2026 Oscars quiz questions: test your knowledge of this year's nominees

The 98th Academy Awards air on March 15, 2026. This year's Best Picture race features vampires, ping-pong, Shakespeare, alien abductions, and Formula 1. Whether you're hosting an Oscars watch party or putting together a film round for quiz night, these questions will test how closely your teams have been paying attention.

Most are answerable if you've seen the films or followed the awards season. A few dig deeper.

The questions

1Which film leads all nominees at the 2026 Oscars with 16 nominations, breaking the all-time record previously shared by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land?

Answer:Sinners(click to reveal)

Ryan Coogler's Southern Gothic horror stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers who return to 1930s Mississippi to open a juke joint, only to encounter supernatural evil. Variety called it Coogler and Jordan's "best and most daring work yet."

2Sinners is set in which US state?

Answer:Mississippi(click to reveal)

The film takes place in the Mississippi Delta in 1932, during the Jim Crow era. The blues music of the region is central to both the plot and the film's identity.

3Which Paul Thomas Anderson film received 13 nominations, the second-most of any film this year?

Answer:One Battle After Another(click to reveal)

The black comedy action-thriller stars Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary pursued by a corrupt military officer. It's based on Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland.

4One Battle After Another was shot using a camera format not widely used since the 1960s. What was it?

Answer:VistaVision(click to reveal)

The widescreen format was popular in the 1950s and 60s. Anderson's decision to revive it gave the film a distinctive visual texture that critics widely praised.

5Which actress won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for One Battle After Another, marking her breakout film role?

Answer:Teyana Taylor(click to reveal)

The film also stars Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and Regina Hall. The National Board of Review named it Best Film of 2025.

6Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value won which major prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival?

Answer:The Grand Prix(click to reveal)

The Norwegian family drama earned nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Renate Reinsve, and Best Supporting Actor for Stellan Skarsgard. Variety has a full review.

7Sentimental Value is notable for receiving two nominations in the same acting category. Which category, and who are the nominees?

Answer:Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas(click to reveal)

Both play sisters in the film who reunite with their estranged father, a once-renowned director attempting a comeback.

8Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme stars Timothee Chalamet as a man pursuing glory in which sport?

Answer:Table tennis (ping-pong)(click to reveal)

The character of Marty Mauser is loosely based on real-life player Marty Reisman. The film became A24's highest-grossing release ever at $162 million worldwide.

9Hamnet, directed by Chloe Zhao, dramatises events in the family life of which famous historical figure?

Answer:William Shakespeare(click to reveal)

Based on Maggie O'Farrell's novel, the film centres on Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway coping with the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet. Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star. The BBC named it the best film of 2025.

10Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein stars which actor as the creature?

Answer:Jacob Elordi(click to reveal)

Oscar Isaac plays Dr. Frankenstein opposite him. The film was released on Netflix and praised for "finding the humanity in one of cinema's most iconic monsters." Awards Daily called it a masterpiece.

11Which seven-time Formula 1 World Champion served as a producer on F1: The Movie?

Answer:Lewis Hamilton(click to reveal)

Pitt plays former driver Sonny Hayes, who returns to the sport to partner rookie teammate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, at the fictional APXGP team.

12Train Dreams is based on a novella by which American author?

Answer:Denis Johnson(click to reveal)

Clint Bentley directed the period drama, which stars Joel Edgerton. Both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named it among the top ten films of 2025.

13Train Dreams is nominated for Best Original Song. Which musician co-wrote the nominated track?

Answer:Nick Cave (with Bryce Dessner)(click to reveal)

The song is titled "Train Dreams." Director Bentley called the Best Picture nomination "bittersweet" given Edgerton's snub in the Best Actor race.

14The 2026 ceremony introduces a brand new competitive Oscar category, bringing the total to 24. What is it?

Answer:Best Casting(click to reveal)

It's the first new competitive category added in years. The Secret Agent is among the films nominated in the inaugural class.

15Which film won four Golden Globes this season, including Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Best Director, and Best Screenplay?

Answer:One Battle After Another(click to reveal)

The fourth win was Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor. Paul Thomas Anderson picked up Best Director and Best Screenplay.

16How many films are nominated for Best Picture at the 98th Academy Awards?

Answer:Ten(click to reveal)

The full list: Sinners, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, Marty Supreme, Hamnet, Frankenstein, The Secret Agent, Bugonia, F1: The Movie, and Train Dreams. The ceremony airs March 15 on ABC and Hulu.

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Sixteen questions covering all ten Best Picture nominees. They work well as a standalone Oscars round or paired with our general Oscars quiz questions for a longer film section.