Queer visibility on this year’s Oscars shortlist appears in small pockets rather than across the board. A handful of films have circulated through LGBTQ+ festivals and queer cultural spaces, mostly within short film and documentary categories. Titles like A Friend of Dorothy and Two People Exchanging Saliva have found audiences within queer festival circuits, while documentaries such as Mistress Dispeller and Coexistence, My Ass! have resonated strongly in LGBTQ+ programming despite broader subject matter. What stands out is the absence of similar visibility in International Feature Film and the larger studio driven categories, where queer stories remain harder to spot once awards momentum takes over.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the official shortlists for the 98th Academy Awards, narrowing the field across twelve categories ahead of nomination voting. This stage marks the most decisive moment of the awards season so far, revealing which films have secured attention across Academy branches and which ones now face a final push to remain visible.

From a studio perspective, the shortlist draws clear lines of power. Warner Bros. leads with twenty two placements across categories, driven primarily by Sinners and One Battle After Another. Both titles appear repeatedly in casting, music, sound, makeup and hairstyling, and visual effects, ensuring strong cross-branch exposure. Netflix follows closely with twenty one placements, anchored by Frankenstein, which performs consistently across technical and music categories while also extending Netflix’s presence into documentary and international cinema. Universal and Disney appear less frequently overall, but their titles tend to land in high impact craft categories, reinforcing scale and production weight rather than volume.

Distribution tells a slightly different story. Neon emerges as the most dominant independent force on the shortlist, with twelve placements overall. The company leads the International Feature Film category and secures further visibility through casting and music thanks to Sirāt, Sentimental Value, and The Secret Agent. Neon’s focus on director led films with long festival lives continues to translate into sustained Academy attention. Other distributors such as Sony Pictures Classics, Mubi, Watermelon Pictures, Music Box Films, GKIDS, Oscilloscope, Magnolia Pictures, and Argot Pictures appear more selectively, often tied to a single title. At this stage, even one shortlist placement can be meaningful, allowing for focused campaigning and targeted branch engagement.

Below is the complete list of all twelve shortlisted categories, with each title followed by its production or distribution company and country of origin.

Animated Short Film

Autokar, Independent, France
Butterfly, Independent, France
Cardboard, Independent, United Kingdom
Éiru, Independent, Ireland
Forevergreen, Independent, United States
The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Independent, France
Hurikán, Independent, Czech Republic
I Died in Irpin, Independent, Ukraine
The Night Boots, Independent, France
Playing God, Independent, United States
The Quinta’s Ghost, Independent, Portugal
Retirement Plan, Independent, United States
The Shyness of Trees, Independent, France
Snow Bear, Independent, Canada
The Three Sisters, Independent, France

Casting

Frankenstein, Netflix, United States
Hamnet, Focus Features, United Kingdom and United States
Marty Supreme, A24, United States
One Battle After Another, Warner Bros., United States
The Secret Agent, Neon, Brazil
Sentimental Value, Neon, Norway
Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
Sirāt, Neon, Spain
Weapons, Warner Bros., United States
Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States

Cinematography

Ballad of a Small Player, Netflix, United States
Bugonia, Focus Features, United Kingdom and United States
Die My Love, Independent, United States
F1, Apple and Warner Bros., United States
Frankenstein, Netflix, United States
Hamnet, Focus Features, United Kingdom and United States
Marty Supreme, A24, United States
Nouvelle Vague, Independent, France
One Battle After Another, Warner Bros., United States
Sentimental Value, Neon, Norway
Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
Sirāt, Neon, Spain
Song Sung Blue, Independent, United States
Sound of Falling, Mubi, Germany
Train Dreams, Netflix, United States
Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States

Documentary Feature Film

2000 Meters to Andriivka, PBS, Ukraine
The Alabama Solution, HBO, United States
Apocalypse in the Tropics, Netflix, Brazil
Coexistence, My Ass!, mTuckman Media, United States
Come See Me in the Good Light, Apple, United States
Cover-Up, Netflix, United States
Cutting Through Rocks, Independent, Iran
Folktales, Magnolia Pictures, United States
Holding Liat, Jewish Story Partners, United States
Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Independent, Denmark and Russia
Mistress Dispeller, Oscilloscope, United States
My Undesirable Friends Part One Last Air in Moscow, Argot Pictures, United States
Seeds, Independent, United States
The Perfect Neighbor, Netflix, United States
Yanuni, Independent, Brazil

Documentary Short Film

All the Empty Rooms, Independent, United States
All the Walls Came Down, Independent, United States
Armed Only with a Camera, Independent, United States
Bad Hostage, Independent, United States
Cashing Out, Independent, United States
Chasing Time, Independent, United States
Children No More Were and Are Gone, Independent, Ukraine
Classroom 4, Independent, United States
The Devil Is Busy, Independent, United States
Heartbeat, Independent, United States
Last Days on Lake Trinity, Independent, United States
On Healing Land Birds Perch, Independent, United States
Perfectly a Strangeness, Independent, United States
Rovina’s Choice, Independent, Romania
We Were the Scenery, Independent, United States

International Feature Film

Belén, Amazon, Argentina
The Secret Agent, Neon, Brazil
It Was Just an Accident, Neon, France
Sound of Falling, Mubi, Germany
Homebound, Netflix, India
The President’s Cake, Sony Pictures Classics, Iraq
Kokuho, GKIDS, Japan
All That’s Left of You, Watermelon Pictures, Jordan
Sentimental Value, Neon, Norway
Palestine 36, Watermelon Pictures, Palestine
No Other Choice, Neon, South Korea
Sirāt, Neon, Spain
Late Shift, Music Box Films, Switzerland
Left Handed Girl, Netflix, Taiwan
The Voice of Hind Rajab, Willa, Tunisia

Live Action Short Film

Ado, Independent, Spain
Amarela, Independent, Brazil
Beyond Silence, Independent, United States
The Boy with White Skin, Independent, Belgium
Butcher’s Stain, Independent, United Kingdom
Butterfly on a Wheel, Independent, United Kingdom
Dad’s Not Home, Independent, Iran
Extremist, Independent, United Kingdom
A Friend of Dorothy, Independent, United States
Jane Austen’s Period Drama, Independent, United Kingdom
Pantyhose, Independent, France
The Pearl Comb, Independent, China
Rock Paper Scissors, Independent, Ukraine
The Singers, Independent, United States
Two People Exchanging Saliva, Independent, United States

Makeup and Hairstyling

The Alto Knights, Warner Bros., United States
Frankenstein, Netflix, United States
Kokuho, GKIDS, Japan
Marty Supreme, A24, United States
Nuremberg, Sony Pictures Classics, United States
One Battle After Another, Warner Bros., United States
Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
The Smashing Machine, A24, United States
The Ugly Stepsister, Independent, United States
Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States

Music, Original Score

Avatar Fire and Ash, 20th Century Studios, United States
Bugonia, Focus Features, United Kingdom and United States
Captain America Brave New World, Disney, United States
Diane Warren Relentless, MasterClass, United States
F1, Apple and Warner Bros., United States
Frankenstein, Netflix, United States
Hamnet, Focus Features, United Kingdom and United States
Hedda, Amazon MGM, United States
A House of Dynamite, Netflix, United States
Jay Kelly, Netflix, United States
Marty Supreme, A24, United States
Nuremberg, Sony Pictures Classics, United States
One Battle After Another, Warner Bros., United States
Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
Sirāt, Neon, Spain
Train Dreams, Netflix, United States
Tron Ares, Disney, United States
Truth and Treason, Angel Studios, United States
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix, United States
Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States

Music, Original Song

As Alive As You Need Me To Be, Tron Ares, Disney, United States
Dear Me, Diane Warren Relentless, MasterClass, United States
Dream As One, Avatar Fire and Ash, 20th Century Studios, United States
Drive, F1 The Movie, Apple and Warner Bros., United States
Dying to Live, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, Fremantle, United Kingdom
The Girl in the Bubble, Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States
Golden, K Pop Demon Hunters, Netflix, United States
Highest 2 Lowest, Highest 2 Lowest, A24, United States
I Lied to You, Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
Last Time I Seen the Sun, Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
No Place Like Home, Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States
Our Love, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Focus Features, United Kingdom
Salt Then Sour Then Sweet, Come See Me in the Good Light, Apple, United States
Sweet Dreams of Joy, Viva Verdi, Independent, Italy
Train Dreams, Train Dreams, Netflix, United States

Sound

Avatar Fire and Ash, 20th Century Studios, United States
F1 The Movie, Apple and Warner Bros., United States
Frankenstein, Netflix, United States
Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning, Paramount, United States
One Battle After Another, Warner Bros., United States
Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
Sirāt, Neon, Spain
Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere, 20th Century Studios, United States
Superman, Warner Bros., United States
Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States

Visual Effects

Avatar Fire and Ash, 20th Century Studios, United States
The Electric State, Netflix, United States
F1, Apple and Warner Bros., United States
Frankenstein, Netflix, United States
Jurassic World Rebirth, Universal Pictures, United States
The Lost Bus, Apple, United States
Sinners, Warner Bros., United States
Superman, Warner Bros., United States
Tron Ares, Disney, United States
Wicked For Good, Universal Pictures, United States

Nomination voting runs from January 12 to January 16, 2026, with final nominations announced on January 22. The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15, 2026. As the shortlist phase closes, the question is less about quality and more about memory. Which films will voters still be thinking about when ballots are cast.

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