Academy Unveils Shortlists for 98th Oscars in 12 Categories; Wicked: For Good and Sinners Dominate Technical Races
The 98th Oscars ceremony will be televised live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
RMN Stars Awards Desk
New Delhi | December 17, 2025
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) officially announced the shortlists on December 16 for 12 categories leading up to the 98th Academy Awards. These highly anticipated lists narrow the field for categories including Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, International Feature Film, Music (Original Score and Original Song), Sound, and Visual Effects.
The shortlisting process was intensely competitive in several fields. In the Documentary Feature Film category, 15 films advanced from an initial pool of 201 eligible titles. Similarly, the Live Action Short Film category saw 15 films selected from 207 qualified entries, while 15 films advanced in Animated Short Film from 113 qualified titles.
Key Contenders Emerge Across Technical and Performance Categories
A handful of films appeared repeatedly across the technical and craft shortlists, signaling strong overall visibility heading into the nominations round.
The musical Wicked: For Good and the drama Sinners showed significant strength, appearing on multiple lists including Casting, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound, and Visual Effects. Sinners also secured two spots on the Original Song shortlist for “I Lied To You” and “Last Time (I Seen The Sun)”, and made the Original Score list. Wicked: For Good also advanced with two original songs, “The Girl In The Bubble” and “No Place Like Home”, and made the Original Score list.
Also proving its technical prowess was Frankenstein, which advanced in Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound, and Visual Effects. One Battle after Another was shortlisted for Casting, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, and Sound.
In the Casting category, which shortlisted 10 films, members of the Casting Directors Branch will determine the final nominees. Screenings of excerpts and pre-recorded interviews with casting directors for these films are scheduled for January 9, 2026, in Los Angeles and London, and January 10, 2026, in New York.
International and Score Highlights
The International Feature Film category, which initially included films from 86 countries or regions, was narrowed down to 15 titles. Contenders include Argentina’s “Belén,” Brazil’s “The Secret Agent,” Japan’s “Kokuho,” and Palestine’s “Palestine 36”.
For the Original Score category, 20 scores were advanced from 132 eligible entries. Noteworthy selections include scores for “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “Bugonia,” “Captain America: Brave New World,” and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”.
The Road to Nominations
Academy members across all branches are invited to participate in the upcoming nominations round for various categories, though specific branches determine shortlists in specialized fields like Cinematography, where between 10 and 20 films advance. For categories like Animated Short Film and International Feature Film, members must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the preliminary round, and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote in the nominations round.
The nomination voting period will begin on Monday, January 12, 2026, and will conclude on Friday, January 16, 2026. Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards, which feature 24 categories in total, are scheduled to be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
The 98th Oscars ceremony will be televised live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
