Sinners has dont it again!
The race to the 2026 Oscars is officially on, and Ryan Coogler’s supernatural horror film Sinners is leading the charge. The film earned an unprecedented 16 Academy Award nominations, making it the most-nominated movie in Oscars history.
This milestone surpasses the long-standing record of 14 nominations previously shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016), firmly cementing Sinners in the Academy’s record books.
The film received nominations across all major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan. It also garnered key supporting nominations, with Wunmi Mosaku recognized for Best Supporting Actress and legendary actor Delroy Lindo earning his first Academy Award nod for Best Supporting Actor.
With these nominations, Coogler becomes only the second Black filmmaker to be nominated in the same year for producing, directing, and original screenplay. Jordan Peele was the first to achieve the rare trifecta with his 2017 box-office hit Get Out.
Coogler also joins an elite group of Black directors who have received Best Director nominations, alongside John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood), Lee Daniels (Precious), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Peele, and Spike Lee. If Coogler wins, he will become the first Black director to take home the Oscar in the category.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Sinners was celebrated in nearly every technical and non-acting category, earning nominations for cinematography, editing, sound, makeup, visual effects, and the Academy’s new casting category.
Beyond the film’s historic 16 nominations, the night marked another major milestone. Acclaimed costume designer Ruth E. Carter earned her fifth career Oscar nomination for her work on Sinners, setting a new record for the most nominations by a Black woman in any category in the Academy’s 97-year history. Carter previously won Oscars for Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and had been tied with Viola Davis at four nominations. With this latest nod, she now trails only Denzel Washington and Quincy Jones among the most-nominated Black creatives in Academy history.
These rare, across-the-board nomination performances have followed Sinners throughout awards season. The film earned 17 Critics Choice Awards nominations and took home four trophies, including Best Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Young Performer (Miles Canton), and the inaugural award for Best Casting and Ensemble. At this year’s Golden Globe Awards, Sinners won two of its seven nominations, including Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, while Ludwig Göransson received Best Score.
Critically acclaimed for its unexpected take on the horror genre, Sinners proved to be far more than a vampire film. Drawing from history, it tells a haunting story of racism, violence, and Black resilience in 1930s Mississippi. Its bold approach and layered storytelling may signal the Academy’s growing openness to work that exists outside Hollywood’s traditional social constructs. The film also became the highest-grossing domestic release of the past 15 years, transforming into a cultural event rather than merely an arthouse success, and has grossed more than $368 million since its April 2025 release.
The 98th Annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC and Hulu on Sunday, March 15, 2026, beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
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See Sinner’s full nomination list below.
- Best Picture – Sinners (producers including Ryan Coogler)
- Best Director – Ryan Coogler
- Best Original Screenplay – Ryan Coogler
- Best Actor – Michael B. Jordan (for his dual role as the twin brothers)
- Best Supporting Actor – Delroy Lindo
- Best Supporting Actress – Wunmi Mosaku
- Best Casting – Francine Maisler
- Best Cinematography – Director of Photography for Sinners
- Best Film Editing – Editor of Sinners (editor unnamed)
- Best Production Design – Production designer and set decorator team for Sinners
- Best Costume Design – Ruth E. Carter
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Makeup and hair team for Sinners
- Best Sound – Sinners sound team
- Best Visual Effects – Sinners visual effects team
- Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson
- Best Original Song – “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)