The 2026 Academy Awards shortlists have been officially announced and, as every year, the Oscars, as they are universally known, tell us much more than a simple preliminary selection: they are a map of the state of contemporary cinema, of its obsessions, its artistic ambitions, and its industrial transformations.
Among the most frequently recurring titles, it’s no surprise to see Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro and Train Dreams by Clint Bentley, two very different works that nonetheless share a rare auteurial precision and a strong emotional imprint. Netflix, once again, confirms itself as a central player in the race for the Oscars. The decisive date is set for January 22, when the official nominations will be announced. But already now theshortlists are sketching out moral winners, favorites and – inevitably – major snubs.
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Frankenstein according to Guillermo del Toro
If there is one film that dominates these shortlists, it’s Frankenstein. The most personal and obsessive project by Guillermo del Toro appears multiple times in key categories: Casting, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound and Visual Effects. A result that confirms not only the power of the film, but also its deeply “Academy-friendly” nature.
Guillermo del Toro (already awarded for Pinocchio, Best Animated Feature of 2023) reinterprets Mary Shelley’s myth as a gothic, romantic and political work, relying on surgical casting (a category introduced for the first time this year) and on handcrafted staging that seems to deliberately oppose algorithm-driven cinema. It is Netflix’s strongest film in the race for the 2026 Oscars, also thanks to the momentum of the Golden Globe nominations for Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.
Train Dreams: an American epic
Less flashy but no less impactful is Train Dreams, Clint Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novel. The film appears in the shortlists for Cinematography, Original Score and Original Song, confirming its nature as contemplative cinema, rooted in early 20th-century American history. It’s one of those titles the Academy likes to reward over time: intimate, melancholic, rigorous, able to depict an era through the smallest gestures of an ordinary man. An outsider that could turn into a surprise on nomination day.
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Netflix between animation, music and documentary
Alongside the two major favorites, Netflix places other strategic titles in the shortlists:
- KPop Demon Hunters, a musical animated phenomenon, enters the race for Best Original Song with Golden, showing how the hybridization between global pop and animation is now fully legitimized even by the Academy.
- The Perfect Neighbor, an urgent and politically necessary documentary, appears among the Best Documentaries and confirms Netflix’s central role in nonfiction storytelling.
- Left-Handed Girl, which represents Taiwan in the Best International Feature Film category, strengthens the increasingly global dimension of the Oscars.
The big novelty: the birth of the Oscar for “Best Casting”
The 2026 Oscar shortlists will be remembered above all for a historic turning point: the introduction of the Best Casting category. A long-awaited recognition that finally celebrates the work of casting directors in building credible, coherent, and memorable ensembles. Here are the ten selected films:
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- Una battaglia dopo l’altra
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- I peccatori
- Sirât
- Weapons
- Wicked: For Good
It’s a list that almost perfectly overlaps with the strongest titles of the entire awards season. Not by chance, I peccatori and Wicked: For Good lead the overall shortlists with eight mentions, while Frankenstein follows with six. On January 22, the members of the Academy’s Casting Branch will narrow this list down to five official nominations.
Heading toward the nominations: what to expect
The 2026 Oscar shortlists depict an Academy increasingly open to auteur cinema, high-quality series and platforms, but also eager to restore value to often invisible artistic professions. In this landscape, Netflix is no longer an outsider: it is one of the main architects of awards season. Now the ball passes to January 22. But one thing is already clear: the race to the 2026 Oscars has officially begun.
