Turning the corner on October into November, awards campaign season in full swing. Like most years, the vagaries of festival berths and theatrical releases can shake up any given studio’s strategy mid-season, and as we head into the home stretch for the year, we’re taking a look at where each studio stands in terms of its campaigns and its contenders.
Who has an embarrassment of riches? Who is putting all their chips behind a single title? And who just combined two studios, possibly damaging the business forever, all to put forward an underwhelming slate for its first at bat?
Here’s our complete rundown of the state of the race, by studio.
Universal
Three years after Oppenheimer earned them a Best Picture, the home of Jaws surely smells blood in the water once again. Christopher Nolan returned to the studio for The Odyssey — his second film there in a row — and once again delivered a box-office hit that’s sure to play well with the Academy. Nothing else on the Universal Pictures slate comes close.
But over at the Focus Features label, a handful of smaller films have potential to snag either an acting nomination or craft awards. Primarily, there’s Inde Navarrette star-making performance in Obsession, single-handedly boosting that film’s overall odds. Andrew Scott in Elsinore is well-positioned for a run at Best Actor, and still to come is Werwulf, the latest from Robert Eggers which could certainly tear into some below-the-line categories.
Neon
As it has for the last several years, the indie company had a busy spring buying up festival favorites out of Cannes, and as the fall approached, a more cohesive awards strategy came into focus. On the international acquisition side, Neon has Palme d’Or winner Fjord and the latest from Drive My Car‘s Ryusuke Hamaguchi, All of a Sudden. Despite the Cannes win, Fjord has fallen behind All of a Sudden in Best Picture, but potential acting nominations for Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve will keep the Cristian Mungiu film a priority.
Perhaps the biggest Cinderella story of the season, Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial has received a warm critical reception after Amazon MGM unceremoniously dropped it, allowing Neon the pickup. That, James Gray’s Paper Tiger, and the William Greaves documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem could easily find their way into the nomination list.
A24
Until a few weeks ago, A24’s effort so far this season has primarily been spent reminding the industry that a lot of people really like Olivia Wilde’s The Invite back in June, and the work seems to be paying off. The film is in the Top 10 for Best Picture, and Wilde is well-positioned in Best Actress to score at least one nom, as is the screenplay from Rashida Jones and Will McCormick.
But then You Can See Everything opened in theaters. The documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim is wildly overperforming at the box office and generating the kind of buzz that could very well lead to some historic Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Heat like this can envelop an entire awards season, so expect A24 to capitalize.
The indie company also has Sundance favorite Club Kid, a nomination-worthy Robert Pattinson in Primetime, and Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, featuring a walking reminder that Julianne Moore only has one Oscar.
Amazon MGM
This slate comes down to two films, and they’re likely to divide Golden Globes categories with the hopes of conquering. First and foremost, there’s Project Hail Mary, which seems to be following The Martian’s Playbook in its attempts to land both Best Motion Picture and Best Actor nominations in Musical/Comedy categories for the film and its leading man, Ryan Gosling.
Over in the Drama department, there’s the also tonally-borderline I Play Rocky, which could plant a flag in Best Actor with Sylvester Stallone look-alike Anthony Ippolito.
Skydance
The first awards cycle for the combined Warner Bros. and Paramount doesn’t exactly look like last year’s offerings. Whereas 2025 had the two Best Picture favorites coming from WB, 2026 has Dune: Part Three (sure to clean up on the craft side, above-the-line is TBD) and a down-but-not-out Digger, both from the Warners side.
Sony
With The Social Reckoning falling flat and I Swear not making the impact hoped for after Richard Aramayo’s surprise BAFTA win, all Sony really has going for it is John Turturro’s turn in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York. A nomination for the Barton Fink actor is absurdly overdue.
Netflix
At the moment, Netflix’s strongest contenders come from abroad. La Bola Negra won Best Director at Cannes in May and maintained awards momentum leading up to its limited theatrical release earlier this month. But the release of You Can See Everything that same weekend seemed to gobble up all of the attention among Best Picture contenders, even though La Bola Negra continues to rank high in the odds.
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, with its sterling critical reception, could be a sleeper for the streamer, especially in International Feature, where it’s been selected as South Korea’s entry.
Disney
Outside of Toy Story 5‘s attempt at a third Best Animated Feature win for the franchise, Disney’s awards prospects lie with Searchlight, which has both the Best Picture and Best Actor contender Wild Horse Nine and the shoo-in for Most Composers, Behemoth!
Lionsgate
Fighting an uphill battle against the Tomatometer and people with access to Wikipedia, Lionsgate is making a push to turn its blockbuster music biopic Michael into a serious awards contender. The mini-major hit their first rough patch when the Golden Globes didn’t bite at their attempt to sneak into Musical or Comedy categories, but there is no shortage of enthusiasm for the movie — just not with critics.
