Pop Culture Happy Hour - 2026 Oscar Nominations

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

This year’s Oscars nominations are here, and we’re unpacking record-breaking nominations for Sinners, plus nominations for One Battle After Another and Hamnet. And as always, there’s an eclectic mix of heavy favorites, left-field surprises, and the dreaded snubs. We give a broad sense of this year’s major storylines, while also lamenting a few decisions we found baffling.By the way, you can check out our episodes on the nominees here:BugoniaF1FrankensteinHamnetMarty SupremeOne Battle After AnotherThe Secret Agent Sentimental ValueSinnersSubscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhourSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

If you loved Sinners, Marty Supreme, or one battle after another, you're probably pleased with how nominations unfolded for this year's Oscars. Sinners alone picked up an all-time record 16 nominations, while one battle after another received 13. And as always, there's an eclectic mix of heavy favorites, left-field surprises, and the dreaded snubs. I'm Stephen Thompson, and today we are talking about this year's Oscar nominations on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour.

Here with me are my co-hosts, Aisha Harris. Hey, Aisha. Hello, Stephen. And Glenn Weldon, hey, Glenn. Kate Hudson. Hey, Stephen. So we are going to run down some of the major categories here. We can't get to every category.

And we'll bring you our predictions in an episode that'll run closer to March's ceremony. But we wanted to give a broad sense of this year's major storylines while also lamenting a few decisions we found baffling. I'm going to start us off by running down the nominees for Best Picture. There are 10 in all. Bagonia, Jorgos Lantamos' movie where Emma Stone's high-powered CEO is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists and accused of being an alien. F-1. Brad Pitt plays a veteran F-1 driver who clashes with a young hot shot. Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro's take on the Mary Shelley classic.

Jacob Allorty plays The Creature and Oscar Isaac is the scientist. Hamnet. A young English couple meets, falls in love, has children, and suffers an unspeakable tragedy. One of them happens to be William Shakespeare, who goes on to write Hamlet. Marty Supreme, Timothy Salome, plays a working-class heel, aiming to become a table tennis champion in the 1950s. One battle after another, Paul Thomas Anderson's action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up ex-revolutionary, whose past comes back to haunt him. The Secret Agent, a former researcher, is caught up. in the political turmoil of the Brazilian military dictatorship in 1977. Sentimental value, Stellan Scarsguard, is a filmmaker attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughters,

and it proves that at the very least, the tension between art and parenthood is complicated. Sinners, Ryan Coogler's movie finds Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers, who opened a 1930s juke joint, and opening night does not go as planned when a bloodthirsty menace appears outside, vampires, we're talking about vampires, and finally, train. Dreams, which follows the life of a logger and railroad worker in a rapidly changing America of the early 20th century. You've got everything from F1 to train dreams and from very fast to not as fast. What do you all think?

Well, let's get our wins in when we can, right? There's no bloated biopics this year that kind of soak up Oscars like a sponge. I mean, Marty Supreme doesn't count. But nobody put Gary Oldman under layers of jowls. So let's take that as a win. That is a win. And ever since the Oscars expanded the number of nominations for Best Picture, you've tended to see more genre fair, kind of elbowing its way into the mix.

So this year you've got horror, you know, sinners in Frankenstein. They've got science fiction for begonia. F1 is a sports movie. And the Secret Agent is kind of a thriller. There's genre fair, genre adjacent. They're not melodrama. They're not biopic. They don't read as, you know, traditional Oscar bait.

I think that's a hopeful sign. Yeah. I mean, look, am I annoyed that I have to watch F1 now? Yes. Yes. Yes. I hear you. But I'm also very pleased that I don't have to watch Avatar.

So you take your wins when you can get them, where you can get them, right? Yeah, I mean, I think what's interesting about this is that, you know, that widening of the Oscars umbrella now, which has been, you know, existed for a while. It's nice to see something like The Secret Agent, which is a Brazilian film in there. I would have loved to see no other choice that Pakchan U. film, which I thought was fantastic. The Korean film, that's really, really amazing, and I hope more people seek it

out. But overall, like Glenn said, nothing too surprising here other than F1. Yeah, there were several international films in the mix for Best Picture this year. The ones that got in were sentimental value, which we'll talk about a lot more, and the Secret Agent, the ones that didn't make it into the major category, to the Best Picture category, were Sarat

and it was just an accident. Both of those got international feature knots, so that's okay. But yeah, I agree. No other choice got shut out of both categories. That sucks. Yeah, and not a great year for your prestige franchise movies. Not only was Avatar almost entirely shut out. It kind of eeked into technical stuff. Wicked for Good shut out completely. We'll get to supporting actress, but also not nominated for Best Original Song. They were too greedy. They should have just made it one movie. I will stand by that. I will die on that hill. They got too greedy. All right. Well, let's run

through the nominees for actress in a leading role, starting with Jesse Buckley for Hamnet. She plays a witchy young free spirit named Agnes, who falls in love with William Shakespeare. Rose Byrne, for If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You. Byrne plays a therapist shouldering all the responsibility of caring for her ill daughter, while her emotionally absent husband is a way for work. Kate Hudson for Song-sung Blue. Hudson plays a down-on-er-luck musician, who teams up with Hugh Jackman to form a Neil Diamond tribute band. Renata Rinesva for sentimental value. She plays a stage actress who reunites with her

estranged father when he offers her the lead role in his next film. And Emma Stone for Bagonia, Stone plays a high-powered CEO who is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists who think she's an alien. What do you all think of this field? I mean, Glenn already mentioned Kate Hudson. Look, I had seen her name starting to creep up in predictions, so I guess I wasn't totally blindsided by this. at the same time, her? And look, I'm going to be fully honest. I have not watched this movie yet. So this is coming from a place of my own expectations or thoughts and whatever about what this movie is about and Kate Hudson herself.

It was a long shot, but it felt like a missed opportunity for Tessa Thompson to get in here for Hedda, Nia da Cosa's Hedda. It's one of my favorite movies of last year. And look, I know it's really historically hard for a black woman not named Viola Davis to get nominated in this category. And as history has proven, it's even more hard, difficult for one to actually win, because Halliberry remains the only Black woman to win in this category. But I just, Kate Hudson, again, haven't seen it, but there are like four other names, including Tessa Thompson's that I would have cycled in here before I would put her here. Glenn?

Yeah, I mean, Buckley and Byrne, certainly, and to a lesser extent, stone were considered locks. I mean, Reinsva was more an outlier, but she made it in. Hudson, whatever. one of those folks nudged Chase Infinity, and Chase Infinity was in the mix in a big way. For one battle after another. For one battle after another. So she was knocked out of this category, but she's young. She's a star.

She'll be back. Yeah. Yeah. It's still unusual. I mean, one battle after another received 13 nominations. So it was a little bit of a surprise to see her nudged out here. There was also some discussion of Amanda Seifred for the Testament of Anne Lee. Right.

She didn't get nominated either. And I think as we catch up with Song Song Song Blue, maybe we'll be like, look, Kate Hudson, a revelation. I like Kate Hudson. She's fun and glass onion. But, you know, maybe we'll change our tune. But that felt surprising. The other thing I will add is that I do think we've kind of hit a point now where Emma Stone can get nominated for basically doing anything.

And this is not to take away from her performance in Bagonia. Yeah, not fair. She's very good in this movie. She's very, very good. But then, I mean, we'll talk about this category later. But, like, then Jesse Plemons, I think, is also equally. equally very good, if not more dynamic, I think. He has more to do, at least, I think, than Emma Stone does in Bagonia. So, I don't know. Again, no, no shade to her, but I also think her name is just always a lock now,

whether or not there are other performances that I think might have been better. And, you know, I think that's kind of the stage we're at now with someone like Emma Stone. So that's how I'll say about that. All right, let's do actor in a leading role. I'm going to run down the nominees. He's Timothy Shalamee for Marty Supreme. He plays Marty Mouser, a scoundrel, a hustler, and an aspiring world champion in table tennis. Leonardo DiCaprio for one battle after another. DeCaprio plays a washed up ex-revolutionary, whose past catches up with him. Ethan Hawk for Blue Moon.

Hawk plays songwriter Lorenz Hart on the worst night of his life, the opening of Oklahoma on Broadway. Michael B. Jordan for sinners. He plays the twins Smoke and Stack, who face off. against vampires when they open a juke joint. And Wagner Mora for the secret agent, Mora plays a researcher who goes into hiding during Brazil's military dictatorship. How about this field?

Well, at some point today, Shalomey's going to give an interview where he says, yeah, my agent called and woke me up and I was really, don't believe it. Don't believe it. He's probably already given that interview. Timmy was up. He had six empty Red Bulls on the coffee table in front of him.

He was waiting for this. He and DiCaprio were the locks. Jordan, too, Jordan, especially because he's playing two different roles and you forget the same actor. So the pleasant surprises for me were Wagner Mora, an incredibly soulful performance that really brings that film together. And Ethan Hawke, I'm so glad that the voters saw Blue Moon and saw what we saw in it. We saw a tremendous performance by Ethan Hawk.

Yeah, I was so pleased to see Ethan Hawk here. That was one of my favorite performances of last year. And if you go back and rewatch the announcement of this category, the fanfare that explodes when Michael B. Jordan's name is called. Oh, yeah. That was me on the inside, sitting by myself on my couch watching it. I was like, yes. Sinners was a favorite in the room.

Cinsers was a big favorite. It was obviously a favorite because, you know, it did have the most nominations. It broke the record for nominations. I am just very happy to see the kid who went from the wire and Friday Night Lights to becoming the muse of Ryan Coogler. I am just so pleased to see that here. And Wagner, too. Like, it's a nice mix, unsurprising mix, but also nice to see overall. Yeah.

And when you look at the performances that weren't nominated, Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams is a very lauded performance. Jesse Plemons for Bagonia, Aisha, you already mentioned. There were more kind of Oscar-level performances this year than there were slots. Agreed. Yep. Okay, we're going to talk about the supporting performances as well as Best Director, but first, let's take a quick break. Welcome back. Next up, we've got the category actress in a supporting role.

I'm going to run down the nominations. L. Fanning for sentimental value. Fanning plays an American actress who is cast as the star of a Norwegian filmmaker's passion project. Inga Ibsdaughter Lilos for sentimental value. Lelos plays the estranged daughter of a Norwegian filmmaker. Amy Madigan for weapons. Madigan plays Aunt Gladys, who plays a role in the disappearance of 17 children. Bummi Musaku for sinners. Musaku plays a hoodoo conjurer and healer who has a deep relationship with Michael B. Jordan. character Smoke, and Tiana Taylor, for one battle after another, Taylor plays an ex-revolutionary named Perfidia Beverly Hills, who goes into hiding. What do you all think? I mean, Tiana Taylor has had the smoke, the heat, all of that from day one, more or less. I've said what I've

said about what I think about that character. I don't think it's the performance, though. I think she's bringing as much as it can to a very underwritten character. So not at all surprised to see her here. And similarly, really, Wuni Misaku has had the same sort of heat. So I'm not surprised to see them here. I think for me, the pleasant surprise was El Fanning. I know she was in the mix here, but I thought she was kind of a revelation for me in that movie. She's been very good in a lot of things, and this for me felt like a coming out for her in a big way.

And so I was really happy to see El Fanning here. Yeah, I mean, Madigan, I love, I love that domination. I love that performance. Musaku and Taylor, they were the ones that we considered Locke's. Taylor, I kind of disagree with you, Aisha. I mean, she's not on screen for long, but her performance colors every frame of that film, which is what it needs to do. Absolutely, yeah. That needs to happen for the film to work.

So I was perfectly okay with that. As for Lilos and Fanning, especially Fanning, I mean, they love sentimental value, the movie. And it's strange to see an international film kind of leaching its way into so many categories, except for this year. It happened four times this year. That's a record. That's unusual. Yes. But, I mean, when it comes to sentimental value, it is.

a film about filmmaking. It's not about Hollywood, but it's a film about filmmaking. It's about making art and the balance of art and life. Exactly. And the voters are artists. The voters are filmmakers. Even if they have to read it subtitled, it got through. So if any international film was going to have the presence in these major categories we're talking about, it would be that one. Yeah. I would have been so disappointed, particularly if Ingo Ieb's daughter, Lilos, had not been nominated. I would have been so bummed. I thought that performance was a revelation. I loved her in this movie. The big, probably, some will call it a snub would be Ariana Grande and Wicked for Good. She had made a lot of predictions

list kind of expecting to be nominated. She was nominated last year. She is left out. Yeah. I mean, the other big one, and I'm not going to call any of these things as snubs, but like the other big thing was when I saw A-24 post Odessa AZion's audition tape on their Instagram page from Marty Supreme, I was like, oh, they are going for it. They are gunning for it. And, you know, I think she was definitely in a mix too, and I kind of thought she might edge her way in here over someone like Amy Madigan, but, you know, that Amy Madigan performance is bonkers. So it's kind of fun to see that kind of role and character get nominated here. All right, let's run down actor in a supporting role. Benicio del Toro for one battle after another. He plays a karate

instructor who aids Leonardo DiCaprio's ex-revolutionary. Jacob Allorty for Frankenstein, he plays The Creature in this adaptation, the Mary Shelley classic. Delroy Lindo for sinners. Lindo plays a harmonica player at a juke joint whose opening night doesn't go as planned. Sean Penn for one battle after another. Penn plays Colonel Lockjaw, who is seeking revenge against a group of ex-revolutionaries, and Stellan Scarsguard for sentimental value. Scarsguard plays a filmmaker who is working on his next film while trying to reconnect with his daughters. I would imagine, based on my knowledge of y'all's opinions of several of these movies that you feel all sorts of ways about this field of nominations.

Well, look, the Del Tora thing. That is a small role. The only reason anybody's talking about it, the only reason it registers is because of that performance. So let's give him props. Lindo, how great is it to see, Der Roy Lindo get nominated. His first ever Oscar nomination. He's been so good for so long. After the Five Bloods, when I was like hoping, hoping, yes, finally.

He has been out here putting in the work for so. long and it's great to see him recognize. Speaking of putting in the work, Stel and Scarsgaard, that is a really terrific layered performance. He's got to play a jerk and an egotist, but somebody that you feel and the daughter feels like you can still find the humanity in the guy. He has never won an Oscar. He's not going to win this year, but this is a heartwarming category. I'm good with this.

Can I say, though, granted, I've only seen this film once and maybe I need to re-watch it, but I feel like this is a little bit of category fraud. Like, Stelland Scarsgar, to me, was more of a lead actor than a supporting. It's closer to me. So, I mean, I know what the impulse is to put him here because he has a better shot. But still, as you said, Glenn, this is a very stacked year. And even in this category, I don't think he's going to be able to pull out the edge. Like, it feels like it's between Del Toro and Lindo, but who knows.

And let's throw in a few kudos for Jacob Allorty. Oh, he's so good. Yeah. This could have so easily been a nothing performance from an actor, I think, has been underrated for a while now. I'm delighted to see this performance rewarded. Here, here. As far as performances that didn't make the cut that people thought

might have Palmiskel for Hamnet did not get a nod here. Compared to Jesse Buckley, like, it is definitely not as much of a powerhouse performance as much as I have liked Paul Meskull and other things. Adam Sandler did not get nominated for Jay Kelly. Some, you know,

suspected he might have, but mostly this played out as expected. I guess there's only room for one movie a year about a man, an artist, trying to connect with his daughters. And all that love went to sentimental value. Yeah, I feel like the makers of Jay Kelly cursed at the screen as sentimental value rolled by. I love to Jay Kelly. It's the volcano and Dante's Peak all over again.

All right, we got one more category we're going to talk about in directing the nominees are Paul Thomas Anderson for one battle after another, Ryan Coogler for sinners, Josh Safdey for Marty Supreme. Yo Kim Trier for sentimental value and Chloe Jow for Hamnet. What do you all think? Pretty predictable, right? I mean, whether or not we agree with this mixture, like this felt like what everyone was predicting. It felt like where all of the heat was coming from, especially Chloe Jiao has been out there talking about this movie in various platforms and really, you know, bringing it home.

And she has won before. She won Best Director and Best Picture for her. Nomadland. So all of these people are kind of in the mix of being sort of Academy beloved. And so I'm not surprised at all. And again, just really happy for Ryan Coogler. Yeah, so happy. Right. Trir is a legit surprise, I think, because again, it makes sense that this film would find its way to Oscar voters the way it did. But it's not necessarily a flashy directorial experience. The way something like Frankenstein with Guillermo del Toro, who is also an Oscar's favorite, that was where I was a little surprised. Yeah. And if you like family drama. If you like uncomfortable

Thanksgiving dinners, Josh Shafti getting this nod, and then when his brother's film, A Smashing Machine just notched a makeup hairstyling nomination. That was the star of the movie. That'll be fun. That was it. All right, well, we want

to know what you think about the 2026 Oscar nominations. Find us at Facebook.com slash PCHH. One last thing, we do have a big announcement. We do. Burying the lead this whole time. We are pulling back the curtain and letting people sit in virtually on a taping of a pop culture happy hour episode. This is a special thing we are doing for our pop

culture happy hour plus supporters. They'll get to see how the show is made and experience this episode before everyone else. And we'll be talking about something Oscars related, which is one of our favorite topics. It's all happening over Zoom on Friday, February 13th at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, Noon Pacific. If you are not a Plus supporter yet, go to plus.npr.org slash happy. Again, that's plus.npr.n.org slash happy. If you are already a Plus supporter, thank you so much. Check your feed today for more information on how to register for the virtual taping.

That brings us to the end of our show, Glenn Weldon, Aisha Harris. Thanks so much for being here. Thank you. Thank you. This episode was produced by Carly Rubin, Mike Katzif, and Liz Metzker. and edited by Jessica Reedy. Hello, Come In provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

I'm Stephen Thompson, and we will see you all tomorrow.