Oscar nominations 2026: Germany is out of the running

DThe US Film Academy announced the nominations for the Oscars on Thursday. The most exciting question from a German perspective was, of course, whether the German submission would make it into the final selection of five candidates in the best international film category: Mascha Schilinski’s drama “Looking into the Sun” had its world premiere at the Cannes Festival, where it was very positively received by the US press. Which is why the film was given more than outsider chances in advance. Unfortunately it didn’t work. The Berlin director is out of the running for the world’s most important film award.

But she doesn’t need to take that too much to heart. The competition in this category has rarely been as tough as this time. The Brazilian thriller “The Secret Agent” with “Narcos” star Wagner Moura, the Iranian tragicomedy “A Simple Accident” (which was submitted by France because the director Jafar Panahi is being politically persecuted in his homeland), the acclaimed Spanish-French drama “Sirāt”, the Gaza drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab” and the Norwegian family tragicomedy “Sentimental Value” made it into the final selection. Not only the respective nominees will be happy about this, but also those responsible for the Cannes Festival: With the exception of “Hind Rajab”, all of these films had their world premiere there and once again clearly underline the reputation of the Croisette as the most important film festival in the world.

The big surprise, however, is how much the US Academy members seem to love the Norwegian entry “Sentimental Value”. He is also included in almost all other important categories. Joachim Trier is nominated for best director and best original screenplay, Renate Reinsve for best actress, Stellan Skarsgård for best supporting actor and Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for best supporting actresses.

In addition, the work is not only in the running for best international film, but also in the premier category of best film. In total, the Norwegian submission received nine nominations. This is very rare for films that do not come from Hollywood, and it is absolutely deserved: “Sentimental Value” is one of the most beautiful films of recent years.

The film “Blood & Sinners” by director Ryan Coogler, half vampire horror, half racism drama, has set a record: It received a total of 16 nominations, more than any previous film in the history of the Oscars. So of course he is now considered in Hollywood Frontrunner for a bigger prize shower. But films with many nominations have often come away comparatively empty-handed on Oscar night, and the competition is fierce here too. The comedy-thriller “One Battle After Another” has 13 nominations, including Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor, Paul Thomas Anderson for best director and Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn for best supporting actors. The table tennis drama “Marty Supreme” (nine nominations) and the Shakespeare romance film “Hamnet” (eight nominations) also continue to have the best chances.

The five nominees in the newly created category for best casting, which has been requested by many filmmakers for a long time and is now finally coming, were announced for the first time. The finalists are the cast members of “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “Blood & Sinners,” “The Secret Agent” and “One Battle After Another.”

The more than 10,000 voting members of the US Film Academy now have a lot of work to do. According to the Academy, this year there will be a kind of viewing requirement for the first time. Until now, it was simply trusted that members only voted if they had actually seen all of the nominated films in a category. However, since this was apparently not always the case in practice, the digital screening room that is provided for the Oscar films should now be used to closely monitor whether the jurors actually watch the films. You now have until March 5th to do this and to cast your vote.

The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15th, as usual at the Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Like last year, it will be moderated by Conan O’Brien, whose appearance was very well received and gave those responsible the best ratings in years.