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Academy Announces Shortlists in 12 Categories for the 98th Oscars®
Published: 17.12.2025
Reading time: 2.1 minutes
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has officially unveiled the shortlists in 12 award categories for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards®, offering an early glimpse at the films and creative teams still in the running for Oscar recognition. The shortlisted categories include Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects.
In the Animated Short Film category, 15 titles advanced from a competitive pool of 113 qualifying films. Works such as Autokar, I Died in Irpin, Snow Bear and The Shyness of Trees highlight the diversity and emotional range of this year’s animation contenders. Academy members from the Animation and Short Films branches participated in the preliminary voting round, with all branches invited to vote during nominations.
The Casting shortlist includes 10 films, among them Frankenstein, Hamnet, Sinners and Wicked: For Good. Members of the Casting Directors Branch will evaluate excerpts and interviews with casting teams during special screenings in Los Angeles, London and New York in January 2026.
In Cinematography, 16 films have advanced, reflecting a broad mix of genres and visual styles. Titles such as F1, Nouvelle Vague, Train Dreams and Sound of Falling demonstrate the strong emphasis on visual storytelling this year.
The Documentary Feature Film and Documentary Short Film categories each feature 15 shortlisted projects. From politically charged works like Mr. Nobody against Putin and 2000 Meters to Andriivka to intimate personal stories such as Seeds and All the Empty Rooms, nonfiction cinema continues to play a vital role in the awards conversation.
The International Feature Film shortlist represents 15 films from 86 eligible countries and regions. Entries include Argentina’s Belén, France’s It Was Just an Accident, Japan’s Kokuho, Palestine’s Palestine 36 and Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, underlining the global reach of contemporary cinema.
Shortlists were also announced in Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song, Sound and Visual Effects, with major studio productions such as Avatar: Fire and Ash, Frankenstein, Tron: Ares and Wicked: For Good appearing across multiple categories.
Nominations voting will take place from January 12 to January 16, 2026, with official nominations announced on January 22, 2026. The 98th Oscars® ceremony will be held on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby® Theatre in Ovation Hollywood and broadcast live on ABC worldwide.
