Hamnet to Sinners: 12 films to look out for as Oscars race begins

The popcorn blockbusters that filled cinemas over the summer might be as distant a memory as the smell of sun cream, but the film industry is now gearing up for the most exciting time of the year – awards season.

Hamnet, Sinners and Christy are just a few of the titles you can expect to hear more about now the awards race is under way, although some of the potential contenders haven’t even premiered yet.

A huge number of Oscar-tipped movies launched at the recent Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, joining others that had already generated buzz at Sundance and Cannes earlier in the year.

As we begin the long journey to the Oscars on 14 March, here are 12 frontrunners – plus a few extras – to keep an eye on:

If you were to write the perfect recipe for a potential best picture Oscar nominee, the ingredients would broadly resemble Hamnet.

Adapt a wildly popular novel (by Maggie O’Farrell), hire a recent Oscar winner (Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao) to direct it, and cast two popular young actors (Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal) in the leading roles.

Set in 1596, Hamnet examines the death of William Shakespeare’s 11-year-old son, and the events that led the Bard to write his play Hamlet.

Last weekend, the film won the Toronto People’s Choice Award, usually an indicator of Oscars success. It will be released in UK cinemas on 9 January 2026.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride is a phrase that could have been invented for director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Nearly all of his previous films – including Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread and There Will Be Blood – have scored several Oscar nominations, but none has ever won him best picture or best director.

That could change this year with One Battle After Another, a rapturously received film starring Leonardo DiCaprio about a group of former revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the kidnapped daughter of one of the group’s members.

Critics have broadly agreed the best picture contender broadly earns its 2hr 50min length thanks to some gripping storytelling and rapid pacing. In UK cinemas from 26 September.

A vampire movie released unusually early in the awards year doesn’t exactly scream Oscars contender.

And yet, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is just the kind of film that gives Hollywood hope in an era of low morale – an original idea and box office smash at the same time.

The film focuses on twin brothers who return home to the Mississippi Delta for a fresh start, not realising an evil force awaits them. It’s available to buy or rent digitally.

Emma Stone’s latest film sees her play a powerful CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists who believe she’s an alien.

But there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye, as you’d expect from a film by Poor Things and The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos.

While Stone has won best actress twice in the last decade, her co-star Jesse Plemons could score his first best actor nomination for the film. Released in the UK on 7 November.

From Jerry Maguire and King Richard to The Blind Side, the Oscars have always been partial to a sports biopic.

There are three in the race this year. The first stars Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin, one of America’s most famous female boxers.

Christy, directed by David Michôd, follows Martin’s rise in the 1990s, and her husband’s attempt to murder her in 2010. Sweeney could land her first Oscar nomination for the film, which is released in UK cinemas on 28 November.

Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting in 2017, ahead of the release of his apparently final film Phantom Thread.

But last year, it was announced that the three-time Oscar winner had been tempted out of the Hollywood wilderness to appear in a movie directed by his son Ronan.

Appropriately, the film follows a former soldier who reunites with his brother after living in isolation in the woods for 20 years.

Let’s get this out of the way now: It’s pronounced ah-NEM-uh-nee. Released in UK cinemas on 7 November.

Another sports drama in the running is The Smashing Machine, which sees blockbuster star Dwayne Johnson play UFC fighter Mark Kerr in the early days of the sport in the 1990s.

The Rock transforms in more ways than one. Not only is his physical appearance significantly different, but it also marks something of a career pivot and the first genuine Oscars contender of his career.

Benny Safdie won the best director award at Venice for the film, which is released in UK cinemas on 3 October.

As the winner of the Grand Prix, Sentimental Value was one of the breakout hits at Cannes this year.

The film focuses on two estranged sisters who reconnect with their distant father after the death of their mother.

Best actress contender Renate Reinsve reunites with director Joachim Trier, four years after their acclaimed hit The Worst Person in the World. Released in the UK on 26 December.

This one is definitely going to generate what the internet likes to call “discourse”.

A promising college student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses one of her professors (Andrew Garfield) of rape, leaving another of the teachers (Julia Roberts) caught in the middle.

Director Luca Guadagnino will hope this film can land him back in the awards conversation after his previous two, Queer and Challengers, were shut out last year. Released in UK cinemas on 22 October.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s best picture winner Anora, Jafar Panahi’s film won the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes in May.

Against a backdrop of political repression in Iran, it follows a man who recognises the former intelligence officer who tortured him in prison after a chance encounter at a garage.

The film is likely to be nominated in the international category, having been selected to represent France rather than its home country Iran, and could well show up in best picture too. Released on 5 December.

There are far too few Hollywood films about table tennis for our liking – something this Josh Safdie movie intends to put right.

Starring recent Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme is loosely based on real-life player Marty Reisman’s pursuit of greatness. Released on 1 January 2026.

We’re cheating here by shoehorning two films into one entry, but the Wicked and Avatar sequels have a lot in common.

Both are likely to bulldoze the box office this side of Christmas, both are new instalments of previous best picture nominees, and both have colons in their titles.

Jon M Chu’s Wicked: For Good will conclude the origin story of Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west, while James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash will see the Na’vi encounter an aggressive new tribe.

With an expanded best picture category, the Academy likes to nominate some blockbusters, particularly because it helps the ceremony stay relevant to younger audiences.

We didn’t have the space to mention every awards contender above, so here’s a brief outline of a few others:

• Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is likely to show up in the technical categories and could score a supporting actor nomination for Jacob Elordi
• Jay Kelly could see George Clooney back in the awards conversation thanks to his portrayal of an ageing Hollywood actor
• This year’s music biopic is Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, which sees The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White play The Boss. (Having said that, there’s also Song Sung Blue, about a Neil Diamond tribute band)
• Missile thriller A House of Dynamite marks the return of Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win best director (for The Hurt Locker in 2010)
• Motherhood drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You was divisive at Sundance, but could see some overdue recognition for actress Rose Byrne
• After his Oscar win for The Whale in 2022, Brendan Fraser returns with Tokyo-set drama Rental Family
• Strong contenders in the international film category include No Other Choice (South Korea), The Secret Agent (Brazil), Sirāt (Spain) and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia). Several could easily break into the best picture field too, given the Academy’s increasingly international voter base
• Other films in the race include Russell Crowe’s historical epic Nuremberg, the John Bishop-inspired Is This Thing On?, gambling drama Ballad of a Small Player, loneliness study Train Dreams, Lorenz Hart biopic Blue Moon, survival thriller The Lost Bus and Shakers musical The Testament of Ann Lee