VFX category narrowed down to 10 films, animated shorts to 15; voting for nominations runs next month, January 12-16, with nomination announcements set for January 22, 2026.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just released shortlists in 12 categories for the 98th Academy Awards: Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects.Nominations voting begins on Monday, January 12, 2026, and concludes on Friday, January 16, 2026.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.All 12 shortlists are shown below: ANIMATED SHORT FILM 15 films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards.
113 films qualified in the category.Academy members from the Animation Branch and Short Films Branch were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: CASTING 10 films will advance in the Casting category for the 98th Academy Awards.Members of the Casting Directors Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from the shortlisted films and pre-recorded interviews with their casting directors on Friday, January 9, 2026, in Los Angeles and London, and in New York on Saturday, January 10, 2026.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: CINEMATOGRAPHY 16 films will advance in the Cinematography category for the 98th Academy Awards.Members of the Cinematographers Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.Per the awards rules for the 98th Academy Awards, the preliminary round of voting will determine a shortlist of between 10 and 20 films.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM 15 films will advance in the Documentary Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards.201 films were eligible in the category.Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM 15 films will advance in the Documentary Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards.117 films qualified in the category.Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM 15 films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards.Films from 86 countries or regions were eligible in the category.Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Norway, Palestine, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM 15 films will advance in the Live Action Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards.207 films qualified in the category.
Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING 10 films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 98th Academy Awards.
Members of the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.Academy members will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 10, 2026. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) 20 scores will advance in the Original Score category for the 98th Academy Awards.132 scores were eligible in the category.
Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are: MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG) 15 songs will advance in the Original Song category for the 98th Academy Awards.65 songs were eligible in the category.
Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title: “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” from “Dear Me” from “Dream As One” from “Drive” from “Dying To Live” from “The Girl In The Bubble” from “Golden” from “Highest 2 Lowest” from “I Lied To You” from “Last Time (I Seen The Sun)” from “No Place Like Home” from “Our Love” from “Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from “Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from “Train Dreams” from SOUND 10 films will advance in the Sound category for the 98th Academy Awards.All eligible members of the Sound Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from each of the shortlisted films beginning Saturday, January 10, 2025, in the San Francisco Bay area, London and New York, followed by Los Angeles on Sunday, January 11, 2026. The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are: VISUAL EFFECTS 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 98th Academy Awards.The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist.Academy members will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 10, 2026.
Visual Effects Branch members will vote to determine the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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