The Oscar nominations 2026 left India’s Homebound out of the final five for Best International Feature, while Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab gave Arabic-language cinema a place in the race. Here are the five films that made the cut.
The Oscar nominations 2026 were announced on 22 January by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound had reached the shortlist of 15 but did not make the final five, so India’s wait for a nomination in the category goes on.
The biggest headline belonged to Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which earned 16 nominations, the most for any film in Oscar history.
Oscar nominations 2026 at a glance
Oscar nominations 2026 at a glance- Announced: 22 January 2026, Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills
- Ceremony: 15 March 2026 at the Dolby Theatre, hosted by Conan O’Brien
- Most nominations: Sinners with 16, a new record
- Runner-up: One Battle After Another with 13
- India’s entry: Homebound, shortlisted but not nominated
- Arabic-language nominee: The Voice of Hind Rajab for Tunisia
- New category: Best Casting, presented for the first time
Why Homebound missed the Oscar nominations 2026
Homebound follows two childhood friends from a small North Indian village, one Muslim and one Dalit, who chase a place in the police service as pressure tears at their friendship. Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa lead the cast, with Janhvi Kapoor, and the story grew out of a 2020 New York Times essay by Basharat Peer.
The film had serious backing. Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions produced it, Martin Scorsese came on board as an executive producer, and it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes on 21 May 2025 before making the December shortlist of 15.
The final five proved a step too far in a field full of Cannes and Venice prize-winners. India has been nominated only three times, for Mother India, Salaam Bombay! and Lagaan, and Lagaan at the 2002 ceremony remains the most recent.
Oscar nominations 2026: the Best International Feature five
Al Jazeera’s complete list of the Oscar nominations 2026 confirms the five nominees, and every one of them had already won a major prize at Cannes or Venice. Here is what each film is about.
1. The Secret Agent (Brazil)
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s thriller is set in Recife in 1977, during the military dictatorship, and follows Wagner Moura as Armando, a former professor trying to escape persecution over the carnival holiday.
It was the most awarded film at Cannes 2025, winning Best Director and Best Actor. The Oscar nominations 2026 brought it four nods, including Best Picture, and Moura became the first Brazilian nominated for Best Actor.
2. It Was Just an Accident (France)
Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner begins when a man hits a dog while driving at night. A former political prisoner becomes convinced the driver is the guard who tormented him in jail, kidnaps him, and then has to decide what revenge is worth.
Panahi shot it in Iran in secret, without a filming permit, and France submitted it for the category. It also picked up a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
3. Sentimental Value (Norway)
Joachim Trier’s family drama reunites two sisters with their estranged father, a film director played by Stellan Skarsgård, who is preparing his next film with a young American actress played by Elle Fanning. Renate Reinsve plays Nora, one of the two sisters.
It won the Grand Prix at Cannes and led the international field in the Oscar nominations 2026 with nine, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and two in Best Supporting Actress.
4. Sirât (Spain)
Oliver Laxe’s desert odyssey stars Sergi López as a father searching for his daughter in an apocalyptic world of raves. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Variety reported that Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s company El Deseo is among its co-producers.
Alongside Best International Feature, the Oscar nominations 2026 gave it a nod for Best Sound. It also had 11 Goya nominations at home.
5. The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)
5. The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)Kaouther Ben Hania’s film follows Palestine Red Crescent volunteers answering a 2024 emergency call from Hind Rajab, a young girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza. Ben Hania obtained around 70 minutes of the real call recording, and the film weaves those voices into the drama.
It premiered in competition at Venice on 3 September 2025 and won the Grand Jury Prize. According to the film’s Wikipedia entry, its executive producers include Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón and Jonathan Glazer.
For Arab audiences across the Gulf, it was the story of the Oscar nominations 2026. It was the third of Ben Hania’s films to be nominated, after The Man Who Sold His Skin in 2021 and the documentary Four Daughters in 2024, and its Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees was unable to attend the ceremony because of US entry restrictions.
Other headline Oscar nominations 2026
Sinners beat the previous record of 14 nominations shared by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another came next with 13.
- Best Picture: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners and Train Dreams
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Josh Safdie, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joachim Trier and Ryan Coogler
- Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B Jordan and Wagner Moura
- Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve and Emma Stone
What happened on Oscars night
At the ceremony on 15 March 2026, Sentimental Value became the first Norwegian film to win Best International Feature. One Battle After Another took Best Picture and Best Director, Michael B Jordan won Best Actor for Sinners, and Jessie Buckley became the first Irish actress to win Best Actress, for Hamnet.
Oscar nominations 2026 FAQs
When were the Oscar nominations 2026 announced?
On 22 January 2026, ahead of the ceremony on 15 March.
Was Homebound nominated for an Oscar?
No. It made the shortlist of 15 for Best International Feature but missed the final five.
Which Arab film was nominated in 2026?
Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, was nominated for Best International Feature.
Look back at Homebound’s Oscar campaign and India at the Oscars through the years, and find more in our Global Cinema section.