The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, with Ryan Coogler’s vampire epic, Sinners, setting a new record with 16 nominations. The film surpassed the long-standing record of 14 nominations shared by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land.
Sinners received nods in major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director for Ryan Coogler, and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another followed with 13 nominations, including four acting nods for Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, and Benicio del Toro.
The 2026 awards mark the debut of the Best Casting category. The first nominees are Hamnet (Nina Gold), Marty Supreme (Jennifer Venditti), One Battle After Another (Cassandra Kulukundis), The Secret Agent, and Sinners (Francine Maisler).
In the Best Picture race, ten films were shortlisted: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams. International cinema had a strong showing with Norway’s Sentimental Value, earning eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Joachim Trier.
The nomination list also included notable omissions. Wicked: For Good was excluded from Best Picture and acting categories. Guillermo del Toro did not receive a Best Director nomination for Frankenstein, even though the film earned recognition in technical and acting categories.
The Academy described the 2026 field as a landmark year. “The results have immediately signalled a turning point in how the Oscars look, sound, and vote,” the Academy noted.
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled later this year to honor these filmmaking achievements.
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