We are three days away from the Oscars, which has a handful of tight races, including three of the four acting categories having no locked frontrunner.
Then there’s Best Picture, for which “One Battle After Another” had been forecast to win for many months now — that is, until “Sinners” won the SAG Ensemble prize, not to mention Michael B. Jordan surprising everyone with an acting win. Now you have some skeptics who believe “One Battle” might not be such a done deal, although I’m still predicting it to win.
How about audiences? Who are they pulling for? A recent study found that only half of the American populace went to a movie theater in 2025. Still, a new YouGov poll finds that “Sinners” is Americans’ top choice for Best Picture at the 2026 Oscars. In the survey, 19% of Americans say “Sinners” should win the top prize, and 17% say they expect it will win, placing it well ahead of the other nominated films.
The gap between “Sinners” and the rest of the field is very wide. “Frankenstein” ranks a distant second, with 7% of Americans saying it should win, while “F1” follows with 6%. Other nominees receive smaller shares of support from the public. Among them is “One Battle After Another,” which 4% of Americans say should win Best Picture, though 7% believe it will ultimately take home the award.
Interestingly, “One Battle After Another” has been widely viewed as the critics’ favorite throughout awards season. The film has performed strongly with critics’ groups and appeared frequently at the top of year-end lists.
The poll also looked at how many Americans have actually seen the nominated films. “Sinners” again leads the pack, with 28% of Americans saying they have watched it, making it the most widely viewed Best Picture nominee. “Frankenstein” follows closely at 25%, while “One Battle” and “F1” were each seen by 14% of the populace.
Even so, the results highlight how limited overall exposure to the nominees remains. About 48% of Americans say they have seen at least one of the films nominated for Best Picture, while a majority say they have not watched any of them.
Now, let’s poll our readers — who have actually seen many, most, or all of the Best Picture nominees — who are you pulling for on Sunday night?
Marvel's "Ghost Rider" just hired one of the best cinematographers working today. Linus Sandgren will serve as DP on Shawn Levy's MCU flick, and, most notably, the project will be shot on film.