Photo Credit:Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
The horror-genre masterpiece Sinners has shattered the all-time record for Oscar nominations with a staggering 16 nominations. This unprecedented haul beats the long- standing record of 14 held by classics like Titanic and All About Eve. While Sinners dominates the field, Leonardo DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another remains a formidable contender, trailing slightly behind with 13 nominations of its own. Sinners has exceeded expectations and bucked the trend that normally means horror films don't perform well at award ceremonies. It beat the previous record total of 14 nominations, achieved by All About Eve in 1951, Titanic in 1998 and La La Land in 2018.
Sinners contenders include its star Michael B Jordan and his British co-stars Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo. Other big names up for trophies include Timothée Chalamet, who is hoping for third time lucky after two previous nominations, and Irish actress Jessie Buckley, who is the frontrunner to win best actress for Hamnet. However, there was no space for her co-star Paul Mescal, who starred opposite Buckley as William Shakespeare in Hamnet; while Wicked: For Good and its stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande missed out completely.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Hollywood on 15 March. Michael B Jordan is nominated for best actor for playing twin brothers who return home to Mississippi in the 1930s to set up a juke joint, which is set upon by blood-sucking vampires. Other Sinners cast members to be nominated include British-Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku and co-star Delroy Lindo, who grew up in London, and the pair are carrying Britain's hopes for acting awards this year.
Ryan Coogler is nominated for directing, writing and producing Sinners, with the film also shortlisted for the Oscars; top prize, best picture. While Sinners deals with the spectre of racism in the American South, One Battle After Another gives a take on the current messy political climate in the US. Leonardo DiCaprio is nominated for best actor for playing a revolutionary battling an authoritarian US regime, whose past comes back to haunt him. The film has also scooped nominations for supporting cast members Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor, as well as director Paul Thomas Anderson.
