Hollywood’s action-packed political satire One Battle After Another and the vampire musical Sinners topped the nominations for the 2026 Actor Awards, signalling the likely frontrunners for this year’s Oscars. Both films are nominated for the prestigious honour of best movie cast, competing with the Shakespeare-inspired drama Hamnet, the sports comedy Marty Supreme, and the Gothic sci-fi Frankenstein.
Read More: Golden Globe nominations 2026 — ‘One Battle after Another’ leads list
The Actor Awards, previously known as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, are closely watched because winners are selected by members of SAG-AFTRA, the largest voting bloc for the Academy Awards. Nominated actors include Leonardo DiCaprio for his role as Bob in One Battle After Another, Michael B. Jordan for his dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack Moore in Sinners, and Jessie Buckley for her portrayal of Agnes Hathaway in Hamnet.
Delroy Lindo’s been making films better for five decades & I’ll be damned if I don’t use every last ounce of effort I have to see that Lindo is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Sinners. @TheAcademy he should’ve been nominated long before this. Please give the man his due. pic.twitter.com/qszNo0JPUQ
— Cinema Tweets (@CinemaTweets1) December 19, 2025
Television categories also feature strong competition. The dark comedy series The White Lotus will face medical drama The Pitt and psychological thriller Severance, while culinary comedy The Bear competes with The Studio, Abbott Elementary, and Hacks. The Emmy-winning limited series Adolescence also received multiple nominations, highlighting a diverse range of contenders across streaming and network platforms.
The awards ceremony, which was renamed in January 2025, will announce winners on March 1 and stream live on Netflix. Last year, the organisers had cancelled the live announcement of nominations due to the Los Angeles wildfires, opting for an online announcement instead.
Read More: Leonardo DiCaprio promotes ‘One Battle After Another’ in Mexico
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin acknowledged the anniversary of the wildfires during Wednesday’s nominations. “This is the first anniversary of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires,” Astin said, highlighting the resilience of the Hollywood community. With nominations set, industry watchers will be closely monitoring the results as a key indicator of potential Academy Award winners