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Roll Out the Red Carpet for These Oscar-Nominated Movies
Bask in the golden glow of these Academy-worthy titles.
By Mary Sollosi
Jan. 28, 2026
Best Oscar-Nominated Movies for Rolling Out the Red Carpet - Netflix Tudum
The film industry may release its blockbusters in the summer and throw its festivals in the fall, but everyone knows that awards season is Hollywood’s true favorite time of year — a time for films to captivate critics, challenge audiences, and linger in the cultural zeitgeist.
Over the decades, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of films recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (whose awards show is just a few years shy of being a century old). So brush up on your Oscar history by watching one of these films, all of which were in the running for coveted categories. Sure, only a few ultimately took home the gold — but it’s an honor just to be nominated, after all.
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1917
War epic 1917 made a lasting impact on audiences and the Academy alike with its powerful illusion of a single, unbroken shot. Directed by Sam Mendes, it follows two young British soldiers — Lance Corporals Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) — on an urgent mission across enemy lines to deliver a message that could save 1,600 men from walking into a trap. The 2019 drama cemented its status as both a cinematic and technical triumph, earning 10 nominations — including Best Picture and Best Director — and taking home three wins for Cinematography, Visual Effects, and Sound Mixing.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Edward Berger’s German adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, an anti-war classic about a German soldier in World War I, received nine total nominations and won four, including Best International Feature, Score, Production Design, and Cinematography. While the 2022 film’s success heralds a future in which the Academy shows a greater appreciation for global cinema, it also recalls a moment in Oscars history: Lewis Milestone’s 1930 adaptation of the novel, an American production in English, won Best Picture and Best Director (out of four nominations) at the third annual Academy Awards.
EMILIA PÉREZ
Equal parts spectacle and scandal, Emilia Pérez made Oscar history in 2025 with its record-breaking 13 nominations — the most ever for a non-English-language film. Among its nods were Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for lead Karla Sofía Gascón; it took home the gold for Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña) and Best Original Song for “El Mal.” Helmed by Jacques Audiard, the film charts the transformation of a powerful Mexican drug lord, Emilia, who fakes her death so she can undergo gender-affirming surgery and begin a new life. Alongside Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz round out its star-studded supporting cast.
Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic 19th-century novel earned nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Oscar Isaac stars as Victor Frankenstein, the tortured scientist who harvests body parts from fallen soldiers, stitches them together, and harnesses the power of lightning to reanimate the result. Jacob Elordi received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance as the man-made monster. The film was also recognized for its adapted screenplay, cinematography, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, production design, original score, and sound.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
If you tend to dismiss animated films as being for kids, Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) would like to have a word. “Animation is cinema,” he said in his acceptance speech at the 2023 Golden Globes, after winning Best Animated Feature Film for his Pinocchio. “Animation is not a genre for kids, it’s a medium.” His 2022 adaptation of the classic tale, rendered in stunning stop-motion, also came up victorious in the Academy’s animated feature category. “Animation is ready to be taken to the next step,” del Toro said while accepting the award. “We’re all ready for it. Please help us keep animation in the conversation.”
The Irishman
Critically acclaimed, with an all-star cast, an all-consuming story, and an all-time great director, 2019’s The Irishman racked up 10 nominations, tying with 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for the second-most that year (behind Joker’s 11). Martin Scorsese’s film — adapted from Charles Brandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses, relating mafia hitman Frank Sheeran’s account of his own riveting history, and starring Robert De Niro — competed in the races for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor (the latter twice, for both Al Pacino and Joe Pesci).
KPop Demon Hunters
The animated action-adventure from writers and directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans is about a K-pop girl group who use their fans’ devotion to fight demons while they also battle a rival band called Saja Boys as well as grapple with their own internal struggles. The 2025 movie received nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, for the chart-topping anthem “Golden,” written by EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick and performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI as the girl group HUNTR/X.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Though Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was honored by the Academy, that recognition was tinged with sadness: Among the film’s five nominations was a posthumous Best Actor nod for Chadwick Boseman, who had died of cancer just months prior. George C. Wolfe’s visceral 2020 adaptation of August Wilson’s play depicts an intense recording session for blues legend Ma Rainey (Viola Davis, who was also nominated) and her band, including Boseman’s impetuous trumpeter. Though Boseman had been the favorite to win in his category, the film’s two Oscars were for costume design and makeup and hairstyling.
Maestro
A musical icon got his due with Bradley Cooper’s decades-spanning 2023 biopic about the life of Leonard Bernstein, in particular his love story with his wife, Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan, in a Best Actress–nominated performance). With the romantic drama’s seven Oscar nominations, a pair of filmmakers leveled up their already impressive records: Cooper, who co-wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film, received nods for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor, the latter of which made him the fourth person to receive a second self-directed acting nomination (his first was for 2018’s A Star Is Born). And producer Steven Spielberg maintained his status as the individual with the most Best Picture nods while upping his total to 13. Talk about a maestro!
MANK
Whenever you start to feel really indignant about Oscar winners and non-winners, just remember that 1941’s Citizen Kane, popularly counted among the greatest movies of all time, only won a single Oscar out of its nine nominations — for original screenplay. That script was co-written by the provocative film’s daring young director-star Orson Welles and veteran screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, the latter of whom inspired David Fincher’s 2020 biopic Mank, which stars Gary Oldman and chronicles the development of that storied screenplay. Mank came away with 10 nominations and two wins (for cinematography and production design).
Marriage Story
The images of Adam Driver punching a wall and Scarlett Johansson dancing have lingered in our cultural consciousness since the 2019 release of Marriage Story, but Noah Baumbach’s affecting drama left its mark on the Academy too. Driver and Johansson star as Charlie and Nicole, a married New York couple — a director and an actor — with a young son. With their relationship at its breaking point, Nicole pursues an opportunity in Los Angeles, and she and Charlie struggle to keep their family together despite the painful dissolution of their marriage. The film picked up six Oscar nominations, including for both of its stars and Best Picture; Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a ruthless divorce lawyer.
May December
Director Todd Haynes’ seductive 2023 drama was much talked-about for its provocative spin on a real scandal that once gripped the tabloids. Julianne Moore stars as Gracie, a woman whose controversial relationship with her much younger husband (Charles Melton) has long defined her life. When Natalie Portman’s character — an actress preparing to play Gracie in a film — arrives to study her, old wounds and buried insecurities resurface, setting off a psychological showdown. Lauded for its standout performances, May December earned nominations for Best Actress (Portman), Best Supporting Actor (Melton), and Best Original Screenplay.
Mudbound
Nominated for four Academy Awards, this 2017 film has, at first glance, a relatively low-key Academy record. However, Dee Rees’ stirring adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s novel, about two World War II vets (Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell) who return home to rural Mississippi traumatized, broke new ground when it became Oscar-bound. Mary J. Blige became the first person ever nominated for both a performance and an original song in the same year; Rees became the first Black woman nominated for Best Original Screenplay (she co-wrote the script with Virgil Williams), and Rachel Morrison became the first woman nominated for cinematography.
My Octopus Teacher
Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s 2020 film is about the extraordinary bond between a man and a sea creature — the kind of story you’d never believe could be true if you weren’t watching a documentary about it. The movie follows filmmaker Craig Foster as he goes free diving off the coast of South Africa, where he repeatedly encounters an octopus. Over time, he forges a connection with the animal, and she shares her underwater world with him. After its release during the pandemic, the touching film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 ceremony.
The Perfect Neighbor
This Oscar-nominated documentary explores a tight-knit Florida community dealing with the relentless harassment of a neighbor whose hostility escalates, resulting in the murder of Ajike Owens. Using police body-cam footage to reveal in-the-moment conversations between law enforcement and locals, the 2025 movie illustrates the stark realities of controversial yet common “stand your ground” laws. “[We] hope this incredible recognition will further Ajike’s legacy and create real change,” said director Geeta Gandbhir of the nomination.
The Power of the Dog
The Power of the Dog delivered a Best Director Oscar for renowned filmmaker Jane Campion, making her the third woman in history to win the award (out of nine to ever be nominated) and the first to receive multiple nominations for it. (Campion was previously in the running for Best Director with 1993’s The Piano.) Based on Thomas Savage’s novel, the 2021 film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a spiteful cowboy who torments his brother’s (Jesse Plemons) new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). The film’s 12 nominations included Best Picture as well as acting nods for all four stars.
ROMA
Roma’s 10 nominations make it one of the most-nominated films not in English — tying it for second place (with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) behind 2024’s Emilia Perez, which received 13. Alfonso Cuarón’s masterful 2018 drama, shot in striking black-and-white and inspired by the filmmaker’s childhood in Mexico City, became the first Mexican film to win Best International Feature Film. It also collected trophies for Best Director and Cinematography.
Train Dreams
A profound meditation on early 20th-century life, Train Dreams earned nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Song (“Train Dreams”). Joel Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who occupies the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved 2011 novella, the 2025 movie also features Felicity Jones as Robert’s wife, Gladys, and William H. Macy as Robert’s friend and fellow logger Arn Peeples.
The Two Popes
Intimate and unexpectedly funny, The Two Popes finds its drama not on a battlefield but within the walls of the Vatican. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and inspired by true events, the 2019 film imagines the private conversations between two very different men of faith — Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and the future Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) — as they debate the future of the Catholic Church amid scandal and change. Both Hopkins and Pryce received nods for their performances, alongside a third nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Additional reporting by Meena Jang and Ashley Lee.
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