Entertainment
New Horror Movie Breaks All-Time Oscar Nomination Record, Poised To Dethrone Lord Of The Rings
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards have been announced, and Ryan Coogler’s historical vampire drama Sinners has been nominated for 16 Oscars. This breaks the record for most nominations in a single year. The previous record, shared by the 1950 film All About Eve, 1997’s Titanic, and La-LaLand in 2016, was 14.
What is specifically historic about these nominations isn’t just that Sinners earned so many, but that the movie is black-led and black-made. Coogler, who is known for writing and directing Creed and both of MCU’s Black Panther movies, was honored with nominations for writing, directing, and producing Sinners. Michael B. Jordan earned a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of brothers Smoke and Stack. Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku were nominated for best supporting performer in their respective categories.
Sinners also received all the technical nods, like Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound. The hair, makeup, and costumes also garnered nominations, with the costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, earning her fifth nomination for the work. She is black, as is production designer Hannah Beachler; Beachler is the only black woman recognized for her work, earning a second nomination for Sinners.
The soundtrack also received nominations for both its entirety and for Best Song, “Lie to Me.” The movie is about two Depression-era brothers who return to their Mississippi home to open a blues joint, only to find themselves the targets of vampires. Within its subtext are themes about racism in the Jim Crow South, using vampires to stand in for forces operating against black people during the era. Jazz music is an integral part of the atmosphere, thrusting music and the soundtrack into the center of attention.
With so many nominations, Sinners is poised to challenge Ben Hur, Titanic, and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for Oscar superiority. These three films are tied for most wins with 11 apiece.
However, La La Land and All About Eve failed to convert their record-breaking nominations into wins, taking home only six each. Nominations aren’t the same as wins. However, they do draw their own prestige because they are recognized by the industry’s assessment of a movie’s excellence, even when the movie doesn’t get the award.
Sinners is up against a roster of competitive films this year, including Bugonia, One Battle After Another, F1, Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Train Dreams, and Sentimental Value. The Academy has been busy this year, and Sinners isn’t the only record that they’ve set.
Bugonia also broke a record this year by making Emma Stone the youngest actress, at 37, to receive nominations in the same year for acting and producing more than once; Stone also received nominations in both categories for Poor Things.
Marty Supreme made lead actor Timothee Chalamet the youngest actor to receive three nominations for Best Actor. His other nominations were for Call Me By Your Name and A Complete Unknown.
Voting on the Oscars will take place between February 26 and March 5. Industry insiders will sift through all the nominees and announce their decisions at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026, on ABC, hosted by Conan O’Brien.