Jessie Buckley Leads British and Irish Hopes at 2026 Oscars
The 2026 Academy Awards nominations have been unveiled, with Irish actress Jessie Buckley emerging as a leading contender for the British and Irish contingent. Buckley has secured a coveted nomination for Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the period drama Hamnet. This recognition follows her recent triumphs at the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards earlier this month, solidifying her status as a formidable talent in this awards season.
A Competitive Field and Notable Snubs
Buckley will face stiff competition in her category, going head-to-head with acclaimed performers including Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I Would Kick You, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value, and Emma Stone for Bugonia. However, the announcement was not without its surprises and disappointments for other hopefuls.
In a significant snub, Buckley's Hamnet co-star, Paul Mescal, failed to receive a nomination for Actor in a Supporting Role, despite having earned nods in that category at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The Academy instead recognised Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn for One Battle After Another, Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein, Delroy Lindo for Sinners, and Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value.
Further notable omissions included Cynthia Erivo, star of Wicked For Good, who was overlooked for an acting nomination, shocking fans who anticipated her inclusion following her recognition for the first Wicked film a year ago. In fact, the entire Wicked sequel, including its other leading lady Ariana Grande, was completely shut out of the 2026 Oscar race, a stark contrast to its predecessor which garnered ten nominations last year.
Record-Breaking Nominations and Key Battles
The morning's announcements were historic, with Ryan Coogler's film Sinners making Academy Awards history by earning a record-breaking 16 nominations, including the night's biggest prize, Best Picture. This surpasses the previous record of 14 nominations jointly held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). Sinners leads a diverse Best Picture field that also includes Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams.
One of the most anticipated showdowns of the ceremony will be in the Best Actor category, where Timothée Chalamet (nominated for Marty Supreme) will face off against Leonardo DiCaprio (nominated for One Battle After Another). They are joined by nominees Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan for Sinners, and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.
Ceremony Details and Voting Process
The 98th annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The ceremony will be televised live on ABC and broadcast in over 200 territories worldwide. Conan O'Brien is set to return as host, following his successful stint last year which helped draw the ceremony's largest audience in five years.
The nominees across all 24 categories were announced by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman via a livestream from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The nominations were determined by the Academy's voting membership, which now stands at just over 11,000 individuals split into 19 professional branches, with actors constituting the largest group. Just under 10,000 of these members are eligible to vote for the Oscars.
This represents a significant expansion from the approximately 5,800 members reported in 2012. Nominees were selected using a ranked-choice, or preferential, ballot system. Voters listed their choices in order of preference, with nominees selected based on reaching a specific vote threshold. For categories where contenders did not meet the initial threshold, the ranked-choice system was employed to determine the final nominees.
All rounds of Oscar voting are conducted via secret online ballot, with the independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers responsible for tabulation. The Best Picture nominees are determined by eligible members from all 19 Academy branches, while other categories are voted on by members of the respective branches.
