The 98th Annual Academy Awards on Monday is the pinnacle of the movie industry’s 2026 awards season. It also means we now have a comprehensive list of quality films to catch up on. Where’s the remote?
In a refreshing change from previous awards seasons, many of this year’s Oscar nominees are already available to stream here in Australia. If not already on the small screen, they’re ready to be enjoyed at your local cinema. As we bid adieu to the best season of all, here’s where to watch the year’s finest in film.
One Battle After Another
HBO Max
It’s not every awards season you’re able to immediately watch best picture nominees from the comfort of your own couch. One Battle After Another is available to stream now on HBO Max, bringing Paul Thomas Anderson’s blistering political comedy-thriller to homes around the country.
The film – which follows a washed-up radical (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti) as he’s forced back into action after a man from his past resurfaces – is nominated for the biggest prize of the night, best picture, as well as best director and adapted screenplay for Anderson. Teyana Taylor is in the running for best supporting actress for her portrayal of black revolutionary Perfidia Beverly Hills.
Sinners
HBO Max
Few could have predicted that a period film about vampires would become one of the biggest cinematic powerhouses of 2025. The gothic vampire horror, directed by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), follows twin brothers (both masterfully played by Michael B. Jordan) in Jim Crow-era Mississippi as they open a juke joint for the Black community. Their plans, however, are disrupted when a young man’s powerful blues music attracts vampires, causing absolute carnage.
Jordan blew the competition (cough, Timothée Chalamet) out of the water by claiming the best leading actor award at the recent Actor Awards and is nominated for a best actor Oscar. Sinners is also nominated for best original score via composer Ludwig Göransson, and best original screenplay for Coogler. If Coogler wins, he will be only the second black director to receive the coveted award, joining Jordan Peele, who won for Get Out in 2018.
Hamnet
In select cinemas and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTube
Sometimes a good cry is all you need, and Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet certainly has you covered. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel of the same name, the film shines a light on William Shakespeare’s fictionalised family life, namely his wife Agnes and her immense grief following the death of their son Hamnet, a loss that eventually inspires the Bard to write Hamlet.
Jessie Buckley is the hot favourite to win best actress for her sublime performance as Agnes. Zhao, who won the award for best director for Nomadland at the 2021 Globes, could add to her growing list of accolades on Monday if she takes home the prize for best adapted screenplay.
Frankenstein
Netflix
Australia’s “it boy” Jacob Elordi is in the supporting actor race for his haunting role in Frankenstein. The film itself has also made major waves in the technical categories.
Guillermo del Toro’s gothic adaptation remained relatively faithful to Mary Shelley’s literary classic, following an egotistical genius who brings a monstrous creature to life, ultimately triggering his own downfall. Though the movie itself did not receive altogether glowing reviews, its lavish, gothic aesthetic certainly did. It’s therefore perhaps unsurprising that it dominated nominations in the Oscars’ production categories, for best make-up and hairstyling, costume design and production design.
The Secret Agent
Available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video of YouTube
Wagner Moura (Narcos) is masterful in this Brazilian neo-noir political thriller, a film that captures the surrealism of living in an authoritarian state. Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent follows a research scientist on the run from Brazil’s 1977 military dictatorship. A Portuguese-language film, it has been nominated in the coveted best international feature category, alongside films including Sentimental Value and It Was Just an Accident.
It’s severely anxiety-inducing, as you’d expect a film about a dictatorship to be, but it’s also peppered with moments of much-needed humour.
Sentimental Value
Available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video or YouTube
Think “daddy issues”, but aesthetic. That’s the oversimplified gist of Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value. This much-celebrated film, which has been compared to the work of Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, sees two estranged sisters reunite with their father, a fading auteur, as he attempts to cling to relevance by making another film.
It delivers plenty of what the title suggests paired with a few laughs. Stellan Skarsgård is a favourite to pick up the trophy for best supporting actor.
KPop Demon Hunters
Netflix
If you’re searching for something a little more light-hearted among the political revolutions and racist vampires, look no further. KPop Demon Hunters is a down-and-out good time with one of the catchiest soundtracks ever – its hit Golden is in the running for best original song.
The family-friendly film, which is also nominated in the best animated feature category, follows the KPop demon-hunting girl group Huntrix as they battle a rival demon boy band. But little do they know, one of their very own members is half-demon herself.
F1
Apple TV
The Melbourne Grand Prix may have wrapped up just over a week ago, but that doesn’t mean you can’t return to the racetrack. Joseph Kosinski’s F1, a fictional sports drama about a washed-up driver (hello Brad Pitt) who exits retirement to help a struggling team, is available to stream for anyone missing the roar of the engine.
And roar this movie certainly does. According to Variety, the creators of the film wanted the audience to feel as if they were literally inside the car, so they worked with actual F1 teams to build real race cars that could carry the film’s recorders and transmitters. The film is in the running for an award in the Academy’s sound category.
Weapons
HBO Max
With Sinners breaking the record for most Oscar nominations ever, and screen veteran Amy Madigan nominated in the best supporting actress category for Weapons, it has been quite the year for horror at the Oscars.
Weapons is a horror-mystery about a town searching for a classroom of students that inexplicably vanished at the same time one night. Madigan’s performance as witch-cum-child abductor Gladys is unsettling and eerie.
The Perfect Neighbour
Netflix
Made up almost entirely of footage shot on police body-worn cameras, this documentary is a difficult but important watch. It is in the running for best documentary feature.
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, it investigates the June 2023 fatal shooting of Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old black mother of four, by her white neighbour Susan Lorincz in Florida. It highlights the intersection of weaponised racism and predatory laws like “Stand Your Ground”.
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Nell Geraets is a Culture and Lifestyle reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
