Ryan Coogler’s horror film Sinners has made Academy Awards history with 16 nominations for the 98th Oscars, to be presented March 15. The total surpasses the long-standing record of 14 nominations held by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land, and is notable because horror films have traditionally been overlooked by the Academy.
Starring Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers who face supernatural forces in the Jim Crow–era American South, Sinners is widely regarded as a frontrunner for best picture. Its nominations also include best director (Ryan Coogler), best original screenplay, best lead actor and best original song, among others.
Ten films earned best picture nominations from a field of 201 submissions. Alongside Sinners, the best picture nominees are One Battle After Another; Sentimental Value; Bugonia; F1; Frankenstein; Hamnet; Marty Supreme; The Secret Agent; and Train Dreams. Sentimental Value, a family drama, recently swept the European Film Awards.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another finished second in total nominations with 13, including a best director nod for Anderson and multiple acting nominations; the film has already won a Golden Globe for best picture.
The five best director nominees are Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Chloe Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme) and Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value).
Best actor nominees include Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan and Wagner Moura. The best actress field features Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve and Emma Stone.
A new category, best casting—the first category the Oscars have added in 25 years—recognizes casting directors; five films were nominated in that category, and Sinners is among them.
The animated musical KPop Demon Hunters received nominations for best animated feature and best original song for “Golden.” Released on Netflix and credited with breaking the platform’s viewing record, it qualified for Oscar consideration through a limited sing-along theatrical release.
The international feature finalists include entries from Brazil (The Secret Agent), France (It Was Just an Accident), Norway (Sentimental Value), Spain (Sirat) and Tunisia (The Voice of Hind Rajab). Germany’s submission, Sound of Falling, did not make the final list.
The Academy’s full list of nominations is posted on the Oscars website. The awards, voted on by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, continue to contend with declining TV viewership amid the rise of streaming. Separately, Netflix is reportedly pursuing an acquisition of Warner Brothers, the studio behind both One Battle After Another and Sinners.
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will take place March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien. The show will remain on broadcast television through 2029, after which it is slated to stream exclusively on YouTube.