Oscars 2026: Sinners Smashes Records with 16 Nods
The 2026 Oscars nominations are in, with Sinners making history and a brand new category shaking things up. See which films and stars are in the running for the big night.
The nominations for the 2026 Academy Awards have landed, and it’s shaping up to be a year for the record books. Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s much-talked-about horror flick, has stormed ahead with a staggering 16 nominations. That’s not just the most for this year – it’s the highest number of nods any film has ever scored at the Oscars. Not a bad effort at all.
There’s plenty of competition, though. One Battle After Another is hot on its heels with 13 nominations, while Frankenstein and Sentimental Value have both picked up nine each. Hamnet isn’t far behind, collecting eight. Punters will also notice something new this year: the Academy has introduced a fresh category, Best Casting, marking the first time in over twenty years that a new award has joined the line-up.
Major Contenders and New Faces
For those keen to know who’s in the running for Best Picture, the field is packed with heavy hitters. The nominees are Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, and Train Dreams.
Directing talent is front and centre, with Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) all up for Best Director.
On the acting front, the Best Actor category features Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent). For Best Actress, the nominees are Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Supporting Roles and Writing Honours
In the supporting categories, Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), and Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) are all up for Best Supporting Actor. The Best Supporting Actress field includes Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
Writers are getting their due as well. Best Original Screenplay nominees are Blue Moon, It Was Just an Accident, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, and Sinners. For Best Adapted Screenplay, the contenders are Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, and Train Dreams.
New Category and Technical Standouts
The brand new Best Casting category sees Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Sinners all in the mix. It’s the first time in more than two decades that the Academy has added a new award, and it’s sure to spark plenty of chat among industry insiders and fans alike.
Other categories, from Animated Feature and Production Design to Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound, Visual Effects, Original Score, Original Song, Documentary Feature, International Feature, Animated Short, Documentary Short, and Live-Action Short, are all stacked with nominees vying for a shot at Oscar glory.
The ceremony is set for Sunday, 15 March, and with so many records being broken and new faces in the spotlight, it’s bound to be a night to remember.