directors of our time, having given us a number of talented films, such as “Phantom Thread”, “The Master” or “Oil”. The irony is that Anderson, a prizewinner at three of the world's leading film festivals – Cannes, Venice, Berlin – and a 14-time Oscar nominee, has never won one. But it seems that this year will be a just triumph for the director. The situation is reminiscent of 2024, when Christopher Nolan finally received a statuette for “Oppenheimer”.
Anderson is a master of making complex psychological films, with his characteristic slow style and original, often shocking plot twists. His film “One Battle After Another” is equally stunning. It tells the story of Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a former hippie, drug addict and alcoholic who falls in love with the detached Profidia (Teyana Taylor). The girl reciprocates him and leaves Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn) to be with Bob. However, Lockjaw, a white supremacist (ideology of a racist direction), who does not forgive such actions, takes revenge on the couple 16 years later by kidnapping their common daughter.
Recall that Paul Thomas Anderson's revolutionary epic has already collected major awards at the Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Producers Guild Awards. “One Battle After Another” surprises, shocks, makes you talk about yourself and rethink everything you've seen before.
But it would be unfair not to mention Chloe Zhao in this category. As in recent years, there is only one woman in the running for the Oscar for Best Director in 2026, and that is two-time winner Zhao, who directed Hamnet. If the Academy awards her a third time, it will be well-deserved.
Best Actress
Favorite: Jessie Buckley , “Hamnet”
This year, the talk of the town is all about Jessie Buckley, the 36-year-old Irish star who delivers an uncompromising, nerve-wracking performance that has impressed critics and audiences alike in “Hamnet,” a film about William Shakespeare's private life. She won a Golden Globe in January and is almost certain to win an Oscar.
Buckley's name may seem unfamiliar to you, but you've definitely seen her on screen: in the TV series “Chernobyl,” the films “The Lost Daughter,” which earned her an Oscar nomination, or “Women Speak.” Buckley is a graduate of one of the most famous theater schools in the world, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and has extensive experience working in the theater – including at the “Globe” in the production of Shakespearean plays, which is considered the best school for an actor in Britain.
The Irish actress works in film on the principle of “giving it all”. She put her heart and soul into “Hamnet”, which tells the heartbreaking story of the loss of a son by Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, which ultimately led to the writing of “Hamlet”. Her marathon of acting awards this year is like a train that is rushing without stopping. She has already won awards at the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Screen Actors Guild Awards – and seems almost invincible.
Best Actor
Favorite: Michael B. Jordan , ” Sinners”
Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan and Wagner Moura: the main “male” category this year is full of stars (by the way, Wagner Moura, who played in the film “The Secret Agent”, is the first Brazilian to win a Golden Globe).
Many are rooting for Timothée Chalamet, who demonstrated remarkable dramatic talent in “Marty Supreme”, but recently he has been involved in scandals due to some comments in interviews (in particular, Timothy also spoke about his great chances of winning an Oscar), and the Academy does not like it when actors allow themselves to be impudent. Leonardo DiCaprio has a good chance of winning – in Paul Thomas Anderson's film he played one of his most difficult roles, once again demonstrating his comedic talent and ability to be an emotionally open actor. But it is likely that the winner will be Michael B. Jordan, who played two characters at the same time in “Sinners”, which became an emotional and physical challenge for him. And as history shows, the Academy likes it when actors test themselves.
Best Supporting Actress
Favorite: Teyana Taylor , “One Battle After Another”
Five wonderful actresses will compete for the win: Elle Fanning for “Sentimental Value,” Teyana Taylor for “One Battle After Another,” Wunmi Mosaku for “Sinners,” Amy Madigan for “Armed,” and Inga Ybsdotter Lilleos for “Sentimental Value.” The latter was a real discovery in this category: in Joachim Trier's tender family drama, she played so that it literally breaks the heart.
But I want to wish victory this year to 35-year-old Teyana Taylor, one of the most talked-about women of the season, who opened the film “One Battle After Another”. But not only. First, she attracted attention on the red carpet of the Golden Globes with a spicy image of Schiaparelli, and a few hours later she went on stage for her first major award – Taylor won in the category “Best Supporting Actress”. Her touching speech, in which she spoke about the power of women and the right to dreams, became one of the main moments of the award, because she began her journey in show business at the age of 15 and went to recognition for many years. So this victory will be a logical support not only for her, but also for young women around the world, whose path was not easy.
Best Supporting Actor
Favorite: Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”
The nomination that is currently the most in doubt. Until the last moment, its favorite was Sean Penn from “One Battle After Another”, who won back-to-back BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards. However, it seems that if we evaluate purely the acting work, the Oscar deserves Stellan Skarsgård, the recent winner of the Golden Globe, who is extremely subtle and strong in Joachim Trier's drama “Sentimental Value”. It is a prickly, complex and powerful role from a 74-year-old actor who has been working tirelessly for more than half a century. If this is not Oscar-level, then what is? Moreover, Skarsgård is willing to play by the rules of the awards season and is diligently conducting his campaign.
But whoever wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor will be well-deserved. Benicio Del Toro (The Last Battle) already has an Oscar, but he's as charming as ever as the sensei with a heart of gold. Delroy Lindo from The Sinners, at 73, is another legend who's too often underestimated (after the audience accepted his closing speech at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, it became clear that if he won, the room would simply explode with joy). And Jacob Elordi was brilliant in Frankenstein.
Best International Feature Film
Favorite: “Sentimental Value”
We are rooting for Joachim Trier to win Best International Film with Sentimental Value, which will be Norway's first Oscar win in this category. Trier won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival last year, but the Oscars have every chance of transforming him from a European film star into a Hollywood master, drawing the attention of major studios.
One of Scandinavia's most interesting filmmakers, Joachim Trier breaks stereotypes about the emotional reserve of the Nordic personality. His focus is on a young generation of Norwegians, who are desperately trying to cope with their explosive emotions, past traumas and mistakes that together shape their characters. The universality of these anxieties, wrapped in a mesmerizing audiovisual form, resonates strongly with audiences around the world.
His “Sentimental Value” is primarily a story of family trauma, with excellent acting (including stars Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning), and if the Academy is moved by this intimate but brilliant picture, it's a good sign.
Best Costume Design
Favorite: “Frankenstein”
The Best Costume Design category is a big one this year, with some of the most talented talent in the profession. Two-time Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter (The Sinners) would certainly be a worthy winner, as would Miyako Bellizzi for Marty Supreme. But in terms of wow factor, the most stunning costumes of 2025 were created by Kate Gowley for Frankenstein.
In this film, Hawley achieves the seemingly impossible: she dresses the reckless scientist Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac, in luxurious velvet coats and breathtaking jewelry. Mia Goth, as Elizabeth, the object of his passion, wears silk ball gowns with a solar system-patterned pattern; bright, opulent veils; feather hair ornaments resembling halos; fans framed by tulle; rare Tiffany & Co. archival jewelry.
The costumes for Frankenstein have already won the designer a BAFTA, a Critics' Choice Award and a Costume Designers Guild Award for Best Costume Design in a Historical Feature. And these are exactly the kind of costumes that the Academy traditionally loves to celebrate – lavish, detailed looks for large-scale costume dramas. However, Gowley's outfits have another feature: they have a surreal, almost otherworldly futurism that makes these looks completely unique. By the way, this is the first Oscar nomination for Kate Gowley, who, among other things, designed the costumes for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.