‘Sinners’ leads tight Oscars best picture race

Ten films are in close contention for best picture at the 98th Academy Awards, with no clear frontrunner emerging ahead of the ceremony.

Sinners leads the nominations with a record-breaking 16 nods. The best picture category, however, reflects a particularly crowded field. One Battle After Another follows with 13 total nominations, while Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value and Frankenstein each secured nine. Hamnet received eight.

The previous record for the most nominations stood at 14, shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016).

Sinners, which released in April 2025, is written and directed by Ryan Coogler. The story follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack, both played by Michael B Jordan, as they return to their hometown and confront unresolved tensions alongside a growing supernatural threat. The film’s wide-ranging nominations across creative and technical categories position it as a formidable presence in the best picture race, though not an uncontested one.

Rather than coalescing around a single dominant frontrunner, this year’s race appears fragmented, with different films attracting backing from different Academy branches. The nominees include Bugonia, F1, The Secret Agent, and Train Dreams.

With contestants drawing substantial support and several films emerging as plausible winners, the 98^th Academy Awards reflect a year defined less by dominance than by depth. Winners will be revealed on 15 March.

2026 Oscar nominations

The 2026 Oscar nominations, announced last week (22 January), include:

• Best picture: Bugonia; F1; Frankenstein; Hamnet; Marty Supreme; One Battle After Another; The Secret Agent; Sentimental Value; Sinners; Train Dreams.
• Actress in a supporting role: Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value); Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value); Amy Madigan (Weapons); Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners); Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
• Makeup and hairstyling: Frankenstein; Kokuho; Sinners; The Smashing Machine; The Ugly Stepsister.
• Music (original score): Bugonia (Jerskin Fendrix); Frankenstein (Alexandre Desplat); Hamnet (Max Richter); One Battle After Another (Jonny Greenwood); Sinners (Ludwig Göransson).
• Live action short film: Butcher’s Stain; Jane Austen’s Period Drama; A Friend of Dorothy; The Singers; Two People Exchanging Saliva.
• Writing (adapted screenplay): Bugonia (Will Tracy); Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro); Hamnet (Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao); One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson); Train Dreams (Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar).
• Writing (original screenplay): Blue Moon (Robert Kaplow); It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi); Marty Supreme (Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie); Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt); Sinners (Ryan Coogler).
• Actor in a supporting role: Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another); Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein); Delroy Lindo (Sinners); Sean Penn (One Battle After Another); Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value).
• Animated short film: Butterfly; Forevergreen; The Girl Who Cried Pearls; Retirement Plan; The Three Sisters.
• Casting: Hamnet (Nina Gold); Marty Supreme (Jennifer Venditti); One Battle After Another (Cassandra Kulukundis); The Secret Agent (Gabriel Domingues); Sinners (Francine Maisler).
• Music (original song): “Dear Me” (Diane Warren: Relentless); “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters); “I Lied to You” (Sinners); “Sweet Dreams of Joy” (Viva Verdi!); “Train Dreams” (Train Dreams).
• Documentary feature film: The Alabama Solution; Come See Me in the Good Light; Cutting Through Rocks; Mr. Nobody Against Putin; The Perfect Neighbor.
• Documentary short film: 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.
• International feature film: Brazil (The Secret Agent); France (It Was Just an Accident); Norway (Sentimental Value); Spain (Sirât); Tunisia (The Voice of Hind Rajab).
• Animated feature film: Arco; Elio; KPop Demon Hunters; Little Amélie or the Character of Rain; Zootopia 2.
• Production design: Frankenstein; Hamnet; Marty Supreme; One Battle After Another; Sinners.
• Film editing: F1 (Stephen Mirrione); Marty Supreme (Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie); One Battle After Another (Andy Jurgensen); Sentimental Value (Olivier Bugge Coutté); Sinners (Michael P Shawver).
• Sound: F1; Frankenstein; One Battle After Another; Sinners; Sirât.
• Visual effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash; F1; Jurassic World Rebirth; The Lost Bus; Sinners.
• Cinematography: Frankenstein; Marty Supreme; One Battle After Another; Sinners; Train Dreams.
• Actor in a leading role: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme); Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another); Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon); Michael B Jordan (Sinners); Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
• Actress in a leading role: 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).
• Directing: Chloé Zhao (Hamnet); Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme); Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another); Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value); Ryan Coogler (Sinners).
• Costume design: Avatar: Fire and Ash (Deborah L. Scott); Frankenstein (Kate Hawley); Hamnet (Malgosia Turzanska); Marty Supreme (Miyako Bellizzi); Sinners (Ruth E. Carter).