Sinners breaks decades-long record for most Oscar nominations, including Best Picture

Director Ryan Coogler’s hit vampire flick Sinners (2025) made Academy Awards history yesterday after the thriller broke a coveted Guinness World Records title for the most Oscar nominations received by a film with a whopping 16.

Featuring gripping performances, immersive visuals, and an electrifying score, the film was based on an original screenplay by Coogler (Black Panther (2018), Creed (2015)), which quickly rose to box office success and became the top-earning original movie of the last 15 years.

The story follows criminal twin brothers Smoke and Stack as they return to Jim Crow-era Mississippi to open a juke joint for their community, yet are faced with a supernatural evil that begins to terrorize the club. As villains draw closer and closer to the doorstep, the group has to draw strength from their music and culture to overcome this intolerant force.

With performances from Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, and Miles Canton – the former three of which received acting nominations – the movie claimed the majority of the big-name noms, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and the new category Best Casting.

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Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, star Michael B. Jordan remarked on the film’s historic record, saying: “For all of these pieces to be singled out and acknowledged and honoured with the nomination, it’s something that’s really hard to put into words right now.”

He continued with: “I think these numbers and the turnout for these movies has been telling that the artists, when given the opportunity and the chance and the space and the support, can deliver on cinematic experiences that bring people back to the cinema.”

To take home the crown, Sinners beat out three other iconic Hollywood films, all tied with 14 nominations: All About Eve (USA, 1950) in 1951, Titanic (USA, 1997) in 1998, and most recently La La Land (USA, 2016) in 2017.

And even though the film is already on a winning track, we’ll have to wait until the Academy Awards on 15 March to see if it can break the record for the most Oscars won by a film – which also currently has a three-way tie for films with 11 wins: Titanic (1997), Ben-Hur (1959), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

So in the meantime, as you wait for Oscars day to come, just try and abide by those lyrics from Sinners’ Oscar-nominated score – and live like it's the last time.

Header image: Warner Bros / Shutterstock