Oscars 2026 Best Picture Nominees Ranked by Tomatometer

Critics Consensus: A thematically rich and visually arresting political thriller, The Secret Agent blends grindhouse stylization with biting social commentary to weave a vividly dangerous yet darkly human tale.

Synopsis: Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Wagner Moura, Sebastiana de Medeiros, Udo Kier, Gabriel Leone

Directed By: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Critics Consensus: A rip-roaring fusion of masterful visual storytelling and toe-tapping music, writer-director Ryan Coogler's first original blockbuster reveals the full scope of his singular imagination.

Synopsis: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell

Directed By: Ryan Coogler

Critics Consensus: Deftly exploring the uneasy tension between artistic expression and personal connection, Sentimental Value is a bracingly mature work from writer-director Joachim Trier that's marvelously acted across the board.

Synopsis: Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas

Directed By: Joachim Trier

Critics Consensus: A gorgeous meditation on America, ably shouldered by one of Joel Edgerton's very best performances, Train Dreams takes on mythic proportions while maintaining an intimate emotional delicacy.

Synopsis: Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Golden Globe-nominee Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Clifton Collins Jr., Felicity Jones, Alfred Hsing

Directed By: Clint Bentley

Critics Consensus: An epic screwball adventure teeming with awe-inspiring action set pieces, One Battle After Another is Paul Thomas Anderson's most entertaining film yet while also one of his most thematically rich.

Synopsis: Bob is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio del Toro

Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson

Critics Consensus: Serving up Timothée Chalamet at his most infectiously charismatic, Marty Supreme is a propulsive epic that realizes its sky-high aspirations even while it critiques its indelible hero's toxic ambition.

Synopsis: Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary

Directed By: Josh Safdie

Critics Consensus: Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are at the top of their game in Bugonia, a bonkers entertainment that applies director Yorgos Lanthimos' whip-smart method to modern society's madness.

Synopsis: Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias

Directed By: Yorgos Lanthimos

Critics Consensus: Breaking hearts and mending them in one fell swoop, Hamnet speculates on the inspiration behind Shakespeare's masterpiece with palpable emotional force thanks to Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal's astonishing performances.

Synopsis: From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, HAMNET tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn

Directed By: Chloé Zhao

Critics Consensus: Finding the humanity in one of cinema's most iconic monsters, Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein is a lavish epic that gets its most invigorating volts from Jacob Elordi's standout performance.

Synopsis: Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley's classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz

Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

Critics Consensus: Driven by Brad Pitt's laidback magnetism and sporting a souped-up engine courtesy of Joseph Kosinski's kinetic direction, F1 The Movie brings vintage cool across the finish line.

Synopsis: Dubbed "the greatest that never was," Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1's most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon

Directed By: Joseph Kosinski