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Best Picture
One Battle After Another
95.8%
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
96.5%
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
96.1%
Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)
95.1%
Best Supporting Actress
Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)
87.6%
Best Supporting Actor
Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
95.0%
Best Adapted Screenplay
One Battle After Another
97.1%
Best Original Screenplay
Sinners
97.1%
Best Casting
One Battle After Another
96.0%
Best Cinematography
One Battle After Another
94.9%
Best Costume Design
Frankenstein
95.4%
Best Film Editing
One Battle After Another
96.1%
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein
95.7%
Best Production Design
Frankenstein
95.4%
Best Score
Sinners
96.5%
Best Sound
F1: The Movie
94.0%
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash
94.8%
Best Animated Feature
KPop Demon Hunters
96.9%
Best International Film
Sentimental Value
97.5%
Oscar Watch

‘Sentimental Value’ emerges as early Oscar favorite for Best International Feature

Norway's family drama leads a stacked field that includes It Was Just an Accident (France), The Secret Agent (Brazil), No Other Choice (South Korea), and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia).
Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value
Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value
Kasper Tuxen/Mubi

The Oscar race for Best International Feature is officially heating up. Five powerhouse films have settled into frontrunner position as Gold Derby's odds begin to take shape — and while the lineup may look predictable on paper, the finish line is anything but. With auteurs, activists, and emotional crowd-pleasers all in play, this is shaping up to be one of the hottest international races in recent memory.

Oscars Nominations 2026
Contender
Odds
1.
Sentimental Value
Sentimental Value
97.5%
2.
It Was Just an Accident
It Was Just an Accident
96.7%
3.
The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent
95.4%
4.
No Other Choice
No Other Choice
88.2%
5.
The Voice of Hind Rajib
The Voice of Hind Rajab
67.3%
6.
Sound of Falling
Sound of Falling
15.8%
7.
Sirat
Sirât
13.1%
8.
Left-Handed Girl
Left-Handed Girl
7.2%
9.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
1.3%
10.
Magellan
Magellan
1.3%
11.
Belén
Belén
1.1%
12.
My Father's Shadow
My Father's Shadow
0.8%
13.
Late Shift
Late Shift
0.5%
14.
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo
0.5%
15.
The Tale of Sylian
The Tale of Silyan
0.5%
16.
2000 Meters to Andriivka
2000 Meters to Andriivka
0.4%
17.
All That's Left of You
All That's Left of You
0.3%
18.
The Things You Kill
The Things You Kill
0.2%
19.
A Useful Ghost
A Useful Ghost
0.2%
20.
We Shall Not Be Moved
We Shall Not Be Moved
0.2%
21.
The Wolves Always Come at Night
The Wolves Always Come at Night
0.2%
22.
A Poet
A Poet
0.2%
23.
Dog of God
Dog of God
0.2%
24.
Familia
Familia
0.2%
25.
Homebound
Homebound
0.2%
26.
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies
0.1%
27.
Peacock
Peacock
0.1%
28.
Kinra
Kinra
0.1%
29.
The Last Dance
The Last Dance
0.1%
30.
Orphan
Orphan
0.1%
31.
Sanatorium
Sanatorium
0.1%
32.
Tarika
Tarika
--
33.
Palestine 36
Palestine 36
--
34.
Calle Málaga
Calle Málaga
--
35.
Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story
Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story
--
36.
Walls - Akinni Inuk
Walls - Akinni Inuk
--
37.
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be
--
38.
Taghiyev: Oil
Taghiyev: Oil
--
39.
Kokuho
Kokuho
--

Sentimental Value (Norway)

Sentimental Value
'Sentimental Value'NEON

Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value has been unstoppable since its rapturous Cannes premiere, where it earned a 19-minute standing ovation and the Grand Prix. The family drama stars Stellan Skarsgård as an aging filmmaker trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Renate Reinsve) by casting her in a film based on his own mother’s death, only to replace her with an American actress played by Elle Fanning. With critics calling it “a layered masterpiece,” Neon’s Nov. 11 release is expected to contend across the board — including Best Picture, Director (Trier), Actress (Reinsve), Supporting Actor (Skarsgård), Supporting Actresses (Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), Original Screenplay, and Casting.

It Was Just an Accident (France)

France 2026 Oscars submission for Best International Feature, It Was Just an Accident
'It Was Just an Accident'Neon

Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident turned his personal defiance into cinematic triumph, taking the Palme d’Or at Cannes and earning a rare endorsement from Martin Scorsese, who called its finale “so powerful, so strong, and so true.” Shot in Iran but edited in France for safety reasons, the tense revenge drama follows a former prisoner (Vahid Mobasseri) who believes he’s found his sadistic jailer in the outside world — and takes justice into his own hands. With a 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and Neon eyeing a Parasite-style run, the film is also expected to contend for Best Picture, Director (Panahi), and Original Screenplay.

The Secret Agent (Brazil)

Brazil 2026 Oscars submission for Best International Feature, The Secret Agent
'The Secret Agent'Neon

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent has quietly become one of the season’s stealth juggernauts. The political thriller earned Mendonça Filho Best Director and Wagner Moura Best Actor at Cannes, keeping Brazil’s Oscar flame burning after last year’s I’m Still Here. Moura stars as a tech expert and single father navigating Recife’s 1970s military dictatorship, torn between survival and escape with his son. With Neon’s Nov. 26 release on the horizon, the film ranks third for International Feature, while Moura has emerged as a dark horse Best Actor contender.

No Other Choice (South Korea)

No Other Choice
'No Other Choice'Neon

Park Chan-wook is back — and firmly in the Oscar race. No Other Choice, his first feature since Decision to Leave, turns Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax into a razor-sharp thriller about a laid-off paper worker (Lee Byung-hun) who takes drastic measures to survive a ruthless job market. After winning Toronto’s International People’s Choice Award and nearly claiming Venice’s Golden Lion, the film has surged to fourth in Gold Derby’s International Feature odds, with additional buzz for Best Adapted Screenplay. Neon releases it in U.S. theaters Dec. 25.

The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)

Tunisia 2026 Oscars submission for Best International Feature, The Voice of Hind Rajab
'The Voice of Hind Rajab'Mime Films, Tanit Films

Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab became the emotional centerpiece of the Venice Film Festival, earning a record 22-minute standing ovation before taking home the Grand Jury Prize. The film dramatizes the true story of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, using her real recorded emergency call as its haunting spine. Backed by Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Alfonso Cuarón, Ben Hania’s follow-up to Four Daughters and The Man Who Sold His Skin has a 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and major awards momentum. However, despite its all-star team of executive producers, the politically charged film has yet to secure a U.S. distribution deal.

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