98th Oscars: Sinners Chases History With 16 Nominations

A Record That Stood for Decades Falls

For 76 years, no film had ever received more than 14 Oscar nominations. That record, shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016), stood as one of Hollywood's most durable milestones. Then came Sinners.

Ryan Coogler's supernatural thriller — starring Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku — shattered that ceiling with 16 nominations, earning nods in virtually every category for which it was eligible. According to NPR, the film demonstrated "strong support across every single group of Oscars voters," a rare feat reflecting industry-wide enthusiasm. The nominations include Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, putting Coogler in position to make history in multiple categories on a single night.

Tonight's Ceremony

The 98th Academy Awards kick off at 7 p.m. ET at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, airing live on ABC and streaming on Hulu. Conan O'Brien returns as host for the second consecutive year, with Emmy Award-winning producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan back for their third straight Oscars broadcast.

The red carpet pre-show begins at 6:30 p.m. ET, hosted by Tamron Hall and Jesse Palmer, before the main ceremony gets underway.

The Humanity Theme

This year's ceremony carries a deliberate creative identity: "humanity." Music director Michael Bearden framed it as a celebration of "human touch, human connection, and actual intelligence — not artificial intelligence." The stage design reflects this philosophy, incorporating organic elements including trees, in a complete redesign from previous years.

The theme resonates against a backdrop of global uncertainty. With AI reshaping creative industries and geopolitical instability dominating headlines, the Academy has chosen to spotlight the irreplaceable value of human artistry — making the night feel as much like a cultural statement as an awards show.

Performances and New Categories

Only two of the five Best Original Song nominees will be performed live tonight. Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq will take the stage with "I Lied to You" from Sinners, while Korean-American artists EJAE (Kim Eun-jae), Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami will perform "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters — a nod to the growing global influence of Korean pop culture on mainstream cinema.

The night also marks the debut of a new Best Casting category, expanding the Academy's recognition of behind-the-scenes talent for the first time in years.

The Competition

While Sinners dominates the nomination count, it faces serious competition. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations, with an ensemble cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro, and Sean Penn. Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, and Norwegian drama Sentimental Value each received 9 nominations, with Sentimental Value representing a landmark surge for non-English language films — three of its cast members earned acting nominations.

What's at Stake

Beyond the trophies, tonight's Oscars carry symbolic weight. A strong showing for Sinners — a Black-led, Black-directed genre film with a predominantly Black creative team — would represent a meaningful shift in Academy recognition. At the same time, the ceremony's "humanity" theme positions Hollywood as a defender of creative authenticity at a moment when that value feels genuinely contested.

Whether Coogler's film sweeps or stumbles, the 98th Oscars arrive as one of the most anticipated ceremonies in recent memory.