The film surpassed the previous record of 14 nominations held by All About Eve (1951), Titanic (1998) and La La Land (2018). It also beat this year’s closest contender, Leonardo DiCaprio’s political thriller One Battle After Another, which received 13 nominations.
The star-studded Sinners lineup includes Michael B. Jordan, who is nominated for best actor, and British co-stars Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo, both of whom are strong contenders for acting honours.
Other big names in the nominations include Timothée Chalamet, who is hoping to secure his first Oscar after two previous nominations, and Irish actress Jessie Buckley, who is widely tipped to win best actress for Hamnet.
However, Buckley’s Hamnet co-star Paul Mescal was not nominated, and the Wicked sequel Wicked: For Good—along with its stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande—was entirely absent from the list.
The winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Hollywood on 15 March.
Leading films in nominations
- Sinners – 16
- One Battle After Another – 13
- Marty Supreme – 9
- Frankenstein – 9
- Sentimental Value – 9
- Hamnet – 8
Sinners: more than just a horror film
Sinners has defied expectations, breaking the longstanding trend that horror films rarely succeed in awards seasons. The film’s 16 nominations set a new benchmark in Academy history.
Michael B. Jordan is nominated for best actor for his role as twin brothers who return to Mississippi in the 1930s to open a juke joint—only for the venue to be attacked by vampires. British-Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku and London-raised Delroy Lindo are also nominated, representing the UK’s strongest acting hopes this year.
Director Ryan Coogler earned nominations for directing, writing, and producing, while the film is also in contention for best picture.
BBC Radio 1 film critic Ali Plumb said the nominations marked a rare moment for the horror genre, noting that the last horror film to win best picture was The Silence of the Lambs in the early 1990s.
“It’s more than just a horror,” Plumb said. “Although obviously vampires are involved, there’s so much more to it.”
BBC culture editor Katie Razzall described Sinners as “the perfect blend of revenge thriller and a sexy, decadent, musical journey through America’s race issues,” praising its combination of vampires, KKK antagonists, and blues-era Mississippi folklore.
One Battle After Another: top contender in a divided year
While Sinners explores racism in the American South, One Battle After Another takes aim at modern political turmoil in the US. Leonardo DiCaprio is nominated for best actor for his portrayal of a revolutionary fighting an authoritarian regime, whose past resurfaces to haunt him.
The film also earned nominations for supporting actors Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor, as well as director Paul Thomas Anderson.
It has been viewed as a leading contender for best picture throughout awards season and could still edge out Sinners in March. Historically, however, the most-nominated film does not always win best picture—only six times in the past 21 years has the leading nominee taken the top prize.
The nominations are also a boost for Warner Bros., which produced both films and is currently in the process of being sold, possibly to streaming giant Netflix.
Chalamet eyes first Oscar
DiCaprio and Jordan will face strong competition from Timothée Chalamet, who is widely tipped to win his first Oscar for his role in the table-tennis comedy Marty Supreme. At 30, Chalamet is the youngest actor to earn three acting nominations since Marlon Brando.
Other best actor nominees include Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon—his fifth nomination—and Brazilian actor Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.
In the best actress category, Emma Stone earned her seventh nomination for Bugonia, making her the youngest woman to reach that milestone at 37. She joins Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and Norway’s Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), but Buckley remains the favourite.
The acting categories also feature a record four nominations for non-English language performances, including Sweden’s Stellan Skarsgård and Norwegian actress Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in supporting roles for Sentimental Value.
K-Pop hits and music milestones
The animated Netflix hit Demon Hunters has also received recognition, earning nominations for best animated feature and best song for the global hit “Golden.” Co-writer Mark Sonnenblick called the nominations “the icing on the cake,” saying the recognition was driven by fans sharing and promoting the film.
However, Wicked: For Good was completely shut out—despite last year’s first film receiving 10 nominations and expectations that the sequel would also be recognised.
In other music categories, Nick Cave is nominated for best song for Train Dreams, while Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood received a best original score nomination for One Battle After Another.
British composer Nicholas Pike earned a nomination for best original song for Viva Verdi!, and Northern Irish author Maggie O’Farrell is nominated for screenplay for Hamnet, alongside director Chloe Zhao. Zhao became only the second woman in history to receive multiple best director nominations, after Jane Campion.
Documentary category highlights
The best documentary feature nominations include Mr Nobody Against Putin, a BBC Storyville co-production.
Best picture
- “Bugonia”
- “F1”
- “Frankenstein”
- “Hamnet”
- “Marty Supreme”
- “One Battle After Another”
- “The Secret Agent”
- “Sentimental Value”
- “Sinners”
- “Train Dreams”
- Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
- Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
- Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
- Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
- Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
- Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
- Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
- Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
- Emma Stone, “Bugonia”
- Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
- Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
- Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
- Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
- Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”
- Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
- Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
- Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
- Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
- Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
- Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
- Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”
- Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
- Stellan Skarsgard, “Sentimental Value”
- Will Tracy, “Bugonia”
- Guillermo del Toro, “Frankenstein”
- Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell, “Hamnet”
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
- Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, “Train Dreams”
- Robert Kaplow, “Blue Moon”
- Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”
- Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
- Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
- Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
- Nina Gold, “Hamnet”
- Jennifer Venditti, “Marty Supreme”
- Cassandra Kulukundis, “One Battle After Another”
- Gabriel Domingues, “The Secret Agent”
- Francine Maisler, “Sinners”
- Diane Warren for “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless”
- EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park for “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters”
- Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson for “I Lied to You” from “Sinners”
- Nicholas Pike for Sweet Dreams of Joy from “Viva Verdi!”
- Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner for “Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams”
- Jerskin Fendrix, “Bugonia”
- Alexandre Desplat, “Frankenstein”
- Max Richter, “Hamnet”
- Jonny Greenwood, “One Battle After Another”
- Ludwig Goransson, “Sinners”
- Dan Laustsen, “Frankenstein”
- Darius Khondji, “Marty Supreme”
- Michael Bauman, “One Battle After Another”
- Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “Sinners”
- Adolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams”
- Stephen Mirrione, “F1”
- Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
- Andy Jurgensen, “One Battle After Another”
- Olivier Bugge Coutté, “Sentimental Value”
- Michael P. Shawver, “Sinners”
- “The Secret Agent”
- “It Was Just an Accident”
- “Sentimental Value”
- “Sirât”
- “The Voice of Hind Rajab”
- “Arco”
- “Elio”
- “KPop Demon Hunters”
- “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
- “Zootopia 2”
- “The Alabama Solution”
- “Come See Me in the Good Light”
- “Cutting Through Rocks”
- “Mr Nobody Against Putin”
- “The Perfect Neighbor”
- Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey, “Frankenstein”
- Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu, “Kokuho”
- Ken Diaz and Mike Fontaine, “Sinners”
- Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein, “The Smashing Machine”
- Thomas Foldberg and Cathrine Sauerberg, “The Ugly Stepsister”
- Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta, “F1”
- Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern, “Frankenstein”
- Jose Antonia Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor, “One Battle After Another”
- Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker, “Sinners”
- Amanda Villavieja, Iaia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas, “Sirat”
- Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
- Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson, “F1”
- David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould, “Jurassic World Rebirth”
- Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin, “The Lost Bus”
- Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean, “Sinners”
- Deborah L. Scott, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
- Kate Hawley, “Frankenstein”
- Malgosia Turzanska, “Hamnet”
- Miyako Bellizzi, “Marty Supreme”
- Ruth E. Carter, “Sinners”
- Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, “Frankenstein”
- Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton, “Hamnet”
- Jack Fisk and Adam Willis, “Marty Supreme”
- Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino, “One Battle After Another”
- Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne, “Sinners”
- “All the Empty Rooms”
- “Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud”
- “Children No More: Were and Are Gone”
- “The Devil is Busy”
- “Perfectly a Strangeness”
- “Butcher’s Stain”
- “A Friend of Dorothy”
- “Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
- “The Singers”
- “Two People Exchanging Saliva”
- “Butterfly”
- “Forevergreen”
- “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
- “Retirement Plan”
- “The Three Sisters”