The 2026 Oscar nominations have been announced, and while Sinners has made history with a record-breaking 16 nods, it isn’t the film — or the moment — that should be dominating the conversation online.
Unveiled on January 22, this year’s list of Academy Award nominees includes many of the names and titles most people expected to see. As widely predicted, Sinners — Ryan Coogler’s supernatural thriller and period drama, now streaming on HBO Max — leads the pack with 16 nominations. That total sets a new Oscars record, surpassing the 14 nominations achieved by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). It’s a remarkable feat for one of the standout films of 2025.
Yet despite Sinners’ historic showing, another development feels far more surprising: F1: The Movie securing a nomination for Best Picture.
To be clear, this isn’t a judgment on the film’s quality. F1, which is currently available to stream on Apple TV, is an impressive technical achievement. However, until now, its awards recognition has largely been confined to technical categories such as Best Sound, Editing, Cinematography, Stunts, and Visual Effects. A Best Picture nomination was not widely anticipated.
In fact, the Apple Original film had only previously earned a Best Picture nod at the Astra Midseason Film Awards. It failed to make the cut for Best Film at the 2026 BAFTAs and was also absent from the equivalent categories at this year’s Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes. That context makes its Oscar Best Picture nomination all the more unexpected.
So, does F1: The Movie have any real chance of pulling off a major upset and delivering Apple its second Best Picture win, following CODA’s shock victory in 2022? In my view, the answer is no. The competition is simply too strong, with heavyweight contenders including Netflix titles like Frankenstein and Train Dreams, Warner Bros.’ Sinners and One Battle After Another, and A24’s Marty Supreme.
Still, being nominated alone is a significant achievement. Even if an Oscar win is highly unlikely, Apple has every reason to be proud that F1: The Movie has earned a place in the Best Picture race at all.
