‘Sinners’ Breaks Oscars Record With 16 Nominations/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Ryan Coogler’s Sinners shattered Academy Awards history with 16 nominations, the most ever for a single film. The blues-tinged vampire drama led a competitive Oscar field, topping One Battle After Another, which earned 13 nods. The 98th Oscars, airing March 15, reflect a year of bold, politically charged filmmaking.
Oscars 2026 Quick Looks
- Sinners sets new Academy Awards record with 16 nominations.
- Coogler scores Best Director and Best Screenplay nods.
- Michael B. Jordan lands his first Best Actor nomination.
- One Battle After Another follows with 13 nominations.
- Warner Bros. dominates with two top contenders amid Netflix sale.
- Ten Best Picture nominees include Sinners, Frankenstein, and Bugonia.
- Jessie Buckley, Emma Stone, and Kate Hudson lead Best Actress race.
- Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio nominated for Best Actor.
- New Casting category debuts, boosting Sinners and One Battle After Another.
- Oscars will air March 15, hosted by Conan O’Brien.
Deep Look: ‘Sinners’ Makes Oscars History With Record-Breaking 16 Nominations
LOS ANGELES — The 98th Academy Awards will be remembered as the year Ryan Coogler’s Sinners redefined what’s possible for genre cinema. The blues-soaked, Jim Crow-era vampire epic scored a stunning 16 nominations, making Oscars history as the most-nominated film of all time, surpassing previous record holders Titanic, All About Eve, and La La Land, each with 14.
Among the nominations, Sinners earned nods for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, while star Michael B. Jordan—who also co-produced—received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
It’s a monumental moment not just for Coogler and Jordan, but for genre films, as Sinners becomes one of the rare horror-tinged titles to gain widespread Academy recognition.
A Political, Mythical Epic Resonates
Set in an alternate, mythical version of Jim Crow-era America, Sinners uses vampire lore to reflect generational trauma, racial violence, and Black resilience. Its bold, genre-defying narrative struck a cultural nerve—and Academy voters took notice.
Coogler’s film dominated a year full of politically charged storytelling. Its closest rival, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, received 13 nominations, including nods for Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn. The film presents a near-future dystopia where rebellion brews in an authoritarian U.S. state—another timely allegory that earned critical praise.
Warner Bros. Shines Amid Industry Shakeup
Both top contenders are Warner Bros. productions—an ironic twist as the historic studio faces massive upheaval during its ongoing $72 billion acquisition by Netflix, a deal challenged by Paramount Skydance.
The studio earned more Oscar nominations this year than ever before, even as its future remains uncertain.
The Best Picture Field
This year’s Best Picture category is stacked with critically acclaimed films across genres. The 10 nominees are:
- Bugonia
- F1
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
Other notable films include Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro), Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie), and Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier), each with nine nominations.
Acting Categories Feature Returning Stars, Rising Talent
In Best Actor, Michael B. Jordan faces stiff competition from:
- Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)
- Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
- Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)
- Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)
For Best Actress, frontrunner Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) is joined by:
- Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You)
- Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue)
- Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)
- Emma Stone (Bugonia) — her sixth Oscar nomination and already a two-time winner.
Blockbusters and Streaming Surprises
While most blockbusters were snubbed, the animated sensation KPop Demon Hunters, which racked up over 500 million views on Netflix, landed nominations for Best Song (“Golden”) and Best Animated Feature. The film, developed by Sony and sold to Netflix, became a viral global success.
Conversely, Universal’s Wicked: For Good was completely shut out, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, despite nominations for visual effects and costume design, failed to land a Best Picture nod—a first for the Avatar franchise.
The biggest box office success among Best Picture nominees is F1, a racing drama from Apple in partnership with Warner Bros.
Supporting Performances Stand Out
In Supporting Actress, the nominees are:
- Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value)
- Inga Ibsdotter LilIeaas (Sentimental Value)
- Amy Madigan (Weapons)
- Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)
- Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)
In Supporting Actor:
- Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)
- Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
- Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value)
- Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another)
- Delroy Lindo (Sinners)
Oscars Introduce Casting Category
For the first time, the Academy added a Best Casting category—an overdue move that helped Sinners and One Battle After Another pad their nomination counts. The other nominees in the category are Hamnet, Marty Supreme, and The Secret Agent.
What’s Next
The 98th Academy Awards will take place March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Veteran comedian Conan O’Brien returns as host. The ceremony will air live on ABC and Hulu, with YouTube’s exclusive broadcast deal not taking effect until 2029.
With a historic nomination count, cultural resonance, and critical acclaim, Sinners enters the 2026 Oscars as the frontrunner—and perhaps the start of a new era for genre films and underrepresented narratives in Hollywood.
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