Vampire thriller “Sinners,” a celebration of blues music and Black culture in the Segregation-era US South, stormed into the awards race on Thursday with the most Academy Award nominations of any film in history, landing 16 nods.
The large haul sets up “Sinners” as the frontrunner heading into the March 15 Oscars, where it will face off against contenders including “One Battle After Another,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme” and more for the coveted best picture prize.
The previous record for most nominations in a single year was 14, a mark hit by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”
“Bugonia,” “F1,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value” and “Train Dreams” also were nominated for this year’s best picture trophy at the highest honors in the movie business.
Together, the nominations span genres – from historical drama to supernatural horror – and reflect a film academy increasingly willing to reward unconventional storytelling.
Jordan was nominated for best actor for his dual role in “Sinners” as twin brothers who set up a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi, triggering a bloody showdown between gangsters and vampires that serves as an allegory for segregation and racism. The Warner Bros film also earned nominations for best director for Ryan Coogler, supporting actor Delroy Lindo, supporting actress Wunmi Mosaku and best cinematography, costume design, original screenplay and visual effects. Jordan’s competition includes Leonardo DiCaprio in offbeat action movie “One Battle After Another,” which scored 13 nominations and Timothee Chalamet in table tennis tale “Marty Supreme.”
Paul Thomas Anderson earned a nomination for directing “One Battle After Another,” which features DiCaprio as a one-time radical turned weed-smoking father of a teenager. Co-stars Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Teyana Taylor also were nominated in supporting categories. “My career has been filled with battles, doubts and moments of deep uncertainty,” Taylor said in a statement. “It has felt like one long fight for space, for respect and for opportunity. But today feels like a gentle reminder that dreams really do survive.” For best actress, Jessie Buckley was nominated for playing William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes Hathaway, in ‘Hamnet’ and Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” the story of a Neil Diamond tribute band. Chloe Zhao, one of only three women to win best director in the 97 Oscar ceremonies to date, for “Nomadland,” landed a nomination this year for “Hamnet.” The film imagines how Shakespeare’s family dealt with the death of their 11-year-old son, whose name was Hamnet. Historians believe Hamnet’s death inspired the playwright to pen the play “Hamlet.”
Paul Mescal, who earned critical praise for his role as Shakespeare, did not receive an Oscar nomination. Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 10,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Walt Disney’s ABC will broadcast the awards and comedian Conan O’Brien will host for the second straight year. Warner Bros Discovery, the studio subject to a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance, led all studios with 30 nominations. Netflix has never won best picture despite nominations for “Roma,” “Emilia Perez” and “The Irishman.” It has a chance this year with “Frankenstein,” which earned nine nominations. The streaming service releases its movies in theaters for only a limited time to qualify them for awards consideration. Another Netflix film, the global phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters,” was nominated for best animated feature and original song for “Golden.” Two of the best picture contenders are international films with English subtitles.
Norwegian drama “Sentimental Value” tells the story of two sisters who attempt to reconcile with their estranged father, while Brazilian movie “The Secret Agent” chronicles the life of a man who stands up to the country’s military dictatorship in the 1970s.
“Sentimental Value” star Stellan Skarsgard said the Oscar recognition will help boost awareness of a film without a multi-million-dollar advertising budget. “We are depending on the awards and festivals to get it out, so I’m glad it will get out there,” he said. The movie has collected $16 million at global box offices, compared with $368 million for “Sinners” and $206 million for “One Battle After Another.”