The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 2026 Oscar nominations on Thursday, with Warner Bros’ vampire thriller Sinners making history by receiving a record 16 nods. The film, a celebration of blues music and Black culture in the segregation-era US South, leads the race for Best Picture and sees Michael B. Jordan compete for Best Actor against Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another).
Read More: One Battle After Another, Sinners lead Actor Awards nominations
Sinners follows twin brothers who establish a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi, triggering a gangsters-versus-vampires showdown that allegorically addresses segregation and racism. The film also earned nominations for Ryan Coogler as director, supporting actors Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku, cinematography, costume design, visual effects, and original screenplay.
BREAKING: Sinners Sets the New Oscars Record
16 Oscar Nominations for One Film.
The Most in the 98 Year History of the Oscars. pic.twitter.com/md1l6VZail
— Cinema Tweets (@CinemaTweets1) January 22, 2026
Other Best Picture contenders include One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Bugonia, Train Dreams, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and the box office hit F1. Non-English language films nominated for Best Picture include Norway’s Sentimental Value and Brazil’s The Secret Agent.
In the International Feature category, Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab—a film chronicling the attempted rescue of a six-year-old girl killed in Gaza in 2024—earned a nomination alongside Jafar Panahi’s Iranian crime thriller It Was Just an Accident.
Other notable nominations include Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) and Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue) for Best Actress, Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) and Ryan Coogler (Sinners) for Best Director, and Chloe Zhao (Hamnet) marking another recognition in a historically male-dominated category. Netflix earned multiple nods, including Frankenstein, Train Dreams, and KPop Demon Hunters for Best Animated Feature and Original Song.
Read More: Golden Globes gala — ‘One Battle After Another’ emerges at the top
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 15, broadcast on ABC and streamed via Hulu, with Conan O’Brien returning as host for a second consecutive year.