The 98th Academy Awards just happened. Here's how everyday audiences feel about the Academy's choices.
Published March 18, 2026 · ThumbScore Editorial
The 98th Academy Awards aired on March 15, 2026, with some surprising wins, historic firsts, and the perennial question: do the Oscars actually reflect what regular moviegoers think?
At ThumbScore, we track the gap between what professional critics and industry insiders love versus what everyday audiences actually enjoy. Let's see how the 2026 Oscar winners stack up.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win Best Cinematography for her work on Sinners.
The Academy introduced Best Casting as a new category — the first new Oscar category since Best Animated Feature was added in 2002.
"Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters became the first K-pop song to win an Oscar.
As these 2026 Oscar-winning films make their way to streaming platforms, we'll be tracking their ThumbScores — the percentage of everyday audiences who actually enjoyed them. Oscar wins don't always align with audience satisfaction, and that gap is exactly what ThumbScore measures.
History shows some interesting patterns: critically acclaimed Oscar winners like The Shape of Water (2017) scored just 75% with everyday audiences, while populist films that the Academy snubbed — like Bohemian Rhapsody at 92% — were far more loved by regular viewers.
We'll update this article with ThumbScores for all 2026 Oscar nominees as the data comes in. Check back soon.
See what real people think about every movie
Browse 10,000+ Films on ThumbScore →