2026 Oscar Predictions: FILM EDITING and CINEMATOGRAPHY (December)
The Oscar shortlists are here, and after a 46-year absence, gave us 16 eligible films for the Cinematography Oscar, and bringing some very surprising inclusions and omissions.
While the expected titles like Sinners, One Battle After Another and Hamnet made the cut, the addition of Sirāt, Sound of Falling, Sentimental Value and Die My Love were inspired choices, and at least in the case of SV, one of those that could speak well to its overall potential. Then there’s Song Sung Blue, which I can’t imagine anyone saw coming here. But it did give us only one of two women shortlisted in this category (along with Sinners‘ Autumn Durald Arkapaw). Noticeable snubs included Jay Kelly, Avatar: Fire and Ash, No Other Choice and 28 Years Later.
While we don’t have an editing shortlist, we do have Critics Choice and a wealth of critics groups nominations that include editing on their roster. A few things became clear there; One Battle, Sinners and F1 are locked in top tier contenders while something like Hamnet can, and will likely, miss here. BAFTA and ACE noms don’t come out until after Oscar noms so they won’t be any help here.
American Society of Cinematographers nominations will be revealed on January 8. American Cinema Editors nominations will be on January 27, five days after Oscar nominations are announced.
Here are my 2026 Oscar predictions for Film Editing and Cinematography for December.
FILM EDITING
| 1. One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen (Warner Bros) | CCA |
| 2. Sinners — Michael P. Shawver (Warner Bros) | CCA |
| 3. F1— Stephen Mirrione (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros) ↑ | |
| 4. Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein (A24) | CCA |
| 5. Frankenstein — Evan Schiff (Netflix) ↑ | |
| 6. Hamnet — Chloé Zhao and Affonso Gonçalves (Focus Features) ↓ | CCA |
| 7. Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge Coutté (NEON) ↑ | |
| 8. It Was Just an Accident — Amir Etminan (NEON) | |
| 9. A House of Dynamite — Kirk Baxter (Netflix) ↓ | CCA |
| 10. Sirāt — Cristóbal Fernández (NEON) NEW |
| 11. Wicked: For Good — Myron Kerstein (Universal Pictures) ↑ | |
| 12. Weapons — Joe Murphy (Warner Bros/New Line) ↓ | |
| 13. Bugonia — Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Focus Features) ↓ | |
| 14. Avatar: Fire and Ash — James Cameron, Nicolas De Toth, John Refoua, David Brenner, Stephen E. Rivkin (20th Century Studios) | |
| 15. The Secret Agent — Matheus Farias and Eduardo Serrano (NEON) ↑ | |
| 16. No Other Choice — Kim Sang-bum (NEON) ↓ | |
| 17. Train Dreams — Parker Laramie (Netflix) ↑ | |
| 18. 28 Years Later — Jon Harris (Sony Pictures/Columbia) ↑ | |
| 19. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere — Pamela Martin (20th Century Studios) ↑ | |
| 20. The Smashing Machine — Benny Safdie (A24) ↓ |
Other contenders: Is This Thing On? — Charlie Greene (Searchlight Pictures), Jay Kelly — Valerio Bonelli (Netflix) ↓, Rental Family — Alan Baumgarten and Thomas A. Krueger (Searchlight Pictures), The Testament of Ann Lee — Sofía Subercaseaux (Searchlight Pictures), Wake Up Dead Man — Bob Ducsay (Netflix)
CINEMATOGRAPHY (shortlist of 10)
| 1. Sinners — Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Warner Bros) | CCA |
| 2. One Battle After Another — Michael Bauman (Warner Bros) | CCA |
| 3. Hamnet — Łukasz Żal (Focus Features) | CCA |
| 4. Frankenstein — Dan Laustsen (Netflix) | CCA |
| 5. F1 — Claudio Miranda (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros) | CCA |
| 6. Train Dreams — Adolpho Veloso (Netflix) | CCA |
| 7. Marty Supreme — Darius Khondji (A24) | |
| 8. Nouvelle Vague — David Chambille (Netflix) | |
| 9. Bugonia — Robbie Ryan (Focus Features) | |
| 10. Sentimental Value — Kasper Tuxen (NEON) ↑ |
| 11. Sirāt — Mauro Herce (NEON) NEW | |
| 12. Wicked: For Good — Alice Brooks (Universal Pictures) | |
| 13. Sound of Falling — Fabian Gamper (MUBI) NEW | |
| 14. Die My Love — Seamus McGarvey (MUBI) ↑ | |
| 15. Ballad of a Small Player — James Friend (Netflix) NEW | |
| 16. Song Sung Blue — Amy Vincent (Focus Features) NEW |
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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