Sinners makes Oscars history with record number of nominations

Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s inventive vampire horror film, has made Oscars history with a staggering 16 nominations.

Announced Thursday by Lewis Pullman and Oscar winner Danielle Brooks, the film — starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return home in an attempt to leave their troubled past behind, only to find an even greater evil awaiting them — earned nods in several major categories. These include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Lead Actor (Jordan), Best Supporting Actor (British actor Delroy Lindo), and Best Supporting Actress (British-Nigerian actor Wunmi Mosaku).

Prior to Thursday, no film had ever received more than 14 nominations — a record shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016).

Sinners, which also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Omar Benson Miller, Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li, was released in April 2025 to widespread critical acclaim. The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey boldly declared the genre-mashing period thriller “deserves to be a global sensation” in her four-star review.

And a sensation it has undeniably become. In addition to the major categories, it will also compete for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Casting, a new competitive award.

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Other films to earn multiple nods this year include Paul Thomas Anderson’s caper One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which landed 13 nominations. Guillermo del Toro’s take on Frankenstein, Joachim Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value, and Josh Safdie’s ping pong drama Marty Supreme earned nine apiece, while Chloé Zhao’s Shakespearean drama Hamnet secured eight.

One of the biggest surprises of the morning was Brad Pitt’s F1 blockbuster scoring a nod for Best Picture.

This year’s nominees diverged notably from the 2026 Golden Globes selections, long regarded as a bellwether for the eventual winners. While the latter recognized a variety of films, including Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good, the UFC fighter Mark Kerr biopic The Smashing Machine, and Park Chan-wook’s South Korean comedy thriller No Other Choice, the Oscars shut them all out, instead favoring a much narrower slate of contenders.

The 98th Academy Awards, taking place Sunday, March 16, will welcome back late-night funnyman Conan O’Brien to host. The ceremony will air live on ABC at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.