Man vs AI - The Oscars 2026

Ash Walker • 03 Mar 2026 Guides

One prediction after another.

It’s awards season, and it’s all leading up to the Academy Awards, the biggest night on the movie watching calendar.

Every year, pundits, critics and armchair experts all try their best to outguess the Academy and predict which movies will be the big winners. And this season, we’re adding a new contender - AI.

We’re pitting our movie expert against ChatGPT - human instinct against algorithmic logic - to pick this year’s crop of Oscar winners. Let the battle begin.

The technical categories

They might not get as much attention as the big categories, but the technical awards - things like Best Sound, Costume Design, Production Design, Visual Effects and Makeup & Hairstyling - can be just as interesting.

They also give movies that otherwise wouldn’t really get a look-in a chance to take home a golden statuette - movies like, this year, Avatar: Fire & Ash, F1 and Jurassic World Rebirth. Having said that, the big winners often tend to clean up here too, which might just be the case this awards season once again…

Ash’s prediction

ChatGPT’s predictions

Best Documentary Feature

Nominees:

• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cutting Through the Rocks
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin
• The Alabama Solution
• The Perfect Neighbor

I have to be honest, this is the category that I know precious little about. It’s rare to hear any discussion about exciting new documentaries, and they’re usually pretty hard to catch in the cinema or on streaming.

So, having said that, I’m just going to take a stab in the dark.

Ash’s prediction - Mr. Nobody Against Putin

ChatGPT’s prediction - The Perfect Neighbor

Best Animated Feature

Nominees:

• Arco
• Elio
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

If we were just going on popularity alone, this would easily go to KPop Demon Hunters, but it’s hard to say how the Academy will vote here. Will they go with those old standbys Disney (Zootopia 2) or Pixar (Elio)?

Ash’s prediction - KPop Demon Hunters

ChatGPT’s prediction - KPop Demon Hunters

Best International Feature

Nominees:

• It Was Just an Accident
• Sentimental Value
• Sirât
• The Secret Agent
• The Voice of Hind Rajab

There are a few nominees here that have been getting some serious buzz - especially Joachim Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s political thriller The Secret Agent. I reckon it’s between those two.

Ash’s prediction - Sentimental Value

ChatGPT’s prediction - Sentimental Value

Best Casting

Nominees:

• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• The Secret Agent

Believe it or not, this is a brand new category for 2026! How has casting never been acknowledged before? Madness.

This is actually a tough call, given there are some seriously big hitters nominated here. One Battle After Another and Sinners, with their large, idiosyncratic ensemble casts, are obvious picks - but it’s hard to argue against Hamnet and Marty Supreme in terms of spot-on casting.

Ash’s prediction - One Battle After Another

ChatGPT’s prediction - Sinners

Best Original Song

Nominees:

• Dear Me - Diane Warren: Relentless
• Golden - KPop Demon Hunters
• I Lied to You - Sinners
• Sweet Dreams of Joy - Viva Verdi!
• Train Dreams - Train Dreams

Honestly, I’ve no idea what some of these are. So I’m going to go with the obvious choice.

Ash’s prediction - ‘Golden’, KPop Demon Hunters

ChatGPT’s prediction - ‘Golden’, KPop Demon Hunters

Best Original Score

Nominees:

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners

Another pretty strong category here, with some major standouts.

One Battle After Another’s score feels instantly recognisable, with that discordant, incredibly stressful piano, and Sinners is obviously all about the incredible music. Plus, Max Richter’s Hamnet score will leave you curled up on the floor in a puddle of tears.

Ash’s prediction - Sinners

ChatGPT’s prediction - One Battle After Another

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees:

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• One Battle After Another
• Train Dreams

Did you know One Battle After Another was based on a book? No, neither did I, until reading this list of nominees! Although I think Hamnet might be the one to beat here.

Ash’s prediction - Hamnet

ChatGPT’s prediction - One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees:

• Blue Moon
• It Was Just an Accident
• Marty Supreme
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners

This one feels like an easy win for Sinners, but it could run into some competition from Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value.

Ash’s prediction - Sinners

ChatGPT’s prediction - Sinners

Best Director

Nominees:

• Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another
• Ryan Coogler - Sinners
• Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme
• Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value
• Chloé Zhao - Hamnet

Now we’re getting into the big ones. There are some major names in this category - Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Chloé Zhao - and honestly any of them could take the prize.

It’s hard to pick, so I’m just going to go with my favourite.

Ash’s prediction - Ryan Coogler, Sinners

ChatGPT’s prediction - Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

• Benicio del Toro - One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein
• Delroy Lindo - Sinners
• Sean Penn - One Battle After Another
• Stellan Skarsgård - Sentimental Value

A pretty open field here - but wouldn’t it be great if Delroy Lindo won? I don’t think it’s likely, but you never know. Jacob Elordi was pretty astonishing as the Creature in Del Toro’s Frankenstein, but I’m not sure it’s the kind of physical performance the Academy will go for.

My gut tells me this one’s going to one of the One Battle After Another guys.

Ash’s prediction - Sean Penn, One Battle After Another.

ChatGPT’s prediction - Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees:

• Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value
• Amy Madigan - Weapons
• Wunmi Mosaku - Sinners
• Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

I mean, no matter who the Academy actually picks, the real winner here is undoubtedly Amy Madigan for her terrifying portrayal of Aunt Gladys in Weapons. What an icon.

I doubt very much she’ll take home the price though - horror movies don’t tend to win Oscars.

Ash’s prediction - Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners

ChatGPT’s prediction - Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value

Best Actress

Nominees:

• Jessie Buckley - Hamnet
• Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
• Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue
• Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone - Bugonia

Jessie Buckley, no contest.

Ash’s prediction - Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

ChatGPT’s prediction - Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Actor

Nominees:

• Timothée Chalamet - Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon
• Michael B Jordan - Sinners
• Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent

I reckon this one’s a three-way race between Michael B Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet. Either one of them could take home this trophy, but I would absolutely love it to be Jordan.

I mean, the guy played two characters - twice the work of anyone else!

Ash’s prediction - Michael B Jordan, Sinners

ChatGPT’s prediction - Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme

Best Picture

Nominees:

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• F1
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Here we go - the top prize. Ten nominees, most of them absolute bangers this year.

Obviously the big contenders are One Battle After Another and Sinners, both of which have collected huge numbers of nominations. In fact, Sinners set a new record with 16 nods.

But there’s some healthy competition from rowdy sports biopic Marty Supreme, off-kilter thriller Bugonia and heartbreaking literary adaptation Hamnet. Frankenstein could be in with a shout; as could international efforts like The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value.

Could be a surprising result.

Ash’s prediction - One Battle After Another

ChatGPT’s prediction - One Battle After Another