The anime hype has only grown over the years, and the strong box office showing of this year’s anime films only serves to reinforce their presence. It comes as a treat to fans, then, that a handful of titles in the genre, including Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc, are eligible for consideration for the 2026 Oscars.
Per the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the works are listed under the Animated Feature category, where seven out of the 35 entries are anime features and Japanese media-related movies. Alongside the two juggernauts, directed by Haruo Sotozaki at animation studio ufotable and Studio MAPPA’s Tatsuya Yoshihara, respectively, the remaining candidates are as follows:
- 100 Meters (Hyakuemu), from Kenji Iwaisawa and studio ROCK’N ROLL MOUNTAIN
- ChaO (Yasuhiro Aoki / Studio 4°C)
- COLOURFUL STAGE! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing (Hiroyuki Hata / P.A. Works)
- Dragon Heart – Adventures Beyond This World (Isamu Imakake / HS Pictures Studio)
- Scarlet (Mamoru Hosoda / Studio Chizu)
Other heavyweight additions include Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters, Lost in Starlight, Netflix’s first Korean-animated film, Disney’s holiday tentpole Zootopia 2, and Chinese hit The Legend of Hei II, with crowd favourite Nezha 2 notably missing.
The full list of eligible works for the documentary and international feature categories was also announced, totalling over 300 submissions across the board. As noted by Variety, some of them will still need to fulfil screenings in at least one theatre in one of six major American metropolitan areas for at least one week before the end of the year.
Shortlists for all categories will be unveiled on 16 December, followed by the finalised nominations on 22 January 2026. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is set to take place on 15 March, and it’d be interesting to see how far Japanese media can push their momentum in a traditionally Western-dominated space — Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron previously won the Best Animated Feature accolade in 2024’s show, while Takashi Yamazaki and TOHO’s Godzilla Minus One notched Best Visual Effects in a first for Japanese-language films.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
