It’s Time to Reap the Corn: The 98th Academy Awards Nominees, With 'Sinners' Looking Up

By Natalie McCarty

The loudest statement the Academy made this year wasn’t hidden in a surprise snub or a long-overdue coronation, it was written plainly across the nominations themselves. Sinners showed up everywhere. Acting. Directing. Writing. Craft. Sound. Picture. Ryan Coogler’s film finally earned recognition, and, in doing so, it reshaped the conversation, becoming the most broadly nominated film in Oscars history. 

Courtesy of HBO Max

What makes that dominance notable is the kind of film Sinners is. It’s muscular and emotional, politically conscious without being didactic, technically bold without losing its humanity. This isn’t prestige-by-committee or an awards-season Trojan horse. It’s a film that takes risks, trusts its audience, and refuses to sand itself down for comfort. The Academy, at the very least, embraced it fully in its nominations. Whether it follows through with wins is another question entirely,  but it better sweep though. I mean it. I digress…

The story of the 98th Academy Awards isn’t a one-horse race. Beyond Sinners, this year’s nominations feel unusually alive. There’s no obvious consensus pick, no film engineered to please everyone in the room. Instead, the list reads like a year where filmmakers trusted their instincts and voters, for once, followed suit. Big swings coexist with intimate character studies. Auteur-driven passion projects sit comfortably next to studio-scale ambition. It’s an interesting list.

So before the envelopes reveal the winners in just a few weeks on March 15, here’s where the Academy landed. And, if you have any interest in watching all of these films, I went ahead and started a comprehensive Letterboxd watchlist for you: Academy Awards 2026  

98th Academy Awards Nominees

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

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

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

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

Animated Feature Film

Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

Animated Short Film

Butterfly
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Retirement Plan
The Three Sisters

Casting

Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle after Another
The Secret Agent
Sinners

Cinematography

Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

Costume Design

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners

Directing

Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler — Sinners

Best Picture

Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams