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# How Sinners Became the Most Nominated Film in Oscar History
- URL: https://www.thenaijanerds.com/how-sinners-became-the-most-nominated-film-in-oscar-history/
- Published: 2026-10-04T16:49:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-04T17:10:10.000Z
- Description: Ryan Coogler's vampire epic left the 98th Academy Awards with four wins, a Best Actor trophy for Michael B. Jordan and a place in the record books
- Author: Isa Muhammad
- Tags: Features

Sinners set a record at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026\. Ryan Coogler's film went into the ceremony with a record 16 nominations, the most in Oscar history. That total passed the marks set by Titanic and La La Land. It came away with four wins.

Those wins were Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan, Best Original Screenplay for Coogler, Best Cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson. The film lost Best Picture and Best Director to One Battle After Another.

## A night of firsts

Jordan's win was his first Oscar. He became the sixth Black man to win Best Actor in a leading role. He played twin brothers who return to their hometown and find a greater evil waiting for them. It was the kind of tortured fighter role Coogler has written for him repeatedly.

Coogler's screenplay win carries its own milestone. He became only the second Black writer to win Best Original Screenplay, after Jordan Peele.

The pair have worked together for more than a decade. Sinners follows Fruitvale Station, [Creed](https://www.thenaijanerds.com/creed-iii-review/) and [Black Panther](https://www.thenaijanerds.com/black-panther-wakanda-forever-review/), and Jordan thanked the studio executives who backed Coogler's original vision. That point matters. Warner Bros. gave the film a budget close to $90 million for an original story, not a sequel or a franchise entry.

## The ensemble behind the wins

Sinners was never only a Jordan and Coogler story. Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku were both nominated for their supporting performances. Mosaku, a Nigerian-born British actor, lost Best Supporting Actress to Amy Madigan for Weapons. Before the Oscars, the cast won the top prize at the Actor Awards, which made Coogler the first director to lead two winning ensembles, after Black Panther.

Not everyone was won over. Some critics argue the film trades intimacy for spectacle and leans on a familiar structure. The Academy still gave it more nominations than any film before it.

For African-descended filmmakers and audiences, the result matters beyond the trophies. A Black-led original with a major studio budget became the most nominated film in the awards' history, and it won in the writing, acting and craft categories. Studios read results like that when they decide which projects to fund next.

Coogler will return to direct Black Panther 3 with [David Jonsson as the new Black Panther](https://www.thenaijanerds.com/marvel-casts-david-jonsson-as-new-black-panther/).