Now that November is officially upon us, there are fewer than three months until the Oscars 2026 nominations are formally announced by the Academy. Some major contenders — One Battle After Another, Sinner — have already been released and shored up their spots as Best Picture frontrunners.
For the next several weeks, you’ll be hard-pressed to have a week go by without one movie with Oscar hopes debuting. This was even the case for most of October, with The Smashing Machine, After the Hunt, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, and Bugonia among the titles with fall releases that figured to be major players in the rest of the season.
While October gave people plenty of titles to consider in the grand scheme of the 98th Academy Awards, the first full weekend of November could be viewed as the time when Hollywood really starts the onslaught of Oscar-hopeful releases. Predator: Badlands might be the movie that dominates the box office, but these other five movies coming out this weekend have award aspirations.
Christy
Sydney Sweeney headlines a new Oscar contender in Christy. She plays real-life boxer Christy Martin in the biopic directed by David Michôd (The King, War Machine). It follows her rise through the sport and her husband’s attempt to murder her. Black Bear Pictures is releasing Christy in theaters this weekend, two months after it premiered at TIFF.
The film features a transformative role for Sweeney, who trained for a long time to physically resemble the boxer in a believable fashion. Reviews for Christy have praised her work in the film on a dramatic and emotional level, on top of the physicality. That’s the main reason the film has found itself in Oscars conversations.
Sweeney is one of many names still in the mix for an Oscars 2026 Best Actress nomination. The buzz about this possibility began after the film’s festival debut, and while some of that momentum has faded in the last two months, Christy‘s theatrical release is Sweeney’s chance to regain her footing in the race.
There’s no doubt that the 28-year-old rising star is Christy‘s best chance at being part of the Oscars. If the film gains enough support, a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Ben Foster may also be possible. That’s probably the peak of the movie’s Oscar contention, as it’s unlikely to factor into below-the-line categories, Adapted Screenplay, Director, or Best Picture.
Die, My Love
Just as Christy hopes to bolster Sweeney’s campaign, the release of Die, My Love could do the same for Jennifer Lawrence in Best Actress. She stars as a new mom who experiences the challenges of motherhood and living in isolation in the film directed by Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin). Mubi is releasing it this weekend, months after it debuted at Cannes.
Lawrence is already an Academy Award winner with four nominations overall, and there’s a chance that Die, My Love will bring her a fifth. She’s been consistently praised for the work she does here, with some even calling it a career-best performance. If Academy voters agree with that sentiment, then Lawrence will very much be a factor in the Best Actress category once more.
There is momentum already building for her, too. Lawrence was recently nominated for the Gotham Awards in Outstanding Lead Performance for the film. She was also the only woman nominated by the British Independent Film Awards for Best Lead Performance. These could be the first of many nominations that come her way as awards season picks up, especially as Die, My Love releases wide.
While Lawrence is the safest bet for Die, My Love getting in the Oscars mix, there is an outside shot of Lynne Ramsay finally getting a Best Director nomination. The film would really have to surge through the rest of awards season to become a contender in below-the-line categories or try and get Robert Pattinson into the Best Supporting Actor race. As it stands, this is really a showcase for Jennifer Lawrence.
Train Dreams
Netflix has two major Oscar contenders coming out this week, albeit in different ways. This is thanks to Train Dreams starting its limited theatrical release then before becoming available on the streaming service on November 21.
The arrival of Train Dreams has been a long time coming for those who track potential awards season contenders. It premiered at Sundance back in January to rave reviews, leading Netflix to acquire it. The movie has been spotlighted as a potential contender in several Oscar categories, including Best Picture.
Train Dreams is a drama that follows a railroad developer, played by Joel Edgerton, whose work puts a strain on his relationship with his wife, played by Felicity Jones, and their daughter. It’s directed by Clint Bentley, who also co-wrote the script with Greg Kwedar. The movie recently secured Gotham Award nominations for Best Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Edgerton winning a few prizes from film festivals.
With more people able to start checking out Train Dreams this week, its position in the Oscars race will start to crystallize. There are potential nominations in Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Supporting Actor for the film coming next year.
Sentimental Value
There’s reason for optimism that Train Dreams will be a major awards contender, but undoubtedly the biggest Oscar contender hitting theaters this weekend is Sentimental Value. The Norwegian film comes from director Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World) and follows the complicated reunion of two sisters and their father after their mother’s death.
The expectation that Sentimental Value would be an awards contender existed from the time it started development, and its status as a legitimate, top-tier frontrunner has only grown as people have seen it. The response from its Cannes debut was nearly universal acclaim, and it won the festival’s second-biggest prize, the Grand Prix.
Sentimental Value is the favorite to win Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. It’d be a complete shock if it didn’t earn nominations in Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (for Stellan Skarsgård). There’s also a real chance of nominations in Director for Trier, Actress for Renate Reinsve, Supporting Actress for Elle Fanning and/or Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Original Screenplay.
More nominations could come the film’s way as awards season continues on, especially if the theatrical release goes as well as Neon hopes.
Frankenstein
While the previous movies are all going to be in theaters, Frankenstein is using this week to expand its audience. Netflix already released Guillermo del Toro’s monster movie in select theaters a few weeks ago, which gave the film a boost in awards conversations. Now, it’s set to launch on Netflix and become immediately available to hundreds of millions of subscribers.
The reimagining of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel has had a curious path this awards season. Expectations were so high for del Toro’s new feature before it premiered at Venice that the somewhat lukewarm reception to it made the movie look like it might not be all that serious of an Oscars threat. It then got a boost with a People’s Choice Award runner-up finish at TIFF.
Appreciation for the movie has continued to grow since then, which has now positioned Frankenstein firmly in a few different races. A Best Picture nomination is realistic once more, as are nominations in Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, and Costume Design. It could even emerge in Director, Visual Effects, Casting, and more if love for it keeps building.
As the only major Oscar contender debuting on streaming this week, Frankenstein has a chance to really solidify its place this award season. More people should watch it than the other four hopefuls, and impressing viewers — both casual and in the Academy — now can separate it from some of its competition.
8/10
- Location
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Los Angeles, CA
- Dates
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March 15, 2026
- Website
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https://www.oscars.org/
