It might seem like the Oscars 2026 are a very long way away. And they are. We’re still more than six months away from Hollywood’s most glamorous night, and it’s entirely possible that Sean Baker and the team behind Anora still haven’t stopped celebrating their success at this year’s ceremony.
But that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start looking ahead. We’re now deep into the autumn festival season, in which glittering events in cities like Venice and Toronto lift the lid on the prestige pictures we’ll be hearing a lot about on the winding road to the Oscars — and the stars who will be competing in the major acting categories.
Let’s have a little look into our Oscars crystal ball and decide which stars whose movies have already premiered — either in cinemas or at those festivals — could be a part of the conversation when the Academy Awards are handed out.
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson plays Mark Kerr in MMA biopic The Smashing Machine. (A24/Alamy)
It has become commonplace to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at the Oscars. After all, he’s one of the most famous and financially successful actors in Hollywood, as well as being a walking wall of pure charisma. But he has never found himself close to being nominated for an acting award. That could all change with The Smashing Machine — Benny Safdie’s biopic based on the life of MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
Read more: Why Dwayne Johnson’s Oscar-tipped new film could change his career forever (Yahoo Entertainment, 6 min read)
Johnson has undergone a serious physical transformation for the role ,and praise has erupted for his performance since the film’s Venice premiere. Obviously, there’s some synergy in casting a former pro wrestler in the role, but it seems as if Johnson has more than risen to the challenge with a performance that is more vulnerable than many would expect.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence has received acclaim for Lynne Ramsay movie Die, My Love. (Mubi/Alamy)
Die, My Love has a lot in its favour when it comes to the Oscars. Lynne Ramsay is a hugely respected filmmaker, albeit one whose movies have seldom received award recognition. There’s a narrative behind Lawrence, too, in a return to prestige leading roles a decade after her last Oscar nod for Joy. The film stars her as a young mother who experiences psychosis and postnatal depression.
Read more: Roman Kemp got ‘escorted out’ of Jennifer Lawrence film junket interview (BANG Showbiz, 2 min read)
Ramsay’s films are always psychologically complex, and given the presence of Lawrence and co-star Robert Pattinson, she has a tremendous central cast in place. Die, My Love premiered at Cannes in May 2025 and received strong reviews, with several noting that Lawrence feels like a sure thing for the Best Actress race.
Oscar Isaac
Oscar Isaac plays the titular scientist in Guillermo del Toro’s take on Frankenstein. (Netflix/Alamy)
The union of Guillermo del Toro and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is an incredibly logical combination of filmmaker and material. His Netflix adaptation of the classic Gothic tale deals with all of the director’s favourite themes, focusing on misunderstood monsters and the complexities of human moral choices. Add to that a killer cast, led by Oscar Isaac as Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the monster, and you have the recipe for Academy Awards success.
Read more: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein opens to nearly 15-minute standing ovation in Venice (The Independent, 3 min read)
Frankenstein allows Isaac to flex his acting muscles with a meaty and complicated role, while also leaning heavily into the inherent Gothic theatricality of the story. It’s the sort of role that could thrust one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors right into the awards conversation. If the 15-minute standing ovation at Venice is anything to go by, we’re part of the way there already.
Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler’s role in Jay Kelly could provide him with a rare opportunity to earn Oscars attention. (Netflix)
In 2020, Adam Sandler wasn’t Oscar-nominated. That wouldn’t have been remarkable in any other year, but it was on that occasion. The comedy veteran’s role in the anarchic thriller Uncut Gems was very special indeed and actually earned him an Independent Spirit Award, along with various other noms. Five years later, the guy who brought us Jack & Jill might just have another chance at prestige glory.
Read more: George Clooney praises Adam Sandler: ‘Not just some goofy comedian’ (Cover Media, 1 min read)
Sandler stars alongside George Clooney in Noah Baumbach’s upcoming Netflix drama Jay Kelly. Clooney plays the titular Hollywood star, who reflects on his life while travelling with his devoted manager, Sandler’s character. Numerous critics highlighted Sandler’s work, with GQ writing that the movie “should finally net Adam Sandler the Oscar he deserves”.
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried portrays the titular preacher in The Testament of Ann Lee. (Annapurna)
Amanda Seyfried has starred in several Oscar-winning movies, but her only previous nomination as an actor came in 2021 for Netflix drama Mank. She looks dead set for another nod, though, thanks to her role as the leader of the Christian sect known as the Shakers in The Testament of Ann Lee. At a time when few women were preachers, Ann Lee was arguably the most prominent.
Read more: Amanda Seyfried ‘had so many nightmares’ about Mancunian accent in Ann Lee (Cover Media, 2 min read)
Mona Fastvold’s movie premiered at Venice and has received strong reviews, acknowledging the strangeness and ambition of the storytelling. With Seyfried at the centre of that, there’s every chance she finds her way to the stage of the Dolby Theatre.
Jesse Plemons
Jesse Plemons plays a conspiracy theorist in Yorgos Lanthimos dark comedy Bugonia. (Universal/Alamy)
The weird worlds of Yorgos Lanthimos have been a regular feature at the Oscars in recent years, winning acting awards for the likes of Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and Emma Stone (Poor Things). But it could be the turn of the beloved character actor Jesse Plemons in the Greek filmmaker’s new movie Bugonia. Plemons plays one half of a duo of conspiracy theorists who kidnap a CEO — played by Stone — as they believe her to be an alien.
Read more: Emma Stone’s ‘perverse’ and gory new film stuns Venice Film Festival (Yahoo Entertainment, 4 min read)
As is often the case with Lanthimos, the reviews out of Venice speak to the weirdo ambition of his work, but Plemons has been long overdue for some time in the Oscars spotlight. There will no doubt be some buzz around Stone as well, but Bugonia appears to be very much Plemons’ movie.
Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan starred in Ryan Coogler’s vampire movie Sinners. (Warner Bros/Alamy)
It’s not particularly common for the Oscars and the box office to align. It happened with Oppenheimer in 2024, and it could happen again in 2026 if the Academy decides to reward Ryan Coogler’s excellent historical vampire thriller Sinners with Best Picture. The movie, in which Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers opening a juke joint in 1920s Mississippi, earned a spectacular $367m (£273m) worldwide.
Read more: ‘Sinners and Minecraft show why Netflix’s boss is wrong about the cinema’ (Yahoo Entertainment, 5 min read)
Sinners doesn’t exactly scream Oscars — it’s a horror movie, and it’s a crowd-pleaser. However, Coogler has serious Oscars pedigree and managed to carry a Marvel film to the ceremony with his work on Black Panther. Given the critical acclaim for Sinners, as well as Coogler’s unashamed celebration of cinema as an art form, it could be catnip to voters — and could secure Jordan some well-deserved glory.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez could win Best Supporting Actress for Kiss of the Spider Woman. (Everett Collection)
Jennifer Lopez should have been in the Oscars picture for Hustlers a few years back, but she now looks like she might get another bite of the cherry courtesy of her musical performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Based on the stage musical — rather than the previous Oscar-winning adaptation of the novel — it stars J-Lo as the titular diva, whose story allows an unlikely bond to form between two prisoners.
Read more: Bill Condon credits Jennifer Lopez for getting Kiss of the Spider Woman made (BANG Showbiz, 3 min read)
This is one of those supporting roles that feels very much like a lead — it is the titular character, after all — but Lopez would definitely be a well-liked winner if this does transpire. By the time the Oscars come around, the movie will have been around for more than a year — it debuted at Sundance in January 2025 — but that shouldn’t be an obstacle for somebody with J-Lo’s incredible star power.
The Oscars 2026 will be televised on 15 March 2026.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.movies.yahoo.com ’
