Updated Jan. 22, 2026, 7:34 p.m. ET
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Academy Awards nominations are finally out. Now here comes the fun part: catching up on all the Oscar movies you’ve missed!
You’ve got more than a month and a half to get busy and get watching the best picture contenders, those films with all the top acting talent, and more before the big night: Conan O’Brien hosts the 98th Oscars on March 15, airing live on ABC and Hulu (7 p.m. ET/4 PT). Many, like “Marty Supreme” and “Hamnet,” are still in theaters but quite a few are available to watch at home via streaming services and on-demand platforms, and more to come as we get closer to the Academy Awards ceremony.
Here are 12 nominated movies to watch from your couch right now:
‘Bugonia’
Yorgos Lanthimos’ gonzo comedy/psychological romp, which scored nods for best picture and adapted screenplay, offers up dark-web weirdness and sci-fi paranoia. Best actress nominee Emma Stone plays a pharmaceutical CEO who is kidnapped by a pair of conspiracy-theorist cousins (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who believe she’s an alien bent on world domination, leading to a battle of wills and a wildly chaotic climax.
Where to watch: Peacock, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘Elio’
Pixar is back in the Oscar category it’s owned over the years – best animated film – with this family-friendly sci-fi adventure that throws back to the 1980s days of “Explorers” and “The Last Starfighter.” A young boy (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) yearns to be abducted by aliens, actually gets his wish and becomes BFFs with a blobby alien. If you’re catching up on nominated films with your youngsters, it’s best for any kids who’ve never seen “E.T.”
Where to watch: Disney+, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘F1: The Movie’
Joseph Kosinski’s Formula 1 movie came out of nowhere to score four Oscar nominations, including best picture. As an aging driver-for-hire on an underdog racing team, Brad Pitt brings plenty of personality – and vroom-vroom steeliness – to this four-wheeled crowd-pleaser. There’s macho panache and white-knuckle action sequences aplenty as Pitt’s eccentric Formula 1 veteran plays reluctant mentor to a hotshot rookie (Damson Idris).
Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘Frankenstein’
Guillermo del Toro’s thoughtful and moving adaptation of Mary Shelley’s legendary work made the best picture cut as part of its nine Oscar nominations. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is the egotistical scientist playing God and creating life with a Creature (supporting actor contender Jacob Elordi) made from discarded human parts. Come for the gothic majesty, stay for Elordi’s stunning and emotive performance as the Creature tries to be human in an inhuman world.
Where to watch: Netflix
‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’
A frazzled and stressed Rose Byrne definitely earns her best actress nomination in this dark comedy. She plays a therapist forced to navigate an increasingly bonkers and exhausting series of unfortunate events. After her apartment ceiling collapses in a water accident, she moves with her sick daughter (Delaney Quinn) to a nearby hotel, fosters a passive-aggressive relationship with her own therapist (Conan O’Brien) and is shocked when a new client (Danielle Macdonald) bolts in the middle of a session without her baby.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home, HBO Max (beginning Jan. 30)
‘It Was Just an Accident’
Jafar Panahi’s thriller, up for best international film and original screenplay, is an unforgettable juggling of serious moral questions and clever screwball comedy. Following an incident where a family hits a dog with its car, a mechanic (Vahid Mobasseri) believes the driver (Ebrahim Azizi) was his peg-legged torturer in an Iranian jail and kidnaps him, then brings in other former political prisoners who have to figure out if he’s their tormentor and what to do with him in a breathtaking modern fable.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘KPop Demon Hunters’
Catchy music, anime style and some horror combine in this kid-friendly action comedy, the Oscar nominee that not only your kids have seen but also absolutely love. When the members of Korean pop trio Huntrix aren’t busy being mega-stars, they protect their fans from supernatural dangers. But dark secrets and hormones become issues, thanks to their latest enemy: demons disguised as a hunky boy band. The earworming hit “Golden” is a no-brainer in both original song and animated film – its chances of winning a couple Oscars are, yes, pretty golden.
Where to watch: Netflix
‘One Battle After Another’
Up for 13 Oscars, including best picture, director Paul Thomas Anderson’s action dramedy casts best actor contender Leonardo DiCaprio as a scruffy former demolitions expert desperate to find his teen daughter (Chase Infiniti) with an old enemy (Sean Penn) in hot pursuit. A high-minded, resonant piece of world-building inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland,” “One Battle” is full of assorted revolutionaries and villains, featuring a cast of standouts as well as themes and political satire that feel of the moment.
Where to watch: HBO Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘Sentimental Value’
Supporting actor nominee Stellan Skarsgård gives a masterclass, Norwegian style, in Joachim Trier’s touching dramedy. He stars as an aging filmmaker aiming to make a heartfelt movie tying into the family’s traumatic history that’ll be his comeback. However, because he prioritized art over loved ones, he’s now estranged from his daughters: a determined stage actress (Renate Reinsve) and a one-time child star (supporting actress competitor Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) who’s now trying hard to mend her clan’s broken fences.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘Sinners’
Is it a gangster film? Heck, yeah! Is it a vampire movie? You bet! Did it just obliterate the Oscar nominations record? That, too! Ryan Coogler pulls off something devilishly spectacular with this genre-bending, 1930s-set flick, which scored a monumental 16 nods. Best actor nominee Michael B. Jordan is fantastic playing double duty as twins who come home to Mississippi and have their party crashed by a band of charismatic bloodsuckers. Coogler also tackles racism and cultural appropriation in a wondrous fright fest – buoyed by supporting actor and actress nominees Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku – that’s mesmerizing in its filmmaking and meaningful in its message.
Where to watch: HBO Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home
‘Train Dreams’
Set in the early 19th century, the absorbing and thoughtful period drama – and best picture nominee – stars Joel Edgerton as a quiet logger working on building the railroad in the Pacific Northwest whose job keeps him away for long periods from his wife (Felicity Jones) and child. Tragedies and a changing America test his mettle as he struggles to keep living his life and moving forward.
Where to watch: Netflix
‘Weapons’
Supporting actress nominee Amy Madigan is one of many reasons to watch Zach Cregger’s follow-up to his deliciously twisty “Barbarian.” There are metaphors aplenty to interpret in a thriller about a town that goes bonkers when 17 kids go missing in the middle of the night and everybody points to their teacher (Julia Garner). The provocative, genre-defying horror flick boasts unhinged gore, a delightfully dark sense of humor, Madigan as the creepiest aunt ever, and a crowd-pleasing finale.
Where to watch: HBO Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home