Oscars 2026: What heise readers would have decided differently

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The Oscars have been awarded – but how close are the Academy's decisions to the audience's taste? A survey of over 6000 heise readers offers a small counter-check: We let our readers vote on the same nominees who were also up for the Oscar awards.

Participants could choose their favorites in 16 categories – from best film to directing, cinematography, editing, or music. We then compared the reader vote with the actual Oscar results. The result: In many categories, the audience and the Academy were surprisingly close.

However, the decisions are not entirely identical. The winner of the evening was the film “One Battle After Another,” which won a total of six Oscars in the main categories of Film, Directing, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Casting, and Supporting Actor. Blood & Sinners had started with 16 nominations, of which the film took home four for Lead Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, and Music.

In some categories, readers deviated significantly from the Academy – and in several close races, the ranking even shifted depending on whether votes from participants who stated they had not seen the respective films were counted. Below, we show where the jury and the audience agreed – and where they didn't.

In three categories, the pole position even changed depending on whether we counted votes from readers who stated they had not seen the films for which they subsequently voted. It had already caused a great stir that Academy members could vote for films they hadn't seen. Only this year, the obligation to actually watch all films for which one wanted to vote was introduced.

Which films our readers knew

Our analysis begins with the question of which films our readers were aware of at all. 35.5 percent stated they did not know any of the 15 films nominated in at least two categories. For the remaining films, the order of recognition quite accurately reflects the later voting success.

Analysis: Which at least doubly nominated Oscar films did you see?
One Battle After Another	29.3 %
Frankenstein	25.1 %
F1 - The Movie	24.5 %
Blood & Sinners	22.5 %
Avatar: Fire & Ash	22.4 %
KPop Demon Hunters	19.5 %
Bugonia	11.8 %
Marty Supreme	11.2 %
Hamnet	8.4 %
Train Dreams	4.6 %
The Secret Agent	3.9 %
Sentimental Value	3.9 %
Sirat	2.5 %
A Simple Accident	2.1%
Blue Moon	1.8 %
Status: Online survey from March 13 to 16, 2026 among 6094 readers of heise online

“One Battle After Another” is therefore the only film seen by more readers than the titles available on Netflix (Frankenstein, KPop Demon Hunters, Train Dreams). The last place is “Blue Moon.” It hasn't even been released in cinemas in Germany yet, yet 1.8 percent of our readers know it.

Great agreement between experts and the public

Corresponding to the recognition figures, only very few readers cast a vote for best international film at all. As with the Academy, the Norwegian film “Sentimental Value” with 7.1 percent received the most votes, even though it was only shown in arthouse cinemas in Germany and is not yet available for streaming or on disc. The Brazilian entry “The Secret Agent” came in second with 4.8 percent. It has also been available for streaming and on disc since Thursday.

There was the greatest consensus in visual effects: “Avatar: Fire & Ash” convinced 29.5 percent of readers as well as the Academy, with “F1” following far behind with 12.2 percent. For sound and music, readers and the Academy also agreed, awarding “Blood & Sinners” with 14 percent for best music and “F1” with 22.5 percent for best sound – in both cases with a large lead over the second-placed “One Battle After Another.”

There was also great agreement on the original screenplay (20.6 percent for Blood & Sinners) and the other Oscars for “One Battle After Another” in the categories adapted screenplay (19.3 percent), casting (21.1 percent), supporting actor (27.6 percent), directing (26.4 percent), and film (20.8 percent) – the film thus convinced experts and the public alike.