Oscars 2026: Who Will Win, and Who Should Win?

I've always wanted to ask you this question. Do film critics like yourself actually get excited about the Oscars? I have a love hate relationship with the Oscars. I mean, I've watched, I think, probably almost every single Oscar since I was a child. Mhmm. I often spend the entire time cursing at the screen and speed dialing friends and then cheering wildly when one of my favorite movies wins favorite movies wins something, you know? So the Oscars are terrible unless they're right, which means unless they pick my movies, you know? From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily on Sunday. The ninety eighth annual Academy Awards are one week from today. Of the untold hundreds of films that were released in The United States last year, some 50 or so are nominated for Oscars. And according to critics and industry insiders, those movies are uncommonly good. Despite all the forces arrayed against Hollywood, it was kind of a magical year. Great movies were made and audiences found them. Mostly. So with one week to go before the Oscars, we asked Manolo Dargas, the Times chief movie critic, to come in and talk about twenty twenty five's unmissable performances and unskippable movies. So take notes, even if they're just mental notes, and plan your watching very wisely for the next seven days. It's Sunday, March 8. Manola, welcome to the Sunday Daily. Thank you, Michael. It's nice to be here. This is our first ever conversation, you and I. What took us so long? Great question. So if you had to pick a single word to describe this year's Oscar nominees, what would that word be? One word? That's the exercise here. Surprising. You know? And why it's surprising on some level is that there are so many good movies that are up for awards. I mean, two of the movies are the top of my top 10, you know, sinners in one battle after another. You know? And I think So you and the Oscars in sync this year? What happened? I mean, yes. So despite all of the dire warnings and broadcast and, you know, articles that are out there, the movie industry is not dead, and movie making and movies are certainly not dead. It's kind of like think of the ending of Carrie when the hand pops out of the grave. That is American cinema. You know? It's it's back, baby. The industry might be completely a mess, but the movies are there, and they're wonderful. Okay. So, Manolo, we're here to talk about some of the movies our listeners should definitely plan to watch before the Oscar ceremony next Sunday. I was thinking that the way we could do that is to talk about some of the front runners for Oscars, and then some of the actors and the performances you personally loved this year. So, basically, the will win versus should win tension. So, let's start with the …