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Then there are the kinds of films that most viewers don’t expect to get major wins at The Oscars, but can end up surprising (or baffling) everyone. This year, potential upsets could go to Golden Globe-winner The Secret Agent, or arthouse darlings Train Dreams and Sentimental Value. And that’s just seven out of the ten nominations on the list.
But which of these films is the best? While criticism is subjective, there are a lot of indicators about which films in the list are considered the best, according to viewers all over the world. Here’s how we would rank them.
10) Bugonia
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’s (The Favourite, Poor Things) work has been getting increasingly strange in the last few years, with Kinds of Kindness (2024) failing to connect with a large audience. Bugonia (a remake of the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet!) is much more straightforward in terms of story (an unhinged conspiracy theorist kidnaps a coporate executive he thinks is plotting an alien takeover). However, it’s also a very bleak experience that doesn’t feel artistically captivating enough, gets shockingly brutal at times, and is mostly anchored by the psychological chess game between Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons’ characters. Both of them are excellent, but the unpleasant story and dark themes won’t be fun for most viewers, especially the outrageous third act when things really go off the rails.
9) Sentimental Value
Sentimental Value is really ‘Oscar nomination: the movie’ for 2026. The Norwegian film by director Joachim Trier and his co-writer Eskil Vogt is all about generational trauma and the complicated cultural history of post-WWII Norway and its art, compared to America and Hollywood. It’s deep filmmaking carried by a talented cast, including Andor star Stellan Skarsgård doing some of his best work as an emotionally insensitive alcoholic widower, looking for a comeback as both a filmmaker and a dad (at the same time). Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas are breakouts as the two estranged daughters of Skarsgård’s character, with Elle Fanning subverting her own bubbly screen persona for a performance as an American actress who steps awkwardly into the family drama.
8) Train Dreams
Author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) may be gone, but his works are still inspiring some great new content like this film (based on Johnson’s 2011 novella). Joel Edgerton has been doing good work for years now (see: Apple TV’s Dark Matter), but this is his biggest and most acclaimed performance yet as an actor. That said, adaptations of famous novelists haven’t been hitting with audiences as much these days (see: Queer last year); unless you are particularly interested in the 20th century history of the Pacific Northwest (building the American railroad), or the slightly surrealist flow of a literary work, this probably won’t be of interest.
7) The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent walked away with the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and is taking a double-shot at the Oscars in the categories of Best International Feature Film and Best Picture. The hype is well-deserved: the neo-noir polticial thriller is a gripping watch for any fan of spy thrillers and/or 1970s socio-political thrillers. But no matter how well Brazilian writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho did with the film, it’s still a foreign language film that centers on the socio-political history of Brazil. Even with a Golden Globe-winning performance from actor Wagner Moura (Narcos), it will have niche appeal with American audiences.
6) Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro finally brought his long-gestating passion project to the screen. And he definitely nailed the assignment: Frankenstein (2025) is the most faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel yet, with production values that could sweep through some Oscars technical awards (Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Score, and Sound). Del Toro could walk away with more Oscars himself, and has chances to strike at Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Jacob Elordi (Euphoria)could crown his meteoric career rise with a Best Supporting Actor win for playing Frankenstein’s Monster. That all said, Frankenstein is two and a half hours long and is very much a recreation of the 1818 Gothic horror novel that inspired it. It’s a bit too haughty for casual horror fans, and a bit too gory and horrifying for cinephiles looking for traditional Oscar bait.
5) Marty Supreme
Marty Supreme just edges out Frakenstein on style points, thanks to Josh Safdie’s (Uncut Gems) frenetic style of story progression and Timothée Chalamet’s infectious high-energy performance. The story of a table tennis star (and shameless playboy) looking to make it big, Marty Supreme, is a rise-and-fall sports dramedy story that is impeccably crafted for Gen Z. The cagey energy and unpredictable nature of the story make it easier to finish in one sitting than Frankenstein, but all in all, it’s an odd duck of a film that won’t be for everyone.
