Exploring ‘Sinners’: Could Ryan Coogler’s Latest Film Set a New Oscar Record?

Regardless of whether Sinners takes home an Academy Award this year, it has already carved its place in cinematic history.

Helmed by the visionary director Ryan Coogler, this horror sensation has garnered an astonishing 16 Oscar nominations, making it both the most-nominated film of the year and a record-holder for the most nominations ever received by a single film.

Reflecting on this monumental achievement, Coogler shared with Variety in February, “With all respect to the Academy — and I love so many people involved — my award is the opportunity to have this job: to write a script, get a crew together, hire union jobs, contribute to people’s health care and their families. The fact that I have this job, and can continue to have it, is the greatest gift.”

Long before the awards buzz began, Sinners was already a topic of conversation. It stands out as a rare original film — neither a sequel nor based on existing intellectual property — that achieved remarkable box office success, raking in over $369 million globally.

When the nominations for the 2026 Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, January 22, Sinners emerged as the frontrunner with its impressive tally of 16 nominations. The film has been recognized in categories such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Cinematography, among others.

When the Academy Awards air on Sunday, March 15, the movie could become the most decorated film in Oscars history. Keep scrolling to learn more about Sinners:

What Is ‘Sinners’ About?

Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore (both played by Michael B. Jordan) as they return home after several years spent living in Chicago. The pair decide to open a juke joint with help from the community, including Smoke’s wife, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) and blues musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo).

On opening night, the musicians’ performance attracts a group of white onlookers led by an Irish man named Remmick (Jack O’Connell). Smoke and Stack soon find out that Remmick and his compatriots are actually vampires (who also happen to be members of the Ku Klux Klan). The twins spend the rest of the night fighting off the undead as well as the KKK, which had been planning to attack the juke joint at dawn.

While Sinners is a horror movie, it’s also an exploration of the history of blues music as well as the reality of life for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South.

“Very often, and rightfully so, that part of time and that physical location in the United States is a place that’s associated with a lot of pain, a lot of shame, a lot of discomfort, but to completely look away from it is to not look at what else was there,” Coogler told IndieWire in April 2025. “The resilience, the brilliance, the fortitude, and also the art, the artistic wonder, the cultural wonder.”

Who Stars in ‘Sinners’?

Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Sinners, while Miles Caton makes his screen debut as their younger cousin Sammie. Wunmi Mosaku appears as Smoke’s estranged wife, Annie, with Hailee Steinfeld starring as Stack’s ex-girlfriend Mary. Veteran actor Delroy Lindo plays harmonica player Delta Slim, while Jayme Lawson plays singer Pearline.

The brothers’ other colleagues in the juke joint are shopkeepers Grace and Bo (Li Jun Li and Yao, respectively) and bouncer Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller). Poet and musician Saul Williams stars as Sammie’s father, pastor Jedidiah Moore, while Nathaniel Arcand plays the Choctaw vampire hunter Chayton.

Jack O’Connell appears as Remmick, an Irish immigrant and vampire who turns a local couple — KKK members Bert (Peter Dreimanis) and Joan (Lola Kirke) — into vampires as well.

Real-life blues legend Buddy Guy also has a cameo as a much older version of Sammie, seen in the year 1992.

Sinners is one of the most buzz-worthy movies of 2025, courtesy of the film’s incredibly talented cast and alluring story that perfectly combines elements of history and horror. Fans are hoping for a sequel to director Ryan Coogler’s masterpiece, which stars Michael B. Jordan as the Smokestack Twins. Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell and […]

What Are Critics Saying About ‘Sinners’?

Sinners holds a 97 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 96 percent audience score. The film was also named one of the best of 2025 by numerous critics, including The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis and The New Yorker’s Richard Brody, both of whom ranked it No. 1.

“Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is a big-screen exultation — a passionate, effusive praise song about life and love, including the love of movies,” Dargis wrote. “Set in Jim Crow Mississippi, it is a genre-defying, mind-bending fantasia overflowing with great performances, dancing vampires and a lot of ideas about love and history.”

Brody, for his part, praised Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton’s performances along with the rest of the cast, writing, “Jordan brings [Smoke and Stack] to distinctive life with his powerful presence and a virtuosity that wears its effort lightly. The entire cast carries the action with fierce, pressurized commitment and delivers the characters’ lofty thoughts and sharp-edged talk forthrightly; their performances feel conjured, not acted. Caton, a deep-voiced singer with no prior screen credits, endows Sammie with a preternatural sense of purpose and poise; it’s an extraordinary debut.”

With the recent announcement of the 2026 Oscar nominations, the awards season is officially underway. Thankfully for streaming fans, the vast majority of 2025’s Academy Award nominees, from the record-breaking horror film Sinners to the Brad Pitt racing drama F1, are readily available to stream on Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu and more. To help film […]

How Many Oscar Nominations Did ‘Sinners’ Receive?

With 16 nods, Sinners earned the most nominations of any film at the 2026 Academy Awards and broke the record for most nominations of any film in history. The previous record was 14 nominations, held by 1997’s Titanic and 1950’s All About Eve.

In addition to Best Picture and Best Directing for Ryan Coogler, Sinners scored acting nominations for Michael B. Jordan (lead actor), Delroy Lindo (supporting actor) and Wunmi Mosaku (supporting actress). Coogler also earned a nomination for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).

The film is also up for Best Music (Score) for Ludwig Göransson; Best Music (Original Song) for Görranson and Raphael Saadiq; Best Casting for Francine Maisler; Best Sound for Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker; Best Costume Design for Ruth E. Carter; Best Production Design for Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne; Best Cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw; Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry; Best Film Editing for Michael P. Shawver and Best Visual Effects for Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean.

How to Watch ‘Sinners’

Sinners is available to stream on HBO Max.