Oscar Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Breaks All Time Record with 16, Sets Several Places in Academy Awards History
Sinners has broken the all time record for most Oscar nominations for a single film with 16, besting the record of 14 held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016). All About Eve and Titanic went on to win Best Picture. La La Land lost to Moonlight.
Oscar-nominated actor Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) and actor Lewis Pullman announced the 98th Oscars nominations live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Thursday morning.
In all, Sinners was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Ryan Coogler), Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Supporting Actor (Delroy Lindo), Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku), Best Casting, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Original Song (“I Lied to You), Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects.
But these nominations for Sinners come with even more history. Coogler is only the third Black filmmaker to be nominated in the same year for producing, directing and screenplay, following Jordan Peele for Get Out (2017) and Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman (2018). Co-producer Zinzi Coogler becomes the first Filipino producer and the third Black woman nominated for best picture. She and Ryan Coogler are also the first Black married couple nominated together in the category.
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first Filipino woman and the first woman of color nominated for cinematography. Production designer Hannah Beachler, who won the Oscar for her work on “Black Panther” (2018), earned her second nomination and remains the only Black woman recognized in the category.
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter is now the most-nominated Black woman in Oscar history, across any category, as she earns her fifth nod for her work on Sinners.
Sinners is also the seventh movie to be nominated in every technical category after Dune (2021), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Revenant (2015), Hugo (2011), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) and Titanic (1997). Only Titanic won Best Picture.
Running a close second, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations, including four acting nominations but missed out on one in each category as Chase Infiniti didn’t make the cut for Best Actress. It was the only other film to earn 10+ nominations with Anderson adding three more his overall tally, bringing it 14 nominations without a win so far. He and the film have won Best Picture and Best Director at Critics Choice and the Golden Globes and are the overall leaders in the critics’ awards race. First-time Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor recently won the Globe for her supporting performance in the film.
Three films tied with nine nominations, including Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. Best Actor and Best Picture nominee Timothée Chalamet is now the youngest person ever to be nominated for acting in and producing the same film, at 30 years and 26 days, besting Warren Beatty by nine months. He is also the youngest actor to receive three Best Actor nominations since Marlon Brando. Chalamet recently won Critics Choice and the Golden Globe for Best Actor.
Sentimental Value is also a 9-time nominee, including Best Picture, Best Director Joachim Trier and four acting nods for all of its main players, who all missed nominations from the SAG Actor Awards. First-time nominee Stellan Skarsgård is the first Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for a non-English language international film in Oscar history. He recently won his second Golden Globe and first in this category for his performance.
The film’s nominations bring a wealth of stats for Scandinavian and Norwegian films. It’s is the first Norwegian film to ever be nominated for Best Picture, and Trier becomes the first Norwegian director to be nominated twice for Best International Film. The film becomes the most-nominated Scandinavian film in Academy history with 9 nominations Trier is the first Norwegian director nominated for directing a Norwegian film.
Frankenstein also hit with nine, including Critics Choice winner Jacob Elordi in supporting actor. Missing from those nine nods was Guillermo del Toro in Best Director after making the Directors Guild lineup. A previous Oscar winner here, he was the only of the DGA five to miss at the Oscars.
Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet was next with eight. Hot off its Golden Globe wins for Best Picture – Drama and Best Actress – Drama for Jessie Buckley, both received those nominations here along with two for Zhao, in Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with Maggie O’Farrell) but a shocking miss for Paul Mescal, previous Best Actor Oscar nominee and who had earned Critics Choice, SAG Actor and Golden Globe nominations for his performance. A previous Best Director winner (for Nomadland), Zhao becomes only the second woman to earn a second nomination in this category after Jane Campion (for 2021’s The Power of the Dog).
At 40 years, Amy Madigan now holds the record for longest gap between Oscar nominations for an actress. Her nomination in Best Supporting Actress for Weapons is the only nomination for the film. Madigan won the Critics Choice award in this category earlier this month.
At 37 years-old, Emma Stone breaks Meryl Streep’s record to become the youngest woman to reach seven Oscar nominations. She earned her sixth and seventh today as a producer and actress in Bugonia. Stone also becames the first woman to be nominated twice for producing and acting in a single film. Frances McDormand was the first, for 2021’s Nomadland. Stone previously earned dual noms for 2023’s Poor Things.
With that, Jessie Buckley, Kate Hudson and Emma Stone, Focus Features is the first studio since MGM at the 3rd Academy Awards in 1930 to land 3+ Best Actress nominations the same year.
While international films lit up 2025 and several Oscar categories this morning, only two made the Best Picture cut: The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value. Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, the Palme d’Or winner last year, only earned nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. The Secret Agent also earned nods for Wagner Moura in Best Actor, the first Brazilian actor ever nominated there, plus a nomination in the first ever Best Casting category.
Speaking of, that category didn’t simply echo SAG’s five for cast with that nod for The Secret Agent but it got close. Four casting directors are nominated for films that did make the SAG five: Nina Gold for Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti for Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis for One Battle After Another, Francine Maisler for Sinners and Gabriel Domingues for The Secret Agent. Frankenstein was the fifth of the SAG five.
Sirāt is the first all-women Sound team nominated for an Oscar.
The Perfect Neighbor broke something of a double curse to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature. The film, directed by Geeta Gandbhir, who is the first Indian woman to be double nominated at the Oscars, is comprised of wholly archival footage, which the branch has consistently snubbed, even if it’s the most celebrated doc of the year (as The Perfect Neighbor is). The film also won the Critics Choice, an anecdotal curse but one with real historical context as only two winners there have even been nominated (their first, 2016’s O.J. in America and 2021’s Summer of Soul), both of which won the Oscar.
After Wicked received 10 nominations last year, and winning two, its sequel Wicked: For Good received zero, a rather shocking turn.
With Sinners, One Battle After Another and Weapons, Warner Brothers was the overwhelming studio leader with 30 nominations across all 24 categories. Netflix came in with 18, half from Frankenstein, then NEON with 14, Focus Features with 13 and A24 with 11.
Final Oscar voting will take place from February 26 to March 5. The 98th Oscars will be held March 15 starting at 4 p.m. PT on ABC, and hosted once again by Conan O’Brien.
Best Picture
Bugonia (Focus Features); Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen, Producers
F1 (Apple); Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
Frankenstein (Netflix); Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, Producers
Hamnet (Focus Features); Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers
Marty Supreme (A24); Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Producers
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers
The Secret Agent (NEON); Emilie Lesclaux, Producer
Sentimental Value (NEON); Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Producers
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, Producers
Train Dreams (Netflix); Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler, Producers
Best Director
Hamnet (Focus Features), Chloé Zhao
Marty Supreme (A24), Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.), Paul Thomas Anderson
Sentimental Value (NEON), Joachim Trier
Sinners (Warner Bros.), Ryan Coogler
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)
Michael B. Jordan in Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent (NEON)
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley in Hamnet (Focus Features)
Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue (Focus Features)
Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value (NEON)
Emma Stone in Bugonia (Focus Features)
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro in One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein (Netflix)
Delroy Lindo in Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Sean Penn in One Battle after Another (Warner Bros.)
Stellan Skarsgård in Sentimental Value (NEON)
Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning in Sentimental Value (NEON)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in Sentimental Value (NEON)
Amy Madigan in Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Wunmi Mosaku in Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia (Focus Features); Screenplay by Will Tracy
Frankenstein (Netflix); Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet (Focus Features); Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams (Netflix); Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Best Original Screenplay
Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics); Written by Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident (NEON); Written by Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian
Marty Supreme (A24); Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value (NEON); Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Written by Ryan Coogler
Best Animated Feature
Arco (NEON); Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman
Elio (Walt Disney); Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix); Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS); Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney); Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino
Best International Feature
Brazil, The Secret Agent
France, It Was Just an Accident
Norway, Sentimental Value
Spain, Sirât
Tunisia, The Voice of Hind Rajab
Best Documentary Feature
The Alabama Solution (HBO Documentary Films); Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman
Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple); Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen
Cutting Through Rocks; Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (PINK); Nominees to be determined
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix); Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee
Best Animated Short
Butterfly (Sacrebleu Productions); Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens
Forevergreen; Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears
The Girl Who Cried Pearls (National Film Board of Canada); Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Retirement Plan; John Kelly and Andrew Freedman
The Three Sisters (Polydont Films/Rymanco Ventures); Konstantin Bronzit
Best Casting
Hamnet (Focus Features); Nina Gold
Marty Supreme (A24); Jennifer Venditti
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Cassandra Kulukundis
The Secret Agent (NEON); Gabriel Domingues
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Francine Maisler
Best Cinematography
Frankenstein (Netflix), Dan Laustsen
Marty Supreme (A24), Darius Khondji
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.), Michael Bauman
Sinners (Warner Bros.), Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Train Dreams (Netflix), Adolpho Veloso
Best Costume Design
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Walt Disney); Deborah L. Scott
Frankenstein (Netflix); Kate Hawley
Hamnet (Focus Features); Malgosia Turzanska
Marty Supreme (A24); Miyako Bellizzi
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Ruth E. Carter
Best Documentary Short
All the Empty Rooms (Netflix); Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud (HBO); Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” (Sky); Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins
The Devil Is Busy (HBO); Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir
Perfectly a Strangeness (Second Sight Pictures); Alison McAlpine
Best Film Editing
F1 (Apple); Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme (A24); Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Andy Jurgensen
Sentimental Value (NEON); Olivier Bugge Coutté
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Michael P. Shawver
Best Live-Action Short
Butcher’s Stain (Tel Aviv University Steve Tisch School of Film and Television); Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi
A Friend of Dorothy; Lee Knight and James Dean
Jane Austen’s Period Drama; Julia Aks and Steve Pinder
The Singers (Netflix); Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt
Two People Exchanging Saliva (Canal+/The New Yorker); Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Frankenstein (Netflix); Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
Kokuho (GKIDS); Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
The Smashing Machine (A24); Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein
The Ugly Stepsister (Independent Film Company/Shudder); Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg
Best Original Score
Bugonia (Focus Features); Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein (Netflix); Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet (Focus Features); Max Richter
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Jonny Greenwood
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Ludwig Goransson
Best Original Song
“Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless (MasterClass/Greenwich Entertainment); Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix); Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park
“I Lied to You” from Sinners (Warner Bros.); Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi! (Viva Verdi!); Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike
“Train Dreams” from Train Dreams (Netflix); Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner, Lyric by Nick Cave
Best Production Design
Frankenstein (Netflix); Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
Hamnet (Focus Features); Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
Marty Supreme (A24); Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne
Best Sound
F1 (Apple) Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta
Frankenstein (Netflix) Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.); José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor
Sinners (Warner Bros.); Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker
Sirāt (NEON); Amanda Vil
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Walt Disney); Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
F1 (Apple); Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
Jurassic World Rebirth (Universal); David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould
The Lost Bus (Apple); Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin
Sinners (Warner Bros.) Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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