THE TIME HAS COME, the Oscar nominations are in. For the last couple of months, Hollywood’s brightest have put in the hard yards – networking and getting face-time with voters – to score a nod for their performance and work for the 98th Academy Awards. But come the night of March 15 (or morning of the 16th for us in Australia) in Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, there can only be one winner for each of the 24 categories presented. But before the full list of nominees, this is Esquire’s debrief.

Sinners breaks the most Oscar nominations record with 16 nods

Ryan Coogler’s vampire period drama has broken the record for most Oscar nominations with 16 spots across key categories. Best Leading Actor for Michael B. Jordan; Best Supporting Actress for Wunmi Mosaku; Best Director for Ryan Coogler; Best Picture; and then some. The record has been held by three films that’ve tied with 14 nods: La La Land (2016), Titanic (1997), and All About Eve (1950). Sinners has entered a league of its own.

The trick now is to see how many the film can win to make history again. To do so, it’ll have to beat Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), which all tied at 11 wins. But for a, categorically, horror film to score this many nods is precedence in itself.

Who was snubbed at the 2026 Oscars?

Time to get upset: confidence was riding high for 25-year-old Chase Infiniti to receive a Best Actress nomination for her debut feature film role in One Battle After Another, but she did not.

2025 was also the year of the Wicked sequel, where acting nominations seemed forthcoming for its two leads, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. However, the actors and Wicked: For Good had zero nominations, even in the craft categories.

After Jessie Buckley’s Golden Globe win for a Leading Actress in Drama for Hamnet, a Supporting Actor nod was hoped for Paul Mescal, who plays William Shakespeare. “I think he’s extraordinary in this film,” Buckley told The Hollywood Reporter on Mescal’s omission. “I know I’ve met a partner for life in doing this with him. I don’t know what to say apart from he is, to me, my absolute. His artistry is something that will continue to grow and be a theme in so many different ways,” she continued.

Which Australian actors are nominated for the 2026 Oscars?

Two Australian actors have scored nods in the main acting categories: Rose Byrne in Actress in a Leading Role for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and Jacob Elordi in Actor in a Supporting Role as the Creature in Frankenstein.

Oscars 2026: read the full list of nominations

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 Skasgård, Sentimental Value
(L-R) Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme; Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another; Michael B. Jordan in Sinners

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
(L-R) Elle Fanning at the Cannes Film Festival; Jessie Buckley in Hamnet; Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

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, Nina Gold
  • Marty Supreme, Jennifer Venditti
  • One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis
  • The Secret Agent, Gabriel Domingues
  • Sinners, Francine Maisler

Cinematography

  • Frankenstein, Dan Laustsen
  • Marty Supreme, Darius Khondji
  • One Battle After Another, Michael Bauman
  • Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw
  • Train Dreams, Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash, Deborah L. Scott
  • Frankenstein, Kate Hawley
  • Hamnet, Malgosia Turzanska
  • Marty Supreme, Miyako Bellizzi
  • Sinners, Ruth E. Carter
(L-R) Mia Goth in Frankenstein; Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams; KPop Demon Hunters

Directing

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

Documentary Feature Film

  • The Alabama Solution, Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman
  • Come See Me In The Good Light, Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen
  • Cutting Through Rocks, Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
  • Mr Nobody Against Putin, nominees TBD
  • The Perfect Neighbour, Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee

Documentary Short Film

  • All The Empty Rooms, Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
  • Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo
  • Children No More: “Were And Are Gone”, Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins
  • The Devil Is Busy, Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir
  • Perfectly a Strangeness, Alison McAlpine

Film Editing

  • F1, Stephen Mirrione
  • Marty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
  • One Battle after Another, Andy Jurgensen
  • Sentimental Value, Olivier Bugge Coutté
  • Sinners, Michael P. Shawver

International Feature Film

  • The Secret Agent (Brazil)
  • It Was Just an Accident (France)
  • Sentimental Value (Norway)
  • Sirāt (Spain)
  • The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)

Live Action Short Film

  • Butcher’s Stain, Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi
  • A Friend of Dorothy, Lee Knight and James Dean
  • Jane Austen’s Period Drama, Julia Aks and Steve Pinder
  • The Singers, Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt
  • Two People Exchanging Saliva, Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Makeup and Hairstyling

  • Frankenstein, Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
  • Kokuho, Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
  • Sinners, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
  • The Smashing Machine, Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein
  • The Ugly Stepsister, Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg
(L-R) Chloé Zhao won two Oscars in 2021 for Nomadland; Paul Thomas Anderson at the 2025 Golden Globes; Ryan Coogler

Music (Original Score)

  • Bugonia, Jerskin Fendrix
  • Frankenstein, Alexandre Desplat
  • Hamnet, Max Richter
  • One Battle after Another, Jonny Greenwood
  • Sinners, Ludwig Goransson

Music (Original Song)

  • “Dear Me”, from from Diane Warren: Relentless; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
  • “Golden”, from KPop Demon Hunters; Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park
  • “I Lead To You”, from Sinners; Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
  • “Sweet Dreams Of Joy”, from Viva Verdi!; Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike
  • “Train Dreams”, from Train Dreams; Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

Best Picture

  • Bugonia, producers Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen
  • F1, producers Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer
  • Frankenstein, producers Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber
  • Hamnet, Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers
  • Marty Supreme, producers Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet
  • One Battle after Another, producers Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson
  • The Secret Agent, producer Emilie Lesclaux
  • Sentimental Value, producers Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
  • Sinners, producers Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler
  • Train Dreams, producers Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler

Production Design

  • Frankenstein, Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
  • Hamnet, Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
  • Marty Supreme, Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
  • One Battle after Another, Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
  • Sinners, Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Sound

  • F1, Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta
  • Frankenstein, Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern
  • One Battle after Another, José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor
  • Sinners, Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker
  • Sirāt, Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas

Visual Effects

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
  • F1, Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
  • Jurassic World Rebirth, David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould
  • The Lost Bus, Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin
  • Sinners, Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • Bugonia, Will Tracy
  • Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro
  • Hamnet, Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
  • One Battle after Another, Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Train Dreams, Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • Blue Moon, Robert Kaplow
  • It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators – Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian
  • Marty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
  • Sentimental Value, Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
  • Sinners, Ryan Coogler

This story first appeared on Harper’s Bazaar

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