The 98th Academy Awards nominations were revealed on Thursday morning, showcasing the groundbreaking success of the movie “Sinners.” With an impressive 16 nominations, “Sinners” made history, surpassing the previous record holders like “All About Eve,” “Titanic,” and “La La Land.” The film received recognition across various categories, including directing, acting (marking Michael B. Jordan’s first Oscar nomination), and best picture, attributed to Ryan Coogler’s writing and direction, as well as Jordan’s performance.
Additionally, “One Battle After Another” and the Norwegian film “Sentimental Value” had a strong presence in the nominations. “Sentimental Value” received nine nods, a remarkable achievement for a non-English language film. Foreign language films like “The Secret Agent” from Brazil are also in contention for the best picture category for the eighth consecutive year. Both “One Battle After Another” and “Sentimental Value” are in the running for the newly introduced Oscars category after 25 years: achievement in casting.
The nominations for best performance by an actress in a supporting role went to Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas from “Sentimental Value,” Amy Madigan from “Weapons,” Wunmi Mosaku from “Sinners,” and Teyana Taylor from “One Battle After Another.”
The event concluded with the announcement of the highly anticipated award for best picture, with films such as “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners,” and “Train Dreams” making the final cut.
Despite some expected nominations from earlier award shows, a few surprises emerged. “Wicked: For Good” failed to secure any nominations, and Delroy Lindo from “Sinners” replaced the anticipated nominee Miles Caton for the supporting actor category. Notably, Jesse Plemons and Paul Mescal missed out on best actor nods, while “F1” from Apple garnered significant attention with four nominations, including best picture, contrasting with James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which only received two nominations in technical categories.
“One Battle After Another” narrowly missed setting another Oscars record by securing four acting nominations, falling just one nomination short of the record set by “Network” in 1976. Kate Hudson’s unexpected nomination for her role in “Song Sung Blue” added a surprising twist to the actress in a leading role category.
Following closely behind were “Hamnet” and “Marty Supreme,” with eight and nine nominations, respectively. Jessie Buckley from “Hamnet” and Timothée Chalamet from “Marty Supreme” are frontrunners in the best actress and best actor categories, respectively.
The dominance of “One Battle After Another” at the Golden Globes carried over to the Oscars, positioning it as a favorite, alongside “Sinners,” contributing to a remarkable showing for Warner Bros. amid industry shake-ups. Netflix’s potential acquisition of the studio, currently contested by Paramount Skydance, could bring significant changes to the film industry landscape.
Canadian filmmakers also have a noteworthy presence in the nominations, with Domee Shi and Maggie Kang, directors of “Elio” and “KPop Demon Hunters,” respectively, nominated for best animated feature. “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Arco” present strong contenders in the animated feature film category, highlighting Canada’s diverse talent pool.
Other Canadian entries include Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” nominated for best animated short film, and Alison McAlpine’s “Perfectly a Strangeness” up for best documentary short film. Additionally, Canadian teams involved in the production of “Frankenstein” received nominations for makeup and hairstyling, as well as production design.
The prestigious 98th Academy Awards ceremony is set to take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with Conan O’Brien hosting the event.