The 98th Academy Awards nominations have been announced, and history has been made. Ryan Coogler's blues-steeped vampire epic, Sinners, has shattered records by receiving 16 Oscar nominations, the highest number ever bestowed upon a single film in the ceremony's history.
A New Record in Oscar History
On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed that Sinners surpassed the previous benchmark of 14 nominations, which was jointly held by cinematic classics All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. This unprecedented achievement highlights the film's profound impact on voters and its standout position in this year's awards race.
Key Nominations for Sinners
Sinners is nominated for Best Picture, with Ryan Coogler earning nods for Best Director and Best Screenplay. In a career milestone, Michael B. Jordan received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor, recognizing his dual role in the film. The nominations extend to supporting categories, with Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
Strong Contenders and Notable Snubs
Paul Thomas Anderson's father-daughter revolutionary saga, One Battle After Another, followed closely with 13 nominations. The film saw acting nominations for Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn. However, newcomer Chase Infiniti was notably absent from the Best Actress category, a surprising omission given the film's critical acclaim.
Other Top Nominees
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme, and Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value each garnered nine nominations. Marty Supreme included a third Best Actor nomination for Timothée Chalamet, who is considered a favorite after narrowly missing the award last year.
Best Picture and Acting Categories
The ten films nominated for Best Picture are: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
Best Actress and Supporting Roles
In the Best Actress category, nominees include Jessie Buckley for Hamnet, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve, and two-time winner Emma Stone for Bugonia. The Best Supporting Actress nominees feature Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter LilIeaas for Sentimental Value, Amy Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Teyana Taylor.
For Best Supporting Actor, Jacob Elordi, Sean Penn, Stellan Skarsgård, Benicio del Toro, and Delroy Lindo received nominations, showcasing a mix of veteran and emerging talent.
New Category and Industry Context
This year marks the introduction of a new Oscar category for Best Casting, which benefited Sinners and One Battle After Another in boosting their nomination counts. Other nominees in this category are Hamnet, Marty Supreme, and The Secret Agent.
The nominations come amid significant industry shifts, particularly with Warner Bros., the studio behind both top-nominated films, facing a contentious $72 billion sale to Netflix. This potential realignment adds a layer of drama to the awards season, reflecting broader changes in Hollywood.
Ceremony Details
The 98th Academy Awards will be held on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will be televised live on ABC and Hulu, with Conan O'Brien returning as host. Notably, YouTube's exclusive broadcasting deal will not take effect until 2029, ensuring traditional viewing options remain available this year.
With Sinners leading the pack and a diverse slate of nominees across categories, the Oscars 2026 promise to be a memorable celebration of cinematic excellence, set against a backdrop of industry transformation.
