‘Sinners’ Shatters Oscar Nomination Record with 16 Nods, Signaling a Shift in Academy Preferences
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The 2026 Oscar nominations were announced Thursday, revealing a landscape dominated by Ryan Coogler’s vampire epic, Sinners, which secured a record-breaking 16 nominations. This marks the beginning of a seven-week period of debate surrounding the Academy’s choices and predictions for the awards ceremony on March 15.
Sinners Makes History, One Battle After Another Follows
Before this year, All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land held the record for the most Oscar nominations with 14 each. Sinners decisively surpassed that benchmark, earning two additional nominations. According to one analyst, the newly introduced best casting category likely contributed to the film’s unprecedented success, but the sheer number – 16 – solidifies its position as a true record-breaker. While nominations don’t guarantee wins, the film’s widespread recognition across all branches of the Academy suggests strong support.
One Battle After Another also emerged as a major contender, receiving 13 nominations. However, Sinners distinguished itself by being nominated in every category for which it was eligible – a remarkable achievement that raises the question: if a film excels in every aspect, from design to performance, shouldn’t it be a frontrunner for best picture?
Global Cinema Gains Ground at the Oscars
Non-English language films continued their increasing prominence at the Academy Awards. A record four non-English language acting performances were nominated this year, including Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Renate Reinsve, and Stellan Skarsgård from Norway’s Sentimental Value, and Wagner Moura from the Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent. Both films also received best picture nominations, continuing a trend observed in recent years with acclaimed international films like Parasite, I’m Still Here, Emilia Pérez, and Drive My Car.
Between 1938 and 2017, ten non-English language films earned best picture nominations; that number has jumped to twelve between 2018 and 2026. However, the highly anticipated Korean film No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook was notably absent from the nominations, disappointing many of its supporters.
Surprises and Shifts in the Oscar Landscape
The nominations also revealed some unexpected turns. The car-racing movie F1, perceived by some as a promotional vehicle for the sport, secured a best picture nomination alongside nods for editing, sound, and visual effects. Similarly, Blue Moon and It Was Just An Accident received original screenplay nominations, with Blue Moon also earning Ethan Hawke a lead actor nomination and It Was Just An Accident being recognized as the best international feature for France. These selections suggest a willingness to recognize films outside the traditional awards circuit.
Conversely, the Avatar and Wicked franchises experienced a decline in Oscar attention. Avatar: Fire and Ash received only two nominations – for costume design and visual effects – a significant drop from the nine nominations for the first Avatar and the four for Avatar: The Way of Water. Wicked: For Good received zero nominations after Wicked earned ten the previous year. While both franchises achieved substantial box office success, their awards momentum appears to have waned.
A Long-Overdue Win for Diane Warren?
The nomination of Diane Warren for her 17th Oscar, this time for the song “Dear Me” in the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless, was perhaps the most predictable news of the day. Despite never winning – aside from an honorary award in 2022 – Warren remains a perennial contender, often compared to Susan Lucci’s long streak of Daytime Emmy nominations. As one observer noted, Susan Lucci eventually prevailed after 19 nominations, offering a glimmer of hope for Warren’s future success. With a song written for a documentary about herself, this year could finally be her moment. If not, her continued presence in the nominations suggests she will undoubtedly be back next year.
