Oscar Predictions - Daniel Howat - Next Best Picture

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Daniel Howat

Journalist and Awards Prognosticator for Next Best Picture.

@howatdk_

Best Picture

Jul 29

1 Saturn Return	Saturn Return 1	Saturn Return Netflix \| Greg Kwedar
2	2	Wild Horse Nine Searchlight \| Martin McDonagh
3 4	3 4	The Odyssey Universal \| Christopher Nolan
4 1	4 1	Fjord Neon \| Cristian Mungiu
5 3	5 3	La Bola Negra Netflix \| Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
6 1	6 1	Behemoth! Searchlight \| Tony Gilroy
7 1	7 1	Project Hail Mary Amazon MGM \| Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
8 1	8 1	Dune: Part Three Warner Bros. \| Denis Villeneuve
9 1	9 1	The Debut A24 \| Jesse Eisenberg
10 1	10 1	Obsession Focus Features \| Curry Barker

Best Director

Jul 15

1 1	1 1	Greg Kwedar Saturn Return
2 1	2 1	Martin McDonagh Wild Horse Nine
3 1	3 1	Christopher Nolan The Odyssey
4 1	4 1	Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo La Bola Negra
5 7	5 7	Tony Gilroy Behemoth!

Best Actress

Jul 31

1	1	Renate Reinsve Fjord
2	2	Rachel Brosnahan Saturn Return
3	3	Julianne Moore The Debut
4	4	Ruth Madeley Being Heumann
5 1	5 1	Inde Navarrette Obsession

Best Actor

Aug 6

1 4	1 4	Andrew Scott Elsinore
2	2	John Malkovich Wild Horse Nine
3	3	Sebastian Stan Fjord
4 2	4 2	Robert Pattinson Primetime
5 1	5 1	Pedro Pascal Behemoth!

Best Supporting Actress

Jul 15

1	1	Sandra Hüller Digger
2	2	Penélope Cruz La Bola Negra
3 1	3 1	Mariana di Girolamo Wild Horse Nine
4 1	4 1	Anne Hathaway The Odyssey
5	5	Eva Victor Behemoth!

Best Supporting Actor

Jul 28

1	1	Paul Giamatti The Debut
2	2	Sam Rockwell Wild Horse Nine
3	3	Jeremy Strong The Social Reckoning
4	4	Mark Ruffalo Being Heumann
5	5	John Goodman Digger

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jun 29

1	1	La Bola Negra Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo \| Netflix
2	2	All of a Sudden Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Léa Le Dimna \| Neon
3	3	Project Hail Mary Drew Goddard \| Amazon MGM
4	4	The Invite Rashida Jones, Will McCormack \| A24
5	5	The Odyssey Christopher Nolan \| Universal

Best Original Screenplay

Jul 15

1	1	Wild Horse Nine Martin McDonagh \| Searchlight
2 Saturn Return	Saturn Return 2	Saturn Return Gaelyn Golde, Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley \| Netflix
3 1	3 1	Fjord Cristian Mungiu \| Neon
4 1	4 1	The Debut Jesse Eisenberg \| A24
5 2	5 2	Behemoth! Tony Gilroy \| Searchlight

Best Casting

Jun 29

1	1	La Bola Negra Eva Leira, Yolanda Serrano \| Netflix
2	2	Obsession Skyler Zurn \| Focus Features
3	3	Digger Francine Maisler \| Warner Bros.
4	4	The Debut Douglas Aibel \| A24
5	5	The Odyssey John Papsidera \| Universal

Best Animated Feature

Jun 29

1	1	Ray Gunn Netflix \| Brad Bird
2	2	Wildwood Fathom \| Travis Knight
3	3	In Waves Netflix \| Phuong Mai Nguyen
4	4	Forgotten Island Universal \| Januel Mercado, Joel Crawford
5	5	Toy Story 5 Disney \| Andrew Stanton

Best Documentary Feature

Jun 29

1	1	Once Upon a Time in Harlem Neon \| William Greaves, David Greaves
2	2	American Doctor
3	3	Nuisance Bear
4	4	One in a Million PBS \| Itab Azzam, Jack Macinnes
5	5	When a Witness Recants

Best International Feature Film

Jun 29

1	1	La Bola Negra
2	2	Fjord
3	3	All of a Sudden
4	4	Coward
5	5	Fatherland

Best Cinematography

Jul 15

1 3	1 3	Dune: Part Three Linus Sandgren \| Warner Bros.
2 1	2 1	Digger Emmanuel Lubezki \| Warner Bros.
3 1	3 1	The Odyssey Hoyte van Hoytema \| Universal
4 1	4 1	Project Hail Mary Greig Fraser \| Amazon MGM
5	5	La Bola Negra Gris Jordana \| Netflix

Best Costume Design

Jun 29

1	1	The Odyssey Universal
2	2	Sense and Sensibility Grace Snell \| Focus Features
3	3	Werwulf Focus Features
4	4	Dune: Part Three Warner Bros.
5	5	La Bola Negra Ana López Cobos \| Netflix

Best Film Editing

Jul 15

1	1	The Odyssey Jennifer Lame \| Universal
2	2	Wild Horse Nine Mikkel E.G. Nielsen \| Searchlight
3	3	La Bola Negra Alberto Gutiérrez \| Netflix
4 1	4 1	Project Hail Mary Joel Negron \| Amazon MGM
5 3	5 3	Behemoth! John Gilroy \| Searchlight

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Jun 29

1	1	Digger Warner Bros.
2	2	Werwulf Focus Features
3	3	Clayface Warner Bros.
4	4	The Odyssey Universal
5	5	Dune: Part Three Warner Bros.

Best Production Design

Jul 15

1 1	1 1	Werwulf Craig Lathrop, Anna Pinnock \| Focus Features
2 1	2 1	Dune: Part Three Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau \| Warner Bros.
3 1	3 1	The Odyssey Ruth De Jong, Larry Dias, Gene Serdena \| Universal
4 3	4 3	Digger Anna Pinnock, Dennis Gassner, Richard L. Johnson \| Warner Bros.
5	5	Project Hail Mary Charles Wood, John Bush \| Amazon MGM

Best Original Score

Jul 21

1	1	The Odyssey Ludwig Göransson \| Universal
2	2	Project Hail Mary Daniel Pemberton \| Amazon MGM
3	3	La Bola Negra Raül Refree \| Netflix
4	4	Wild Horse Nine Carter Burwell \| Searchlight
5	5	Disclosure Day John Williams \| Universal

Best Original Song

Aug 19

1	1	La Nieve La Bola Negra
2 2	2 2	TBD The Debut
3 2	3 2	How to Write a Song (Without You) Power Ballad
4 2	4 2	I Knew It, I Knew You Toy Story 5
5	5	By Any Means By Any Means

Best Sound

Jun 29

1	1	Dune: Part Three Warner Bros.
2	2	The Odyssey Universal
3	3	Project Hail Mary Amazon MGM
4	4	La Bola Negra Netflix
5	5	Digger Warner Bros.

Best Visual Effects

Jul 15

1	1	Project Hail Mary Amazon MGM
2	2	Dune: Part Three Warner Bros.
3 1	3 1	Godzilla Minus Zero GKIDS
4 1	4 1	Whalefall 20th Century
5 1	5 1	The End of Oak Street Warner Bros.