2026–27
Awards Tracker
Following the films, filmmakers and performances shaping the season — with a particular eye on the movies we've seen on the festival circuit.
Awards season changes quickly.
A film that looks unstoppable in September can disappear by January. A performance barely being discussed after the fall festivals can suddenly become impossible to ignore once critics groups, the Gothams, Golden Globes, Actor Awards, BAFTA and other precursors begin weighing in.
That's why we're tracking the season rather than declaring it over before it begins.
The Cup of Soul Awards Tracker follows the films, filmmakers and performances currently generating serious awards conversation — while paying particular attention to the movies we've actually seen on the festival circuit.
What New York Changed
The New York Film Festival wrapped on Oct. 12. It doesn't hand out prizes, but it puts films in front of some of the toughest audiences of the fall. Three things stood out.
Pedro Pascal has a real lead-actor campaign. Tony Gilroy's Behemoth!, the festival's centerpiece, gives Pascal what early reviews call the best performance of his career, as a cellist coming home to Los Angeles after decades away. Searchlight opens it Dec. 4.
Rosalind Eleazar's performance is outlasting her film's reviews. Misty Green opened in theaters Oct. 9 to mixed reviews, but even critics lukewarm on Chris Rock's film keep singling out Eleazar. That's exactly the scenario we flagged in September.
Documentary is becoming a story about Black history and the present. Ava DuVernay closed the festival with 14th, her companion to 13th, about citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment. And Once Upon a Time in Harlem, which we saw at Sundance, sits at or near the top of early documentary forecasts.
Best Picture
Established Conversation
The Odyssey ✓ Seen by Cup of Soul
Christopher Nolan's epic remains one of the most consistently discussed Best Picture contenders heading into the heart of the season.
La Bola Negra ✓ Seen by Cup of Soul
The film already had considerable festival attention before Toronto. Winning TIFF's People's Choice Award substantially strengthens its position heading into the next phase of the season.
Wild Horse Nine ✓ Seen by Cup of Soul
Martin McDonagh's film continues to generate substantial awards attention, with John Malkovich's Venice Best Actor victory providing the campaign with an important early prize.
Building Momentum
Fjord
The Debut
The Invite
Project Hail Mary
I Play Rocky
Watching
All of a Sudden
Dune: Part Three
Elsinore
Club Kid
Being Heumann
Ink ✓ Seen
Possible Love ✓ Seen
Tenzing ✓ Seen
Best Director
Established Conversation
Christopher NolanThe Odyssey✓ Seen
Javier Calvo & Javier AmbrossiLa Bola Negra✓ Seen
Martin McDonagh Wild Horse Nine ✓ Seen by Cup of Soul
Building Momentum
Cristian MungiuFjord
Ryusuke HamaguchiAll of a Sudden
Olivia WildeThe Invite
Watching
Jesse EisenbergThe Debut
Denis VilleneuveDune: Part Three
Lee Chang-dongPossible Love✓ Seen
Danny BoyleInk✓ Seen
Jennifer PeedomTenzing✓ Seen
Best Actor
Established Conversation
Andrew ScottElsinore
Matt DamonThe Odyssey✓ Seen
John Malkovich Wild Horse Nine ✓ Seen by Cup of Soul
Malkovich enters the fall with one of the season's most important pieces of hardware already in hand: Venice's Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
Building Momentum
Sebastian StanFjord
John TurturroThe Only Living Pickpocket in New York
Anthony IppolitoI Play Rocky
Ryan GoslingProject Hail Mary
Tom CruiseDigger
Pedro PascalBehemoth!
Mahershala AliYour Mother Your Mother Your Mother✓ Seen
Watching
Jack O'ConnellInk✓ Seen
Robert PattinsonPrimetime
GuitarricadelafuenteLa Bola Negra✓ Seen
Jaafar JacksonMichael
Genden PhuntsokTenzing✓ Seen
Alden EhrenreichA Talent for Murder✓ Seen
Best Actress
Established Conversation
Julianne Moore The Debut
Moore emerged from Telluride and Toronto as one of the performances receiving the most sustained attention in the category.
Building Momentum
Virginie EfiraAll of a Sudden
Renate ReinsveFjord
Sandra HüllerRose
Olivia WildeThe Invite
Ruth MadeleyBeing Heumann
Inde NavarretteObsession
Watching
Rosalind Eleazar Misty Green
The film opened Oct. 9 to mixed reviews, but Eleazar's performance continues to be the one critics single out. She receives SCAD Savannah's Breakthrough award on Oct. 26.
Léa SeydouxGentle Monster
Jeon Do-yeonPossible Love✓ Seen
Helen MirrenA Talent for Murder✓ Seen
Best Supporting Actor
Established Conversation
Sam RockwellWild Horse Nine✓ Seen
Paul GiamattiThe Debut
Building Momentum
Colman DomingoMichael
John LeguizamoThe Odyssey✓ Seen
GuitarricadelafuenteLa Bola Negra✓ Seen
Edward NortonThe Invite
Andrew GarfieldArtificial
Watching
Guy PearceInk✓ Seen
John GoodmanDigger
Jeremy StrongThe Social Reckoning
Mark RuffaloBeing Heumann
Willem DafoeTenzing✓ Seen
Tom HiddlestonTenzing✓ Seen
Best Supporting Actress
Established Conversation
Anne HathawayThe Odyssey✓ Seen
Penélope CruzLa Bola Negra / The Invite✓ Seen
Building Momentum
Samantha MortonThe Odyssey✓ Seen
Olivia ColmanElsinore
Sandra HüllerProject Hail Mary
Tao OkamotoAll of a Sudden
Watching
Glenn CloseLa Bola Negra✓ Seen
Mariana Di GirolamoWild Horse Nine✓ Seen
Cho Yeo-jongPossible Love✓ Seen
Jeon Do-yeonPossible Love✓ Seen
Thinley LhamoTenzing✓ Seen
Olivia CookeA Talent for Murder✓ Seen
Olivia WildeBehemoth!
International Feature Watch
This shouldn't be an afterthought at Cup of Soul. International cinema has become increasingly important throughout the broader awards conversation, and several international titles are already intersecting with the major categories.
Possible Love ✓ Seen
Lee Chang-dong's film left Venice with the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize before playing Toronto.
Watching: International Feature • Picture • Director — Lee Chang-dong • Actress — Jeon Do-yeon • Supporting performances
La Bola Negra ✓ Seen
The TIFF People's Choice winner is no longer simply a festival discovery. Its potential reaches across Picture, Director, acting and international-film conversations.
Fjord
The Cannes Palme d'Or winner remains a significant presence in the Picture, Director and acting conversations.
All of a Sudden
Ryusuke Hamaguchi's film gives us another international contender with potential well beyond a single category.
Documentary Watch
Some of the season's most urgent filmmaking is happening in documentary, and several of this year's strongest contenders speak directly to Black history and American citizenship.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem ✓ Seen
William Greaves and David Greaves's film, which we saw at Sundance, sits at or near the top of early documentary forecasts and earned five Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations, including Best Documentary Feature.
14th
Ava DuVernay closed the New York Film Festival with her companion to 13th, a look at citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment. Early reviews are divided, from "essential" to unconvinced, but it leads the Critics Choice Documentary Awards with six nominations.
You Can See Everything
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's Elizabeth Holmes documentary earned five Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director.
NAZA
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's film joined NYFF's Main Slate and has entered the early documentary conversation.
The Cup of Soul Festival Factor
One thing makes this tracker different from simply collecting awards predictions from around the internet.
We've been watching the movies.
Cup of Soul's 2026 festival coverage has taken us through Sundance, SXSW, Cannes and TIFF, giving us firsthand experience with a growing number of films now entering the awards conversation.
Seen by Cup of Soul
As more contenders become available, that list will grow. And when we've seen it, we'll tell you what we think — whether awards pundits agree with us or not.
What We're Watching Next
Can La Bola Negra turn its TIFF win into sustained industry support?
Does Wild Horse Nine expand beyond John Malkovich and become an across-the-board contender?
Can Jack O'Connell break through the crowded Best Actor field for Ink?
Does I Play Rocky's Toronto audience response translate beyond TIFF?
Which international films move into the main Best Picture conversation?
Can Rosalind Eleazar's performance outlast the mixed reception for Misty Green?
Does Behemoth! make Pedro Pascal a serious Best Actor contender?
What happens when the major late-season titles finally screen?
Awards seasons rarely end the way they look in October. We'll keep updating the Cup of Soul Awards Tracker as the race changes.
