The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 16, 2026. Here’s where you can watch all of the movies contending for the top prize.
From the soft poignancy of Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams to the exhilarating madness of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, we’ve prepared an Oscar cheat sheet showing where to watch all the Best Picture contenders for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards.
Bugonia
Bugonia, the new comedy-drama from auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, is currently available to rent on Apple TV+. While you can’t stream it for free, we assure you: the film is worth every cent. Done in Lanthimos’ signature strange, offbeat style and starring his muse Emma Stone (who recently won an Oscar for another Lanthimos project, Poor Things), the film follows a successful billionaire CEO who’s kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists convinced that she’s an alien. It’s not for the faint of heart, though it’s a good time for anyone who enjoys weird stories, great acting, and aesthetically striking films.
F1
F1 is currently streaming on Apple TV+ in the Philippines. Directed by Joseph Kosinski of Top Gun: Maverick fame, the exhilarating racing film was this year’s surprise Best Picture nominee, squeaking in at the very last minute. It tells the story of former Formula 1 driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt), who returns to the sport to help a friend restore his struggling team to greatness while mentoring a proud new rookie. A major box office success, the film has been celebrated for its action sequences, fast-paced editing, soundtrack, and sound design.
Frankenstein
Guillermo Del Toro’s spellbinding adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous gothic novel Frankenstein is currently streaming on Netflix Philippines. The film follows the mad Dr. Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his tortured relationship with the Creature (Jacob Elordi), a being he reanimates with electricity from the body parts of dead soldiers, only to recoil from the humanity he has created. One of 2025’s most visually stunning films, it’s also a frontrunner for multiple technical Oscars. Lifestyle Asia gave the film a rave review upon its initial release, writing: “Guillermo del Toro’s lush, grand, and earnestly vulnerable adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein pays homage to its source material while deviating from it in surprising, meaningful ways.”
READ ALSO: Film Review: “Frankenstein” Returns To Its Roots With Fresh Eyes
Hamnet
Oscar winner Chloé Zhao’s latest film, Hamnet, adapts writer Maggie O’Farrell’s eponymous, fictionalized account of William Shakespeare’s family life, told through the perspective of his wife, Agnes (O’Farrell also co-wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay alongside Zhao). A compelling portrait of motherhood and the grief that moved Shakespeare to write his masterpiece Hamlet, the film was a critics’ darling all season long, particularly for its direction, writing, and lead performances. Jessie Buckley, who plays Agnes, has swept the major Oscar precursors and is poised to win the Academy Award for Best Actress on March 16. Hamnet originally premiered in the country at the celebrated QCinema International Film Festival, but it’s now enjoying another run, screening once more in select Ayala Malls Cinemas across the Philippines.
READ ALSO: The Makati Cinemas Are Back, Baby! And They’ve Got Truffle Popcorn Too.
Marty Supreme
Unfortunately, there’s still no word on whether Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme will receive a Philippine release, either in cinemas or via streaming. The 1950s-set drama follows Marty Mauser (played by Oscar Best Actor frontrunner Timothée Chalamet), an ambitious professional ping-pong player who, on the eve of departing for the grand finals in Japan, finds himself caught in a series of ridiculous and chaotic situations. The film plays very much like a 1970s New Wave feature, but injected with a supercharged dose of Safdie tension. Marty Supreme is currently independent entertainment company A24’s most financially successful film to date, having earned over $150 million at the box office as of this writing.
One Battle After Another
The presumed Oscar Best Picture frontrunner from American auteur Paul Thomas Anderson is currently streaming on HBO Max in the Philippines. Released last September, Lifestyle Asia wrote a review describing it as “a wildly entertaining, visually stunning, and politically resonant action-drama.” The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson, a former member of a rebel group called the French 75, who, along with his young daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti in her feature film debut), is in hiding. However, when the ruthless Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a member of a white supremacist group, learns of their whereabouts, the two are thrust into the chase of their lives.
READ ALSO: Film Review: “One Battle After Another” Shows Paul Thomas Anderson At His Absurd, Brilliant Best
The Secret Agent
Brazilian film The Secret Agent will screen in Philippine cinemas from March 11 to 17, 2026, as part of the second edition of “A Curation of World Cinema” by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). A sleeper international hit directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, it follows Marcelo (Wagner Moura), a former professor navigating paranoia, surveillance, and corruption in 1970s Brazil, a country in political turmoil. Slow-burning yet unexpectedly zany and absurd, the two-and-a-half-hour film is well worth watching for its striking visuals, layered storytelling, and Moura’s excellent Oscar-nominated performance.
Sentimental Value
Sadly, Sentimental Value—an intimate, character-driven family drama from Joachim Trier—isn’t currently streaming anywhere in the Philippines. In other parts of the world, it’s available on Mubi. The film recently concluded its run in Manila cinemas as part of the first batch of FDCP’s “A Curation of World Cinema.” Featuring one of the year’s finest ensemble casts, Sentimental Value tells the story of actress Nora (Renate Reinsve), who, after refusing to appear in her estranged director father’s (Stellan Skarsgård) new film, must confront her feelings and their strained relationship when he hires an American actress (Elle Fanning) to play the role instead.
Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s hit vampire film Sinners is currently streaming on HBO Max in the Philippines. Released in cinemas early last year, it’s arguably One Battle After Another’s biggest threat for the Best Picture Oscar. Beautifully realized and superbly performed, the film is a testament to originality and craft, and remains one of the year’s most successful releases. Grossing $369 million at the box office, the horror-drama follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan), whose newly opened juke joint in the Deep South is attacked by creatures of the night.
Train Dreams
Train Dreams, the tenderly contemplative and life-affirming drama by Clint Bentley, is currently streaming on Netflix in the Philippines. The film arrived on the platform last December with little fanfare, but those who take the time to watch it will be rewarded with one of the most thoughtful, lovely cinematic experiences of the year. Framed like a fable and set against sweeping natural vistas, Train Dreams traces the life story of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a simple, unassuming man who experiences love, happiness, heartbreak, and loneliness while working and living amid the shifting landscapes of turn-of-the-century America.
Photos courtesy of Kinorium
