2026 Academy Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Receives 16 Nods, Breaking The Oscar Record

The 2026 Oscar nominations were unveiled Thursday morning, setting the stage for one of the most closely watched awards races in recent years. Beginning at 5:30 a.m. PT, nominees were […] The post 2026 Academy Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Receives 16 Nods, Breaking The Oscar Record appeared first on Essence.

2026 Academy Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Receives 16 Nods, Breaking The Oscar Record
2026 Academy Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Receives 16 Nods, Breaking The Oscar Record Sinners (2025), Courtesy of Warner Bros. By Okla Jones ·Updated January 22, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

The 2026 Oscar nominations were unveiled Thursday morning, setting the stage for one of the most closely watched awards races in recent years. Beginning at 5:30 a.m. PT, nominees were announced by Oscar-nominated actress Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The presentation streamed live across Oscar.com, Oscars.org, the Academy’s social platforms, and aired on Good Morning America, with additional streaming via ABC News Live, Disney+, and Hulu.

The nominations were revealed in two segments, covering all 24 categories. Early announcements included the supporting acting races, screenplay, costume design, and several technical fields, followed minutes later by the major categories, including lead acting, directing, and best picture.

Leading the pack was Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s genre-bending horror film, which made history by earning 16 Academy Award nominations, the most ever received by a single film. The feat surpasses the long-standing record of 14 nominations previously held by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land.

The film secured nominations in all major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director for Coogler, Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, Best Supporting Actor for Delroy Lindo, Best Supporting Actress for Wunmi Mosaku, and Best Original Screenplay. It also dominated across technical fields and the Academy’s newer casting category.

The recognition arrives after a notably uneven awards season for Sinners. Despite strong box office performance—opening to roughly $48 million domestically and exceeding $60 million globally in its first weekend—and sustained audience support, the film was largely overlooked by major voting bodies. At the Golden Globe Awards, it received nominations but secured only two wins: Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement and Best Original Score for composer Ludwig Göransson. Jordan, praised for his dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack, left the Globes without an acting win. Critically, Sinners sparked debate for its themes, drawing mixed reactions even as its success fueled conversation throughout the year.

Final Oscar voting opens February 26 and closes March 5. The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Take a look at the full list of nominations below.

Best supporting actressElle Fanning, Sentimental ValueInga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental ValueAmy Madigan, WeaponsWunmi Mosaku, SinnersTeyana Taylor, One Battle After Another 

Best Makeup and HairstylingFrankensteinKokuhoSinnersThe Smashing MachineThe Ugly Stepsister

Best Original ScoreBugoniaFrankensteinHamnetOne Battle After AnotherSinners

Best Live-Action ShortButcher’s StainA Friend of DorothyJane Austen’s Period DramaThe SingersTwo People Exchanging Saliva

Best Animated ShortButterflyForevergreenThe Girl Who Cried PearlsRetirement PlanThe Three Sisters

Best Adapted ScreenplayBugonia, Will TracyFrankenstein, Guillermo del ToroHamnet, Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’FarrellOne Battle After Another, Paul Thomas AndersonTrain Dreams, Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Best Original ScreenplayBlue Moon, Robert KaplowIt Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi & Script CollaboratorsMarty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein & Josh SafdieSentimental Value, Joachim Trier & Eskil VogtSinners, Ryan Coogler

Best Supporting ActorBenicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another Jacob Elordi, FrankensteinDelroy Lindo, Sinners Sean Penn, One Battle After Another  Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value  

Best CastingHamnetMarty SupremeOne Battle After AnotherThe Secret AgentSinners

Best Costume DesignAvatar: Fire and AshFrankensteinHamnetMarty SupremeSinners

Best Original Song“Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters“Highest 2 Lowest” from Highest 2 Lowest“I Lied To You” from Sinners“Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi!“Train Dreams” from Train Dreams

Best Documentary FeatureThe Alabama SolutionCome See Me in the Good LightCutting Through RocksMr. Nobody Against PutinThe Perfect Neighbor

Best Documentary ShortAll the Empty RoomsArmed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent RenaudChildren No More: “Were and Are Gone”The Devil Is BusyPerfectly a Strangeness

Best International FeatureBrazil, The Secret AgentFrance, It Was Just an AccidentNorway, Sentimental Value

Spain, SirâtTunisia, The Voice of Hind Rajab

Best Animated FeatureArcoElioKPop Demon HuntersLittle Amélie or the Character of RainZootopia 2

Best Film EditingF1, Stephen MirrioneMarty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein & Josh SafdieOne Battle After Another, Andy JurgensenSentimental Value, Olivier Bugge CouttéSinners, Michael Shawver

Best Production DesignFrankenstein, Tamara DeverellHamnet, Fiona CrombieMarty Supreme, Jack FiskOne Battle After Another, Florencia MartinSinners, Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Best CinematographyFrankensteinMarty SupremeOne Battle After AnotherSinners

Best SoundF1FrankensteinOne Battle After AnotherSinnersSirâtTrain Dreams

Best Visual EffectsAvatar: Fire and AshF1Jurassic World RebirthThe Lost BusSinners

Best ActorTimothée Chalamet, Marty SupremeLeonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After AnotherEthan Hawke, Blue MoonMichael B. Jordan, SinnersWagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best ActressJessie Buckley, HamnetRose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick YouKate Hudson, Song Sung BlueRenate Reinsve, Sentimental ValueEmma Stone, Bugonia

Best PictureBugoniaF1FrankensteinHamnetMarty SupremeOne Battle After AnotherThe Secret AgentSentimental ValueSinnersTrain Dreams

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