The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 15, 2026, and honour the best films released between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
The 2025 awards saw Anora dominate, winning five awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Sean Baker), Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
It is also one of only four films to win both the Palme d'Or and the Oscar for Best Picture, the others being The Lost Weekend (1945), Marty (1955), and Parasite (2019).
Adrian Brody won Best Actor for The Brutalist, while Zoe Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez, and Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain.
And now we get to do it all over again, so read on for all the news on the Oscars 2026 odds and who could win big on the night!
So, Who Will Be Joining Them In 2026?
Well, as you can imagine, the race for Best Picture is really heating up. The nominations are out, as of January 22nd, and 10 movies have been given the nod.
And, as with any major competition, there are odds available if you fancy betting on which film will win the Oscar for Best Picture.
| Film | Odds (Best Picture) |
|---|---|
| One Battle After Another | 1/3 |
| Sinners | 5/2 |
| Hamnet | 11/1 |
| Marty Supreme | 20/1 |
| Frankenstein | 50/1 |
| Bugonia | 66/1 |
| Sentimental Value | 66/1 |
| The Secret Agent | 66/1 |
| F1 | 80/1 |
| Train Dreams | 80/1 |
Bookmakers are also offering betting markets with odds on who they think will be holding the statuette on March 15th, 2026.
Tip: Timothee Chalamet to win Best Actor for Marty Supreme – hot favourite following his Golden Globe win.
Tip: Jessie Buckley for Best Actress for her role as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet.
Below, we look at some of those films that are in the running for Best Picture.
(Betfred provides all Oscars 2026 odds)
BEST PICTURE CONTENDERS & OSCAR 2026 ODDS
One Battle After Another – 1/3
One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, is a blackly comic action thriller about former radicals forced back into conflict when a long-dormant enemy resurfaces.
It follows ex-revolutionary Bob “Ghetto Pat” Calhoun, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his teenage daughter, portrayed by Chase Infiniti, as they go on the run from white supremacist Colonel Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn.
The film mixes revolutionary politics, family melodrama, and chaotic set pieces into a sprawling story of paranoia, resistance, and the costs of activism.
Sinners – 5/2
Sinners, directed and written by Ryan Coogler, is a folk-inflected supernatural horror drama about twin brothers trying to escape their past by returning to their Deep South hometown.
Hoping for a fresh start, Sammie and Jedidiah instead uncover a dark, vampiric evil rooted in local history, racism, and religious fervour that is waiting to claim them.
Starring Michael B Jordan, Jack O'Connell, and Hailee Steinfeld, the film blends blues music, period drama, and vampire horror into an atmospheric tale of sin and redemption.
Hamnet – 11/1
Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao, is a biographical drama about the love, family life, and devastating loss that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Centering on Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and her husband Will (Paul Mescal), the film follows their marriage, children, and grief after the death of their son, tracing how this tragedy transforms into art.
Set in 16th‑century rural England, it blends intimate domestic detail with lyrical imagery to explore how creativity can emerge from profound sorrow.
Marty Supreme – 20/1
Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, is an epic period sports drama about Marty Mauser, a young man whose far-fetched dream is dismissed by everyone around him.
Determined to prove himself, Marty goes through humiliation, hardship, and physical punishment as he fights his way toward greatness in the world of table tennis.
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Odessa A’zion, the film follows his rise from ridiculed outsider to unlikely champion.
OSCARS 2026 BEST PICTURE OUTSIDERS ODDS
Frankenstein – 50/1
Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a gothic dark fantasy horror in which brilliant but arrogant scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a living creature in a grotesque experiment that spirals out of his control.
As the intelligent yet tormented Creature searches for identity and acceptance, both maker and creation are destroyed by obsession, rejection, and vengeance.
Starring Oscar Isaac as Victor, Jacob Elordi as the Creature, and Christoph Waltz as Harlander, the film blends operatic tragedy, body horror, and lavish steampunk-inflected production design.
Bugonia – 66/1
Bugonia, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is a darkly comic sci-fi satire about two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap Michelle, a powerful CEO they are convinced is an alien planning Earth’s destruction.
As their paranoid plot spirals out of control in a basement-turned-bunker, the film skewers online conspiracies, corporate power, and human credulity through escalating mind games and violence.
Starring Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, and Emma Stone, it blends alien-invasion thrills with bleak humor and unsettling emotional turns.
WHERE AND WHEN WILL THE OSCARS 2026 BE HELD?
The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, March 15th, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
WHO DECIDES THE OSCARS?
The voting process that determines which films are nominated is a long and complicated process that involves thousands of voting members and hundreds of eligible films.
Each eligible voting member belongs to one of 17 branches. Each branch nominates for its own category — e.g., editors nominate editors, actors nominate for acting categories etc.
Best Picture is the only award where all members can vote.
WHEN WERE THE NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED?
The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
For the 2026 (98th) Academy Awards, the nominations voting period ran from Monday, January 12, 2026, to Friday, January 16, 2026.
The announcement revealed nominees across all 23 Academy Award categories, after which all 2026 Oscar odds were updated in the betting markets.
BETTING ON THE OSCARS WITH BETFRED
You can place bets on various awards for the 2026 Oscars with Betfred. Head over to the website, and check out the ‘Special Bets' page for all the latest odds.
*Oscar odds correct at the time of publishing
