Jon Stewart boards the ‘Springsteen’ train, James Cameron beams in from Pandora, and more from the pre-Thanksgiving awards circuit

It’s getting real, real fast, ya’ll. With only five days to go before both New York and Los Angeles effectively shut down for the Thanksgiving holiday, screening rooms and event spaces are filling up with premieres, panels, and parties. The calendar is equally crowded in the week following Turkey Day as nominations for the Spirit Awards, the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes follow each other in quick succession.

While some films are feeling safe and secure as we head into the crowded December corridor — looking at you, Hamnet, and you, too, Wicked: For Good — others are clearly recognizing that it’s time to make some big moves with some big events and talent. Some films are enlisting A-list moderators to stand out from the crowd, while others are getting crafty with costumes and props. It’s all in service of sticking in voters’ memories as the ballot due dates inch nearer and nearer.

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Here’s some news and notes from what your Gold Derby team has seen in our inboxes and on the ground as the awards campaign enters an especially heated stretch.

Jersey boys

Bruce Springsteen to Jon Stewart: Cover me. As Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere makes a final push for awards recognition after its disappointing box-office run, 20th Century Studios is bringing another New Jersey native son on the campaign trail. The past and present Daily Show host is the emcee at a New York City event on Nov. 21 celebrating the Scott Cooper-directed biopic. Springsteen and Stewart are famously good buddies, with the comedian saluting the rock icon at 2009 Kennedy Center Honors. Springsteen returned the favor by providing the soundtrack for Stewart’s last Moment of Zen the first time he left The Daily Show back in 2015. While Springsteen isn’t listed as a panel guest for the post-screening conversation at the Museum of Modern Art’s Celeste Bartos Theater, recent history has shown that he’ll happily show up wherever the movie is playing and strum his guitar.

Three days after the MoMA shindig, Cooper heads out west to Santa Barbara where he and star Jeremy Allen White will be getting the full Oprah Winfrey experience. The media mogul has already been stumping for the movie on various social media platforms and her endorsement could help raise awards votes in the same it used to help with book sales. The support comes at a crucial time for Deliver Me From Nowhere; the film has largely faded away on Gold Derby’s various leaderboards, and White’s Best Actor odds recently dipped as Ethan Hawke‘s Blue Moon star turn has surged. Gold Derby spoke with sources close to the film recently who indicated that they weren’t throwing in the towel on The Bear‘s star Oscar campaign after the muted commercial response to the film and enlisting Stewart and Winfrey is gauntlet-throw aimed at locking down an all-important Golden Globes nod for White. Without that nomination, they’ll have to cook up another way to get to the Oscars.

White himself, of course, is keeping above the fray. Speaking with Gold Derby last week, the actor chose to emphasize the rewarding journey as opposed to any awards-centric destination. “Being able to turn a really painful period into something that is about connection — I think that that’s a story very worth telling,” the actor remarked.

Oscars Nominations 2026

Best Picture Best Director Best Actress Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay Best Casting Best Cinematography Best Costume Design Best Film Editing Best Makeup and Hairstyling Best Production Design Best Score Best Sound Best Visual Effects Best Animated Feature Best International Film

Contender

Odds

1.

Leonardo DiCaprio

93.5%

2.

Timothee Chalamet

92.7%

3.

Wagner Moura

81.6%

4.

Michael B. Jordan

76.0%

5.

Ethan Hawke

55.2%

6.

Jeremy Allen White

26.1%

7.

Jesse Plemons

21.1%

8.

Joel Edgerton

10.3%

9.

George Clooney

9.1%

10.

Dwayne Johnson

7.3%

11.

Lee Byung Hun

2.2%

12.

Daniel Day-Lewis

1.1%

13.

Brendan Fraser

0.9%

14.

Oscar Isaac

0.9%

15.

Hugh Jackman

0.8%

16.

Tonatiuh

0.7%

17.

Russell Crowe

0.5%

18.

Will Arnett

0.4%

19.

Dylan O’Brien

0.3%

20.

Chris Evans

0.3%

21.

Colin Farrell

0.3%

22.

Joaquin Phoenix

0.3%

23.

Brad Pitt

0.2%

24.

Vahid Mobasseri

0.2%

25.

Sergi Lopez

0.1%

26.

Benedict Cumberbatch

0.1%

27.

Benicio Del Toro

0.1%

28.

David Strathairn

0.1%

29.

Toni Servillo

0.1%

30.

Cooper Hoffman

0.1%

31.

Ralph Fiennes

0.1%

32.

Miles Teller

0.1%

33.

Josh O’Connor

0.1%

34.

Harry Melling

0.1%

35.

Josh Brolin

0.1%

36.

Seth Rogen

0.1%

37.

Channing Tatum

0.1%

38.

Michael Fassbender

0.1%

39.

Sky Yang

0.1%

40.

Guillaume Marbeck

0.1%

41.

Austin Butler

0.1%

42.

Daniel Craig

0.1%

43.

Denzel Washington

0.1%

44.

Andre Holland

0.1%

45.

Paul Mescal

0.1%

46.

Tom Hiddleston

0.1%

47.

Rami Malek

0.1%

48.

Ben Whishaw

—

49.

Paul Walter Hauser

—

50.

Leo Woodall

—

51.

Bill Skarsgard

—

52.

Matthew McConaughey

—

53.

Colin Farrell

—

See All Predictions

Avatar approaches

The general moviegoing public won’t see Avatar: Fire and Ash until Dec. 19. But awards voters are blasting off to Pandora starting Dec. 1 when James Cameron‘s latest spectacle has its first screenings in New York and Los Angeles. (Journalists participating in the junket will be able to see it two days earlier on Nov. 29.) Manhattan’s DGA Theater will host morning and evening showings, and additional afternoon and evening screenings are planned at an Imax-equipped multiplex. Funnily enough, the evening presentations will go head-to-head with the Gotham Awards, which means that the earlier screenings will be dominated by dressed-down critics and industry tastemakers before they have to suit up for the first big ceremony of the current awards cycle.

Multiple screenings are also planned at various L.A. locations on Dec. 1, including on the Disney lot, where attendees can also tour an exhibit with environments taken directly from the film, complete with costumes and decoration. Gold Derby attended a reception in the exhibit space this week that followed a screening of the Disney+ documentary Fire and Water: Making the Avatar Films. Cameron was in the house for a post-screening Q&A alongside the film’s stars, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Oona Chaplin.

The Titanic director’s main goal with Fire and Ash‘s soft launch appeared to be shoring up support for the craftspeople who make Pandora possible. “On Fire and Ash, we have 3,500 [visual effects] shots,” Cameron emphasized. “We’re designing all the systems. It’s about pride in the group and in the team effort.” At the same time, he also clearly wanted to see the motion-capture performances cross over into the acting races — and thus gain support from the voter-rich Academy actor’s branch. “We were just doing a demonstration today for SAG-AFTRA leadership at our studio,” he noted. “I think they were kind of blown away by how intimate it is creatively, not technical at all.”

Avatar will need all the branches of the Academy tree as it seeks to complete the hat trick for a third Best Picture nomination. Look for those first Dec. 1 Fire and Ash screenings to ignite chatter about what the franchise’s future might hold at the Oscars… and beyond.

The movie’s the thing

As previously mentioned, it’s going to be all’s well that ends well for Hamnet when nominations are announced for the Globes, guilds and beyond. Chloé Zhao‘s Shakespearean tale had a fabled fall festival run and currently holds the No. 1 spot on our Best Picture and Best Actress Oscar leaderboards. That said, there was a spot of drama at the movie’s L.A. premiere this week when a sound snafu interrupted the screening and the audience had to hold space for roughly 20 minutes while the tech issues were resolved.

Some celebrity guests didn’t want to wait around, though. Gold Derby spotted Charli XCX making an early exit, potentially to avoid the flood of emotions that were about to come. The Fablemans star Gabriel LaBelle hung in there, though, and didn’t mind us seeing and hearing him having a good, loud cry. “I’m so sorry about what just happened,” he told us as he headed to the post-screening party, where Best Director winner Sean Baker and Cobra Kai star Peyton List were spotted having an impassioned conversation about the movie.

Speaking of The Fablemans, Hamnet producer Steven Spielberg gave the premiere’s keynote address, stressing the importance of making “room for films like these” in Hollywood. The filmmaker is set to expand his own Oscar record courtesy of Zhao’s film, earning a 14th Best Picture nomination should the film all but certainly score a nod.

Oscars Nominations 2026

Best Picture Best Director Best Actress Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay Best Casting Best Cinematography Best Costume Design Best Film Editing Best Makeup and Hairstyling Best Production Design Best Score Best Sound Best Visual Effects Best Animated Feature Best International Film

Contender

Odds

1.

Hamnet

93.9%

2.

One Battle After Another

93.7%

3.

Sinners

91.1%

4.

Sentimental Value

89.2%

5.

Marty Supreme

87.2%

6.

Wicked: For Good

84.2%

7.

It Was Just an Accident

81.7%

8.

Frankenstein

78.6%

9.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

60.7%

10.

Bugonia

50.4%

11.

The Secret Agent

25.6%

12.

No Other Choice

18.1%

13.

Jay Kelly

17.7%

14.

Train Dreams

16.3%

15.

The Testament of Ann Lee

11.0%

16.

A House of Dynamite

3.7%

17.

Weapons

3.4%

18.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

2.6%

19.

F1: The Movie

1.8%

20.

Wake Up Dead Man

1.6%

21.

Nuremberg

1.3%

22.

Rental Family

1.2%

23.

Blue Moon

1.2%

24.

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

1.0%

25.

Is This Thing On?

0.9%

26.

Sorry, Baby

0.8%

27.

Die, My Love

0.8%

28.

The Voice of Hind Rajab

0.6%

29.

The Smashing Machine

0.6%

30.

Materialists

0.6%

31.

After the Hunt

0.6%

32.

The Life of Chuck

0.5%

33.

Nouvelle Vague

0.4%

34.

28 Years Later

0.3%

35.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

0.3%

36.

The Phoenician Scheme

0.2%

37.

The History of Sound

0.2%

38.

Twinless

0.2%

39.

Hedda

0.2%

40.

Father, Mother, Sister, Brother

0.2%

41.

Eddington

0.2%

42.

Black Bag

0.2%

43.

Sirât

0.2%

44.

Ballad of a Small Player

0.1%

45.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

0.1%

46.

The Long Walk

0.1%

47.

Ella McCay

0.1%

48.

The Mastermind

0.1%

49.

Song Sung Blue

0.1%

50.

Highest 2 Lowest

0.1%

51.

Roofman

0.1%

52.

Good Fortune

0.1%

53.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

—

54.

A Private Life

—

55.

Christy

0.0%

56.

Anemone

0.0%

57.

Dead Man’s Wire

—

58.

Eternity

—

59.

Rosemead

—

60.

The Summer Book

—

61.

The Choral

—

62.

40 Acres

—

63.

Peter Hujar’s Day

—

64.

La grazia

—

65.

A Little Prayer

—

66.

Tuner

—

67.

Bad Apples

—

68.

The Actor

—

69.

Pillion

—

70.

The Roses

0.0%

71.

In Your Dreams

—

72.

The Chronology of Water

—

73.

Last Days

—

74.

Eleanor the Great

—

75.

Caught Stealing

0.0%

76.

The Lost Bus

0.0%

See All Predictions

Zoo station

Zootopia 2 is ready and raring to feast on the Thanksgiving family audience, but awards voters will be able to sidestep the multiplex crowds. Our friends at the FYCit App report that the Disney animated sequel had the highest number of FYC screenings added this week — 25 showings in 22 different cities, 18 of which were scheduled for Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. to get a jump on the holiday week. Zootopia 2 is notably the last major obstacle standing in the way of KPop Demon Hunters cementing its pop culture domination with a Best Animated Feature win.

Over the past few months, Netflix has been cleverly building the KPop momentum with a successful (if short) theatrical run, lots of merchandise announcements and the in-movie band, Huntr/x, performing IRL, bonus Grammy noms, all things that have helped raise awareness for the film among voters. While the Mouse House is correctly banking on their being plenty of appetite for more Zootopia, the sequel has some catch-up work to do — not only to establish itself as the alternative to KPop, but also to smaller contenders like Arco and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain that have been winning attention and awards on the festival circuit.

Oscars Nominations 2026

Best Picture Best Director Best Actress Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay Best Casting Best Cinematography Best Costume Design Best Film Editing Best Makeup and Hairstyling Best Production Design Best Score Best Sound Best Visual Effects Best Animated Feature Best International Film

Contender

Odds

1.

KPop Demon Hunters

97.1%

2.

Zootopia 2

94.5%

3.

Arco

88.0%

4.

Scarlet

62.0%

5.

Elio

61.4%

6.

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

31.2%

7.

Ne Zha 2

26.7%

8.

In Your Dreams

6.9%

9.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba

5.2%

10.

A Magnificent Life

1.9%

11.

The Bad Guys 2

1.1%

12.

The Twits

0.9%

13.

Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc

0.8%

14.

Animal Farm

0.8%

15.

Predator: Killer of Killers

0.6%

16.

Dog Man

0.6%

17.

The King of Kings

0.3%

18.

Smurfs

0.2%

19.

Dandelion’s Odyssey

0.1%

20.

ChaO

0.1%

21.

The Legend of Hei 2

—

22.

Lost in Starlight

—

23.

Hypergalactic

—

24.

Fixed

—

25.

Sneaks

—

26.

100 Meters

—

See All Predictions

—Additional reporting by Marcus Errico and Jaclyn Ben-Porat

Note: Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.

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