After eleven days of movie watching in the heart of Toronto, it was announced earlier today that Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “La Bola Negra” won the 2026 TIFF People’s Choice Award. Voted on by the general public after each film screens, the award has become a strong indicator of which movie would do well with Academy voters because it indicates broad appeal among a diverse group of people. The runners-up this year were Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” and Siân Heder’s “Being Heumann.”
For the second time ever, the Toronto International Film Festival introduced the International People’s Choice Award, and the winner was Simon Stone’s “Elsinore.” The runners-up this year were Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love” and Hur Jin-ho’s “The Assassin(s).”
The Midnight Madness Award went to Matthew Rankin’s “Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney,” with Paolo Strippoli’s “The Spiral” and SABU’s “Arrested Memory” announced as the runners-up.
The Documentary Award Award went to Barry Avrich’s “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been” with James Marcus Haney’s “Black Sunflowers,” and Mila Aung-Thwin’s “The Ultra Runner” announced as this year’s runners-up.
Past People’s Choice Award winners since the Oscar Best Picture lineup expanded to ten nominees (Best Picture nominees are highlighted in bold):
2025: 1. Hamnet 2. Frankenstein 3. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
2024: 1. The Life Of Chuck 2. Emilia Pérez 3. Anora
2023: 1. American Fiction 2. The Holdovers 3. The Boy And The Heron
2022: 1. The Fabelmans 2. Women Talking 3. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
2021:Â 1. Belfast 2. Scarborough 3. The Power Of The Dog
2020: 1. Nomadland 2. One Night In Miami… 3. Beans
2019: 1. Jojo Rabbit 2. Marriage Story 3. Parasite
2018:Â 1. Green Book 2. If Beale Street Could Talk 3. Roma
2017:Â 1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2. I, Tonya 3. Call Me By Your Name
2016:Â 1. La La Land 2. Lion 3. Queen Of Katwe
2015: 1. Room 2. Angry Indian Goddesses 3. Spotlight
2014:Â 1. The Imitation Game 2. Learning To Drive 3. St. Vincent
2013:Â 1. 12 Years A Slave 2. Philomena 3. Prisoners
2012: 1. Silver Linings Playbook 2. Argo 3. Zaytoun
2011: 1. Where Do We Go Now? 2. Starbuck 3. A Separation
2010: 1. The King’s Speech 2. The First Grader
2009: 1. Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire 2. Mao’s Last Dancer 3. Micmacs
As you can see, whether it’s the winner or the runners-up, at least one of the three placed films has managed to score a Best Picture nomination, with the exception being 2011 (though one could make the argument that “A Separation” might’ve gotten into the Best Picture lineup in a year of a straight ten but that’s for another conversation). Sometimes, two Best Picture nominees emerge from the TIFF People’s Choice Award placement, and in 2019, all three managed to score Best Picture nominations. The Best Picture winner has placed within the top 3 eight times since the Best Picture lineup expanded to ten nominees in 2009.
Here are the other winners from the year’s Toronto International Film Festival:
International Award: ELSINORE dir. Simon Stone
Documentary Award: DARLENE LOVE: I KNOW WHERE I’VE BEEN dir. Barry Avrich
Midnight Madness Award: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BRIAN MULRONEY dir. Matthew Rankin
Platform Award: ANGH dir. Theja Rio
Best Canadian Feature Film Award: SUNBURN dir. Serville Poblete
Best Canadian Discovery Award: SMUDGE THE BLADES dir. Cody Lightning
NETPAC Award: THIRTEEN IN GAZA dir. Hosam Abu Dan
FIPRESCI Prize: ANCESTORS dir. David Turpin
Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film: FIGHT KID dir. Michael Del Monte
Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film: MAMMALIA dir. Elia Kalogianni
Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film: INTO THE BETAVERSE dirs. Varun Raman & Tom Hancock
Will “La Bola Negra” receive a Best Picture nomination? What does the TIFF People’s Choice Award do for its awards prospects? Please let us know in the comments section below or on Next Best Picture’s X account and check out our latest Oscar predictions here.
