The 2026 Oscar race has been flooded with altering opinions, large campaigns by today’s biggest stars, and an overall excitement that seems much higher than recent years. So before Sunday, the TwilightRoom wanted to share our ranking and reviews for all 10 of the Best Picture nominations. Whether it’s the film that has won every major award show so far, or a film many argue shouldn’t even be in the conversation, this ranking takes into account our opinion on how each of the films stack up against each other in quality, entertainment, impact, and an overall value to the most recent year of cinema.
1. Marty Supreme
The best Oscar nominee and Best Film of the 2025 year for TwilightRoom is the stress-inducing ping pong New York sprint that is Marty Supreme. It is the event of the year, with a massively successful marketing run from Timothée Chalemet who is the front-runner for best actor, and combination of everything that is great about Josh Safdie’s films thrown into one magnum opus. The film tells the story of Marty Mauser’s ascent to greatest ping pong player in the world, but is so much more than that. A perfect representation of New York in film, using the idea of the back and forth of ping pong, the fast paced stress that defines the game, and telling a story in the exact same way. It is not for everyone, but it worked so well for so many; as the brilliance of the film perfectly matches the blockbuster sequel draw and appeal the film received. Not only is the main cast good, but the entire cast is new, identified in New York culture, and spectacular at their specific roles making the film feel drastically more authentic than many other recent releases. Marty Supreme is the true wild card of award season in that it has the backing to win a couple different categories or none evenly, however despite its uncertain future success, it sits at the top of our ranking as the Best Picture nomination of the year.
2. Train Dreams
Coming in at number 2 on TwilightRoom’s list of the Best Picture nominees is the most underrated and under appreciated film of the year, The Joel Edgerton-starring novella adaptation, Train Dreams. A simple story of a simple man, and his grief and loneliness as he loses his family and leaves behind nothing but his story. It is as much a tragedy as it is the early American dream, told with cinematography that will drop your jaw for the entire hour and forty minute runtime. Set in early 20th century America, it’s a perfect example from director Clint Bentley of a film that takes a moment in time that would have since been forgotten and made it valuable. While many of the films on this list have had a lasting cultural impact or produced an excitement level earning its spot, Train Dreams is the antithesis of the blockbuster. It is the perfect example of how a Novella is supposed to be put to screen. Train Dreams may not earn its stripes this March, but it certainly shouldn’t be forgotten and should be heralded as one of the best films of the decade, and the second best film of the past year.
3. One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another takes the three-spot on TwilightRoom’s ranking of the Best Picture nominees, but don’t let that fool you as it is my prediction to win the Oscar this year in 2 weeks time. The new film from one of the best working directors, Paul Thomas Anderson in collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, is a wonderfully timed revolutionary story of a group fighting years after their revolts to protect their own from white supremecist army colonel, horrifically played by Sean Penn, who was slighted during the past insurrections. It’s as thrilling as it is emotional as it is infuriating, a 3-hour long journey that is filled with every trait of PTA that the film world has grown to love. The performances throughout are stunning and the most rewarded this award season, aside from Chase Infiniti who certainly is the biggest miss from the Oscars this year, as she is spectacular. While there aren’t too many moments that to me stood out as wildly fantastic, aside from one of the best car chase scenes ever put to screen, there truly isn’t a single moment that could have been done better than it was done. This exacting perfection is what has vaulted this film as the front runner for Best Picture and third on this list of Big Picture nominees.
4. Sinners
What began as Ryan Coogler’s magnum opus genre bending vampire experience released early in the year, has now shifted into the cultural and historical phenomena that represents Sinners as a whole. Breaking a record for the most nominated film of all time it is evident the impact Sinners has had on the present is immense, and the film truly deserves it. Electrifying from the start with the combination of Michael B Jordan’s dual performance and an amazing score that is riddled in culture and history, Sinners was the first true movie event of the year. The film boils down to its barnyard music sequence halfway through the film that turns it from a dramatic telling of the time period to a vampire action thriller that can’t be forgotten. It is memorable, impactful, and widespread earning it the 4th spot on this list and its record that it certainly deserves; as well as Michael B. Jordan’s large praises and following. However, the film’s nomination success must come with a warning not a lot of fans of the film are prepared for. While the nominees are numerous, the wins may not be the same. Looking at the trends heading into the Oscars, Sinners may not earn the awards its fans believe it deserves, this possibility has nothing to do with ulterior motives like some will assume, it is simply a packed and talented year with the three films ahead of it on this list. Nonetheless, Sinners is clearly one of the best of the year and an example of a filmmaker finding just the right concept and people to deliver a once in a lifetime magnum opus.
5. Bugonia
A combo that has become a mainstay for award season as of late is Yorgos Lanthimos and his star actress, perhaps the best in the world right now, Emma Stone. Yet the leap here from stylized rom com in Poor Things and anthology film in Kinds of Kindness, to an alien sci fi-hostage mind-twisted thriller was as unexpected as it was effective. A full commitment to the role from Stone is met with an equal stand out performance from one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood, Jesse Plemons, as he abducts, tests, and tortures what he believes to be an alien. The best part of the film is Yorgos’ ability to make the audience believe one side and then flip it on its head moments later in a way that is less forced than it is tantalizing. Whether the owner of a large corporation is an alien. killing patients of her company, or simply a CEO that is blind to the brutality of her work is what keeps the audience enthralled and earns it the status of being in the top 5 on this list. In a year where the line for forced emotions and feelings are replacing natural emotional anticipation and storytelling, Bugonia is the latter. It’s a film that may be overlooked at the awards, but one that certainly deserves a spot at the top half of the nominees from 2025.
6. Hamnet
In the sixth spot and the first film that takes a step up from an overall 4 star to a 4 1/2 star is Chloe Zhao’s newest film, Hamnet. A film that although beautifully shot in its first hour only truly earns its status as one of the best of the year in the back half with emotional performances from both Jessie Buckley (the leading nominee for Best Actress), Paul Mescal and the children actors that surround them in the film. It’s a masterclass in emotional tragic filmmaking. Hamnet represents a modern day Shakespeare tragedy in design and concept; as the film tells the story of Shakespeare’s wife as she deals with the loss of her child and mental loss of her once-happier husband. It’s a film so drastically different from the last film on this list, in that it is driven by the drama and emotion written into the dialogue and narrative. Hamnet represents the complexity and raw naked emotion one hopes to see out of a Best Picture nominee; leading to a discourse of what side of the line of masterpiece and boring, it is on. As you can tell from its placement here in this list and the overall perception of Zhao’s most recent work, the film is much more of a masterpiece than it is tedious.
7. F1
Off the heels of Top Gun Maverick being the blockbuster of the Summer in 2022, Joseph Kosinski delivers yet another fast paced, visual effects blockbuster event that seems to be the shock of award season in F1. With the combination of filmmaker and two of the more electric actors in Hollywood in Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, F1 represents a film that is elevated from normal sports thriller to best picture nominee simply from its theatrical experience, impact and thrilling premise. Taking a film that may lack the nuanced dialogue and storytelling, but understanding its audience by combining the thrill with one of the largest up-and-coming sports in the world so closely, to deliver a success. This is pure entertainment, and sure the discourse around its nomination is valid from many angles, but its general public success and mainstream sound track elevated it to the level where the discourse even became a reality. F1 is a highly successful blockbuster that capitalized on its success through the theaters and Apple TV, to earn what many people believe is the last nomination spot in the best picture, as well as 7th on this list ahead of films that have the nuance but lack the excitement this film brings.
8. The Secret Agent
For the second year in a row a Brazilian film gets nominated for Best Picture, and this time it is Kleber Mendonça Filho’s incredibly well made The Secret Agent. The film not only provides one of the most nuanced spy thrillers of the year through its 2- hour and 40 minutes runtime, but also provides one of the best performances of the year as the film is clearly led by its main character, Wagner Moura, playing three separate roles. Much of the discourse of best actor of the year surrounds Michael B. Jordan’s ability to play two characters, yet Moura performed three with precision and nuance, a feat that, if the metric for the best performance is numbers, would one-up MBJ. Fortunately for most, that is not the case and while both men deliver performances that carry their film to a Best Picture nomination, they stand independently as successful despite the over comparison. The Secret Agent is a story of Marcelo running from his mysterious past as the people around grow more and more suspicious and hesitant to protect him from his past. It’s a film with flaws similar to Frankenstein, a long runtime that jams too much into a film that does not need a lot to do what it needs to do. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s new spy thriller with its pros, cons, and main actor discussion, finds itself at 8th on this TwilightRoom ranking of the 2026 Best Picture nominees.
9. Frankenstein
Original reactions to Guillermo Del Toro’s newest film Frankenstein were all over the place with many commenting on the validity of the adaptation, while inversely many praised the performance of Elordi and the dark whimsy of the world Del Toro creates. I sit more towards the latter side of the early opinion, as the film to me was beautifully shot, acted, and adapted in a way that is unique to the director, but faithful to one of the most classic novels of all time. There are clear issues that were evident directly off watching the film such as the run time not feeling fine-tuned and much of the film feeling too safe for a director that has never played it safe. While the film still remains at an 84/100 for the TwilightRoom, after sitting with the film and seeing how it stacks up with the other 10 nominees, it is clear is is a step down from some of the other large blockbuster award season films of the year, deserving a nomination, but clearly behind the 8 other films ahead of it.
10. Sentimental Value
Sentimental Value’s success this year comes from its honest and raw performances surrounding how the film industry can impact individuals and families. A film whose narrative plot and technical production for me did not exceed the level of good, but certainly had an impact on so many. Joachim Trier’s true talent as a filmmaker here is highlighted in his 4 main characters performances. as Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleass, and Elle Fanning carry a film to the height of an International Best Picture nomination. There is so much to enjoy from not only their performances but a modern telling of the creation of a film within a film, a unique concept Trier tackles with enticing precision. The film simply just did not resonate with me the way it did with other audiences, and while I still believe it is one of the better films to release last year; I stand by it being the lowest on this ranking of the nominees for 2026.
