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 Supporting 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 Supporting Actress Predictions

Ricky’s Best Supporting Actress Predictions

1. Laura Dern – Jay Kelly
2. Gwyneth Paltrow – Marty Supreme
3. Emily Blunt – The Smashing Machine
4. Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
5. Amy Madigan – Weapons

Benji’s Best Supporting Actress Predictions

1 – Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
2 – Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
3 – Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
4 – Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
5 – Gwyneth Paltrow – Marty Supreme

Other Prospects: Hailee Steinfeld – Sinners, Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners, Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value, Glenn Close – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Ayo Edebiri – After The Hunt