Oscar Race Heats Up Early: Key Films Lead Shortlists for 98th Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists for the 98th Academy Awards on Tuesday night, marking the beginning of a crucial phase in the competition for the film industry's most prestigious honors.

This year's shortlists encompass 12 categories, including Best Original Song, Best Score, Best International Feature Film, and Best Documentary. A new category, "Best Casting," has been introduced to highlight a key aspect of filmmaking.

Films such as "Vampires" directed by Ryan Coogler and "Sinners," along with the musical "Wicked: For Good," emerged as frontrunners, each receiving eight nominations across significant artistic categories including makeup and hairstyling, sound, visual effects, score, cinematography, casting, and original songs.

Notable entries in the Best Original Song category include tracks like "The Girl in the Bubble" and "There's No Place Like Home" from "Wicked," alongside songs from "Sinners" and the track "Gold" from the Netflix series "KPop Demon Hunters." Renowned artists such as Nick Cave, John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, and Diane Warren, who could receive her seventeenth nomination, are also featured.

In the Best International Feature Film category, 15 films from around the globe were selected, including "The Voice of Hind Rjeb" by Tunisian director Kawther Ben Hania, "Emotional Value" by Norwegian director Joachim Trier, and "The President's Cake" by Iraqi director Hassan Hadi, alongside entries from Spain, France, Brazil, and South Korea.

The documentary shortlist includes works addressing significant political and humanitarian issues, such as "My Unwanted Friends," "The Ideal Neighbor," and "Come See Me in Good Light," as well as a collaborative film by the Associated Press and PBS Frontline titled "2000 Meters to Andriivka."

For the new "Casting" category, ten films have qualified to compete for five final spots, including "Frankenstein," "Hamlet," "Battle After Battle," and "Sinners."

The shortlists will be narrowed down to five films in each category when the final nominations are announced on January 22, 2024. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 15, 2026, hosted live by journalist Conan O'Brien on ABC.