The horror film “Sinners” by Ryan Coogler broke Oscar history by earning a total 16 Oscar nominations on Thursday for the 98th Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 15. The previous record of 14 had been held by “All About Eve,” “Titantic” and “La La Land.”
The nominations were additionally notable as horror films tend to be excluded from Oscar honors.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film features actor Michael B. Jordan in a dual role of twin brothers who face supernatural forces in the southern US of the Jim Crow era.
“Sinners” is considered a frontrunner in the best picture category. It will also compete for best director, best screenplay, best lead actor, and best original song, among others.
A total of ten films were nominated for the best picture Oscar on Thursday. In addition to “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another” and “Sentimental Value” are also seen as strong contenders.
The latter, “Sentimental Value,” a family drama, recently swept the European Film Awards.
The other best picture nominees are “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “The Secret Agent,” and “Train Dreams.” The films were selected out of 201 contenders.
“One Battle After Another,” a father-daughter revolutionary saga, placed second for total nominations, with a total of 13 nods that included best director (Paul Thomas Anderson) and four best actor awards.
Alongside Coogler and Anderson, the other contenders for best director are Chloe Zhao (“Hamnet”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”) and Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”).
Timothee Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan and Wagner Moura all received nominations for best actor in a leading role, while Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve and Emma Stone were nominated in the leading actress category.
A brand-new category
Best casting, the first new category to be added to the Oscars in 25 years, highlights the work of selecting actors for a film. Five films received nominations, including “Sinners.”
The animated musical smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters” received nods for best animated film, where it is considered the favorite, and for best original song for the earworm “Golden.” The film was released on Netflix — and went on to break the streaming platform’s all-time viewing record — but qualified for the Oscars based on a limited sing-along release in theaters.
Meanwhile, on the international front, films from Brazil (“The Secret Agent”), France (“It was Just an Accident”), Norway (“Sentimental Value”), Spain (“Sirat”) and Tunisia (“The Voice of Hind Rajab”) made it to the final for the best international feature film award.
Germany’s entry to the competition, “Sound of Falling,” did not make it to the final.
Trying to remain relevant
The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are Hollywood’s premier cinema awards. Nominations are determined by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, all of whom are involved professionally in film production.
The Oscar ceremony has been struggling to remain relevant as viewership has fallen over the years and streaming platforms are increasingly eclipsing movie theaters as the go-to place for watching movies. Netflix is currently in the process of trying to acquire Warner Brothers, the studio behind both “One Battle After a Another” and “Sinners.”
The 98th edition of the annual Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 15th at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, with TV personality Conan O’Brien as the host.
In the future, the ceremony will continue to be broadcast on television until 2029, at which time it will begin exclusively streaming on YouTube.
Source: DW