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.
Sinners (2025), Courtesy of Warner Bros. 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
TOPICS: Academy Awards Michael B. Jordan ryan coogler Sinners Wunmi MosakuThe post 2026 Academy Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Receives 16 Nods, Breaking The Oscar Record appeared first on Essence.



