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98th Oscar Nominations Announced Amidst Competitive Race and Studio Strategy

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"Sinners" Shatters Records as 98th Oscars Race Heats Up

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 98th Oscars, with "Sinners" leading the field by setting a new record for most nominations received by a single film. This announcement marked the start of a competitive awards season, particularly for Warner Bros., which secured 30 nominations across its releases and is managing the campaigns for two leading Best Picture contenders.

Final voting for the awards concluded on March 5, with the ceremony scheduled for March 15.

Nomination Highlights and Records

The nominations for the 98th Oscars were announced on Thursday morning, 5:30 a.m. PT. "Sinners" received 16 nominations, establishing a new record and surpassing the previous record of 14 held by "All About Eve" (1950), "Titanic" (1997), and "La La Land" (2016). "Sinners" secured nominations in all viable categories.

Other films receiving multiple nominations included:

  • One Battle After Another: 13 nominations
  • Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value: 9 nominations each

Several notable omissions were observed in key categories. These included "One Battle After Another" missing a Best Actress nomination, "Hamnet" not securing nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Cinematography, or Film Editing, and "Frankenstein" missing Best Director and Visual Effects.

Prior to the announcement, industry projections had anticipated "Sinners" to lead with 15 nominations, "One Battle After Another" with 12, and both "Frankenstein" and "Hamnet" with 11. These projections had also suggested the possibility of four films achieving double-digit nominations, which would have been the second time in six years.

Studio Performance and Warner Bros.' Dual Campaign

Warner Bros. led all studios with a total of 30 nominations for its films, tying the studio's all-time record. Films contributing to this total included "Sinners," "One Battle After Another," "Weapons," "F1," and "Superman."

This marked a significant achievement for the studio, which in 2025 released 11 films, with nine opening at number one at the domestic box office and seven consecutive releases grossing over $40 million. The studio's films held the top domestic box office spot for 15 weeks and globally for 16 weeks, contributing three titles to the year's top 10 highest-grossing films and achieving over $4 billion in worldwide revenue. This success provided a morale boost amidst a reported acquisition process for the studio.

A Dual Best Picture Campaign

Warner Bros. found itself supporting two leading contenders for Best Picture: Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" and Ryan Coogler's "Sinners." The studio implemented a strategy to balance its promotional efforts for both films, ensuring equitable support across budgets, statements, and attention to avoid any perception of favoritism among Oscar voters.

Oscar campaign budgets for both films were estimated to be between $14 million and $16 million each, maintained at nearly equal amounts.

This included aligned budgets, balanced screening calendars, and evenly distributed publicity efforts.

While "One Battle After Another" initially gained significant traction with 35 major critics' and guild awards, the record-setting 16 Oscar nominations for "Sinners" intensified the Best Picture race between the two Warner Bros. films. Studio strategists aimed to maintain a neutral stance throughout the awards season. Historical precedents for a single studio championing two top contenders include Searchlight Pictures in 2017 with "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "The Shape of Water," and Paramount Pictures in 1974 with "The Godfather Part II" and "Chinatown."

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group Co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, whose contracts were renewed in October 2025, expressed pride in having two Best Picture frontrunners, an achievement they noted as rare since 1974.

Voting Process and Academy Dynamics

The final round of Oscars voting commenced on February 26 and concluded on March 5. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with approximately 11,000 members (25 percent residing outside the U.S.), implemented several changes to the ballot:

  • A new "best casting" category was introduced, increasing the total number of categories to 24.
  • All categories now listed the individuals personally eligible for the award, rather than solely the nominated film titles.
  • Voters were required to have seen all nominees in a category to cast a vote for that category.

Projections prior to the nominations indicated a strong performance for non-English-language films, attributed to the influence of international voters and a decreasing reluctance among English-speakers toward subtitled content.

Precursor Awards and Race Projections

Leading up to the final voting period, various awards shows offered insights into potential Oscar outcomes:

  • Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards: "One Battle After Another" received top honors.
  • Spirit Awards (February 15): "Train Dreams" won Best Feature, Best Director (Clint Bentley), and Best Cinematography (Adolpho Veloso). Rose Byrne ("If I Had Legs I’d Kick You") received Best Lead Performance. "The Secret Agent" was awarded Best International Film, and "The Perfect Neighbor" won Best Documentary Feature.
  • BAFTA Awards (February 22): "One Battle After Another" secured six awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Wunmi Mosaku ("Sinners") won Best Supporting Actress. Robert Aramayo ("I Swear"), who is not Oscar-eligible, won Best Actor over Oscar-nominated Timothée Chalamet ("Marty Supreme").

Pundits and analysts indicated that while Best Actress (Jessie Buckley for "Hamnet"), Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson for "One Battle After Another"), and Best Original Song ("Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters") appeared largely decided, approximately 21 categories remained competitive. These included Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best International Feature, and Best Documentary Feature.

Despite "Sinners" having recent momentum, statistical analysis favored "One Battle After Another" for Best Picture and Paul Thomas Anderson for Best Director, based on historical precursor award portfolios.

The 98th Oscars ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, is scheduled for March 15.