2026 Oscar Nominations: Sinners Smashes Record With 16 Nods Including Best Picture

Ryan Coogler's blues-steeped vampire drama has redefined Academy history, eclipsing long-standing records to lead the 98th Oscar nominations with an unprecedented sixteen mentions.

The 98th Academy Award nominations, announced on Thursday, 22 January 2026, by presenters Lewis Pullman (The Testament of Ann Lee) and Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), have been dominated by director Ryan Coogler and his supernatural epic, Sinners.

The film's lead, Michael B. Jordan, secured his first-ever Best Actor nomination, while veteran Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku landed nods in the supporting categories.

Standing in opposition to this success is the high-profile 'snub' of the year: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and the entire creative team behind Wicked: For Good, which failed to garner a single nomination despite its box-office dominance.

Sinners has officially broken the all-time record for the most Oscar nominations received by a single film, surpassing the 14-nod milestone previously shared by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land.

The film is competing in **24 competitive categories, including the newly introduced Achievement in Casting, **as well as Best Picture, Best Director, and Original Screenplay.

The nominations were unveiled live from the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Los Angeles at 5:30 a.m. PST on Thursday morning, setting the stage for the ceremony on 15 March 2026. While the announcements took place in California, the shockwaves are being felt across the global film industry, particularly at Warner Bros., which saw its prestige slate sweep the board despite the studio's ongoing multi-billion dollar sale to Netflix.

The record-breaking haul for Sinners marks a career pinnacle for Ryan Coogler, whose vision of 1930s Jim Crow-era vampires has clearly resonated with the Academy's expanded voting body.

By securing 16 nominations, the film has achieved a feat many critics thought impossible in the modern era of 'split' voting. However, the morning was not without its casualties.

The complete omission of Wicked: For Good, the second instalment of the blockbuster musical adaptation, has been branded the 'shocker of the decade.' Despite its critical acclaim and technical prowess, the film was shut out of every category, a stark contrast to its predecessor, which earned 10 nominations and won two trophies in 2025.

A Historic Sweep for the 'Sinners' Tribe

The 16-nomination tally for Sinners is bolstered by the Academy's newly introduced Best Casting category, where the film is widely expected to win against fellow nominees Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, and The Secret Agent.

The 'Coogler effect' has also extended to the technical branches, with Ruth E. Carter seeking another Costume Design trophy and Ludwig Göransson nominated for a haunting, blues-infused Original Score.

The film even landed a Best Original Song mention for 'I Lied To You.' Its success represents a significant victory for original, director-driven genre cinema at a time when traditional dramas are struggling to find a foothold.

Michael B. Jordan's nomination for Best Actor is particularly poignant, marking a decades-long collaboration with Coogler that began with Fruitvale Station. Jordan faces stiff competition, however, from Timothée Chalamet, whose performance in the ping-pong drama Marty Supreme has made him the youngest actor since Marlon Brando to receive three Best Actor nominations.

The Best Picture race is now officially a duel between the 'vampires of the South' and Paul Thomas Anderson's revolutionary thriller One Battle After Another, which follows closely behind with 13 nominations, including acting nods for Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn.

Snubs and Surprises: The Wicked Fallout

While Sinners celebrated, the mood at Universal Pictures was reportedly sombre.

The total 'blackout' of Wicked: For Good has ignited a fierce debate regarding the Academy's relationship with musical sequels. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, both of whom were heavily campaigned for, found themselves replaced in their respective categories by 'surprise' contenders like Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue) and Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value).

Other notable snubs included the exclusion of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson for The Smashing Machine and Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another, despite the film's overall strength. Conversely, the International Feature category provided a major surprise with Brazil's The Secret Agent landing a Best Picture nod alongside its foreign-language entry, a rarity that underscores the increasingly global nature of the 2026 awards circuit.

The Road to the Dolby Theatre

As the industry pivots toward the 15 March ceremony, the narrative is firmly focused on whether Sinners can translate its record-breaking nominations into a Best Picture win. While it leads in volume, Paul Thomas Anderson remains the sentimental favourite for Directing, having swept the majority of the critics' prizes throughout the winter.

For Warner Bros., the day was a resounding validation of their 'filmmaker-first' strategy, contributing to a studio total of 30 nominations across their entire slate, marking the best performance in their 102-year history.

With comedian Conan O'Brien confirmed to return as host for the second consecutive year, the 98th Oscars promise to be a showdown between record-breaking blockbusters and the auteur-driven dramas that have defined 2026's cinematic landscape.