With the fall festival season here, that means only one thing: the Oscars and awards race is starting to heat up. As we did last year, my podcast partner at Awards Central, Benji, and I are going to ramp up our thoughts on the podcast but also via articles on our awards predictions. From Critics Choice to Golden Globes to the Oscars, we will be covering predictions all season long. Today, we share our predictions of the Best Actress race post-Venice, Telluride, and TIFF. 

We have films from Paul Thomas Anderson, Guillermo del Toro, Chloe Zhao, Kathryn Bigelow, Josh Safdie, and Ryan Coogler set to ramp up the award season. Within those films, we have some star power that could feature many first-time nominees, but also some faces of the past ready to secure another nomination. 

2026 Oscar Best Actress Predictions

Ricky’s Best Actress Predictions

1. Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
2. Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
3. Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
4. Rebecca Ferguson – A House of Dynamite
5. Sydney Sweeney – Christy

Benji’s Best Actress Predictions

1 – Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
2 – Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
3 – Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
4 – Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
5 – Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Other Prospects: Emma Stone – Bugonia, Julia Roberts – After the Hunt, Tessa Thompson – Hedda, Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love, Julia Garner – Weapons