2026 Oscars: Sinners Shatters Record with 16 Nominations
Ten days before the 98th Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled for March 15, 2026, Ryan Coogler's film Sinners dominates the race with an unprecedented 16 nominations, surpassing classics like Titanic and La La Land.
A 75-Year-Old Record Erased
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony promises to be a historic event even before it begins. The film Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, has garnered 16 nominations during the announcement of the nominations in January 2026—an absolute record in the history of the Academy Awards. For 75 years, the ceiling of 14 nominations was shared by three giants of cinema: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016). Coogler has just shattered it in one fell swoop.
The ceremony will take place on March 15, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, hosted for the second consecutive year by Conan O'Brien. It will be broadcast live on ABC and available for streaming on Hulu.
Sinners, a Southern Gothic Thriller That Stands Out
Released in April 2025, Sinners is set in Mississippi in 1932 and follows criminal twins—both played by Michael B. Jordan—who return to their hometown in the segregated South to open a juke joint, before being confronted by a supernatural evil. This blend of horror film, American Gothic, and blues music has captivated critics: the film boasts 97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed $369 million at the global box office on a budget of $90 to 100 million.
The film is nominated in the most prestigious categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score, among others. It also scooped up the Best Ensemble award at the Actor Awards (the equivalent of the SAG Awards), a strong signal ten days before the ceremony.
The Competition: Paul Thomas Anderson and One Battle After Another
Sinners' main rival is One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This socially conscious film, a radical examination of American politics, has a total of 13 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. A head-to-head duel is therefore shaping up between two very different visions of contemporary American cinema.
The Race for Best Actor, Very Open
The Best Actor category is one of the most hotly contested. Michael B. Jordan, the favorite after his victory at the Actor Awards, faces Timothée Chalamet (for Marty Supreme, in which he plays a table tennis champion), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon). After Jordan's victory at the SAG Awards, predictions have shifted in his favor, with Chalamet going from favorite to outsider according to specialized websites.
An Evening to Follow on Both Sides of the Atlantic
For French-speaking audiences, this ceremony offers several reasons to stay awake. Timothée Chalamet, a Franco-American born in New York to a French mother, is one of the most followed faces in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. His rivalry with Michael B. Jordan for the Best Actor Oscar is one of the most talked-about duels of this awards season. Furthermore, Sinners, with its exploration of the African-American musical roots of the blues, resonates particularly in a French-speaking Europe sensitive to issues of history and cultural identity.
It remains to be seen whether Sinners' record number of nominations will translate into a record number of statuettes. Historically, Titanic and Ben-Hur hold the record of 11 Oscars won in one evening—a bar that Ryan Coogler will not reach, but which he could get close to. See you on March 15th.
