EXCLUSIVE: “Sinners” Shatters Records with Historic 16 Oscar Nominations
By Wellington Jopelo
Ryan Coogler’s period vampire epic Sinners has already made history at the 98th Academy Awards, emerging as the most nominated single film ever with a staggering 16 nods, surpassing long-time record holders All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land, which each had 14.
The nominations, announced Thursday, placed Sinners firmly at the center of Hollywood’s biggest awards race. The film landed major-category mentions for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, with Michael B. Jordan earning a Best Actor nomination for his lead role. Supporting stars Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo also secured acting nods, underlining the film’s across-the-board acclaim.
Trailing closely behind was One Battle After Another with 13 nominations, setting up several head-to-head showdowns with Sinners. Teyana Taylor, fresh off her Golden Globe win, will compete against Mosaku in the Best Supporting Actress category, while Delroy Lindo faces competition from Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro for Best Supporting Actor.
Lewis Pullman and Danielle Brooks unveiled the nominees for the ceremony, which will air live on ABC on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, with Conan O’Brien returning as host.
Beyond the headline categories, Sinners dominated a wide range of technical and creative fields. The film received nominations for Best Original Song (“I Lied to You” by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson), Best Original Score (Göransson), Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw), Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design (Ruth E. Carter), Best Production Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, reinforcing its status as a full-spectrum awards contender.
In the Best Picture race, Sinners will compete against Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams. Coogler also joins a heavyweight Best Director lineup that includes Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) and Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value).
The acting categories are equally stacked. Alongside Jordan in Best Actor are Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke and Wagner Moura, while Best Actress contenders include Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve and Emma Stone.
Industry observers say Sinners’ unprecedented haul positions it as the clear front-runner heading into Oscar night. Its blend of genre storytelling, star power and technical excellence appears to have resonated strongly with Academy voters, redefining what a horror-leaning film can achieve in awards season.
With momentum firmly on its side and rivals like One Battle After Another and Hamnet mounting strong challenges, all eyes will now turn to March 15, when Sinners could convert its record-breaking nominations into an equally historic night of wins.