The 98th Academy Awards are just around the corner, and the race to the top seems tighter than ever. Though it initially seemed all but certain that Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another would clinch best picture, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners has snuck up close behind it as awards season has progressed, making it anyone’s game on cinema’s night of nights.
While the raucous political dark comedy One Battle After Another has largely dominated the guild awards’ top prizes so far (Golden Globes, PGAs, DGAs, BAFTAs), Sinners has managed to turn heads later in the game, largely thanks to its best ensemble win at the Actor Awards (formerly SAG Awards) earlier this month. It’s also worth noting that the film has already made history by receiving the most Oscar nominations ever (16).
This is particularly impressive given Sinners is a vampire horror set in the Jim Crow era. Horror has historically not fared well at the Oscars, with many iconic movies like The Shining and Hereditary missing out on any recognition. If Sinners manages to pip One Battle for best picture on Monday, it would become the second horror to ever win the top gong, joining The Silence of the Lambs, which won in 1992. And if it wins in more than 11 of its 16 nominated categories, it would become the most decorated film at the Oscars, beating Ben-Hur, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
The two major contenders, Sinners and One Battle, are very different films – but are alike in more ways than you’d think.
Both movies explore themes including racism, immigration and disillusionment in dominant political or cultural structures. They show versions of struggle, resilience and American history, as well as the consequences of trying to silence those with something important to say. This brings them both in close conversation with the current political turmoil plaguing the US and beyond, today.
So, will veteran filmmaker Anderson finally receive his flowers? Or will Coogler make history with his bloodthirsty masterpiece?
All will be revealed during Monday’s ceremony.
In the meantime, here are all the nominees for the 2026 Academy Awards.
Best picture
Bugonia
Frankenstein
F1
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best director
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Best actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Best actress
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
Best supporting actress
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan –Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Best supporting actor
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Best adapted screenplay
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Best original screenplay
Blue Moon
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best 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
Best original score
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best international feature
It Was Just an Accident
Sentimental Value
Sirât
The Secret Agent
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Best animated feature
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best documentary feature
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through the Rocks
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Alabama Solution
The Perfect Neighbor
Best costume design
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Best make-up and hairstyling
Frankenstein
Kokuho
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Best production design
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best sound
Frankenstein
F1
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirât
Best film editing
F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best visual effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Jurassic World Rebirth
Sinners
The Lost Bus
Best live action short
A Friend of Dorothy
Butcher’s Stain
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva
Best animated short
Butterfly
Forevergreen
Retirement Plan
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
The Three Sisters
Best documentary short
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
Best casting
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
The Secret Agent
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Nell Geraets is a Culture and Lifestyle reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
