Warner Bros Emerges as Potential Frontrunner in Early 2026 Oscar Race

2025 hasn’t ended yet, and there are several films left to be released by year’s end. However, early Oscar predictions have started pouring in from all sides, and the hype is unstoppable.​

The upcoming 98th Academy Awards in March 2026 have become the key focus for Warner Bros, and we can clearly see that Warner Bros emerges as potential frontrunner in the Oscars 2026 conversation. It is positioning itself as a likely frontrunner and leveraging early preparation and industry momentum to strengthen its Oscar prospects.

Warner Bros emerges as potential frontrunner — but which film will lead the charge?​

Suggestions have started coming in for early predictions in all categories, particularly Best Picture. Here are some of the films by Warner Bros released this year that are taking the centre stage:

	Director	IMDb	Rotten Tomatoes
Sinners	Ryan Coogler	7.6	97%
One Battle After Another	Paul Thomas Anderson	8.2	95%
F1 The Movie	Joseph Kosinski	7.7	82%
Weapons	Zach Cregger	7.5	93%

​​Don’t these numbers stun you? Sinners and One Battle After Another seem to be the most likely winners in the said category, as they are gigantic. Their theatrical numbers and gross earnings have proved that they have more to themselves.​

It is easy to predict Ryan Coogler or Paul Thomas Anderson receiving the golden Oscar lady in their hands and making the speech. However, both movies require a specific audience taste.

The positioning of films as Oscar contenders is a matter of visibility, perception, and momentum. Did you notice the word “perception” here? In today’s digital media world, perceptions are ‘created’.​

From the day the trailers of Sinners and One Battle were released till the day of their final releases, the post-release campaigns kept mentioning their names over several media pages, shaping the way people see these movies.​

They were portrayed as ‘grand’ names in the entertainment industry, as their directors are also well-known names. They were called at events, podcasts, interviews, and people on social media couldn’t stop posting their opinions around them.​

Bringing the talent to the front page is all about virality and presence on digital platforms. The same stood true for the F1 movie and Weapons. As soon as the film is launched, critics’ reviews create the hype for a movie to be successful, and this is what urges the general audience to see for themselves how good a film is.​

Still, promotions cannot justify the film’s ability to earn its place in the Oscar nominations for the Best Picture category. Script, actors, story depth, release timing, etc, have their power too.

Will Warner Bros be able to chase the Oscar magic number ‘14’?

The magic number 14 is the highest number of nominations a single film can receive in the Academy Awards. Only three movies have ever been able to make this history, namely All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016).

All About Eve was distributed by 20th Century Studios. Paramount Pictures had the distribution rights of Titanic, while La La Land was distributed by Lionsgate.​

Getting 14 nominations is considered a pinnacle of achievement recognized by the Academy. Warner Bros has never reached this milestone of having a film as an Oscar contender or nominee that earns 14 nominations.

These 14 categories of nominations are:

• Best Picture
• Best Actor
• Best Actress
• Best Director
• Best Original Screenplay or Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Supporting Actor and Actress
• Best Cinematography
• Best Production Design
• Best Costume Design
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Song
• Best Visual Effects
• Best Sound

It does not certify that Warner Bros might bag a nomination that guarantees its Best Picture win. We all know the Academy is increasingly celebrating diversity and global storytelling narratives; Warner Bros might want to take a leap of faith.

The studio’s pursuit of the magic number 14 reflects not only its awards ambitions but its understanding of what modern cinematic excellence looks like.  

Warner Bros eyes the magic number 14 via its celebration of Black representation

Warner Bros does know very well how to capture attention. The point that I am making here is about the inclusion of black actors and how they have taken over the cinematic success to the next level this year.

Critics’ Choice Association has decided to honor the Director Award for the Academy Award nominee Ryan Coogler for his work on Warner Bros’ Sinners. Sinners remains a celebration of Black culture that turned out to be a cinematic achievement.​

The film got the highest-grossing opening for an original film released in the last ten years. Warner Bros appears to be capitalizing smartly on this cultural moment by supporting and elevating films like Sinners and One Battle After Another that have Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.

Films like these combine representation with mainstream appeal, giving the actors and the stories Black inclusion and recognition worldwide. Warner Bros wants to leverage this momentum during the awards season and use these two films as both a prestige play and a cultural statement.​

Warner Bros eyes the magic number 14 by championing the underrated genres​

Sports action and horror remain the overlooked genres when it comes to the Academy nominations. Probably, it considers them less artistic than other genres.

Except for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which won the “Big Five” (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay), no other horror film has ever achieved the feat of winning Best Picture. Can Warner Bros’ Weapons change that​?

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Warner Bros says on its Instagram: “There are people you forget, and then there is Aunty Gladys”. The statement reflects the heavy impact that Amy Madigan’s character and the film have made over the past few weeks as Weapons showed the second-lowest audience decline through its second weekend box office opening, per Variety.  ​

As British GQ says, 

“The Academy doesn’t usually go for genre movies. But we’re heading for the first post-Substance Oscars; 2026 might be the year that horror finally reigns supreme.” [Source]

On the other hand, the F1 movie became Brad Pitt’s biggest film in a leading role with an impressive opening, making F1 sport a revived brand altogether. The film became famous due to a major Hollywood production, high-octane action scenes, a star-studded cast, and a critically as well as commercially successful box office performance.​

The realistic depiction of the pressure and intensity of F1 sport played a key role in resonating with the global audience, coming from a celebrated director of Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Joseph Kosinski.

By bringing these genre-diverse films into the spotlight, Warner Bros is effectively creating a portfolio of Oscar-worthy contenders. The studio is clearly giving a signal that winning over traditional Academy voters is not easy, and it needs to appeal to a global audience differently.

Wrapping up…

Warner Bros.’ strategy aligns perfectly with its broader Awards season play, making perfect use of cultural relevance, technical excellence, and box-office impact. It makes a compelling case for Warner Bros to receive multiple nominations, including Best Picture.

Warner Bros’ 2025 slate demonstrates a carefully calculated approach to the 2026 Oscars. As early speculations intensify across the industry, Warner Bros is leading early predictions to set an award-season narrative. It is not only playing the game but strategically reshaping it.