Despite Setting A Record For Nominations, History Tells Us That ‘Sinners’ Isn’t A Lock To Win Big At The Oscars
Being twice as good and working twice as hard is the baseline, not a guarantee.
The Grammys reminded Beyoncé of that lesson, and the last Presidential election echoed that truth through Kamala Harris. Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler seem to get it, but do the rest of us understand the assignment?
In a few weeks, we’ll find out.
“Ryan Coogler has officially rewritten Oscar history,” read a report from Variety on Sinners being nominated for a record-breaking 16 Academy Award nominations. A movie made to tell the story of Black Americans in the Mississippi Delta in 1932 has become the new barometer of Hollywood success.
Hopefully, the nominations alone won’t serve as the “award.”
Outside of Coogler winning Best Original Screenplay at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the film taking home the prize for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement at the Golden Globes, neither the writer/director nor the cast has brought home the hardware at any of the major award shows this season. That looks to change as Coogler was nominated for best director and best screenplay — making him only the third Black person (Spike Lee and Jordan Peele) to ever be nominated in the same year for producing, directing, and screenwriting. Jordan received his first nomination for best actor, while Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo were nominated for supporting roles, and legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter became the most-nominated Black woman in Oscar history.
“I was very impressed by everything that my collaborators were doing every day, so I’m so happy that everybody got recognized by their peers,” said Coogler. “Obviously, I’m biased. I think these folks I work with are some of the best in the world. I feel really fortunate. Because it doesn’t always go that way.”
The genre-defying film combines romance and drama, at times feels like a musical, and serves as a Black history class, all under the guise of a horror movie centered on vampires in the Jim Crow South. Coogler’s screenplay touches on sensitive subject matters and explores conversations we so often only discuss in private.
“Listen, the word of mouth on this movie was incredible,” said Jordan. “The conversations that were had about the movie, it’s layered in a way that you want to go back and you want to make sure you saw what you saw. Did you get everything? There’s a replay value. It feels like a movie that you want to watch whenever it’s on.”
Jordan’s portrayal of twin brothers functions as an acting masterclass. You don’t feel like you’re watching him play two characters; Smoke and Stack function as two distinct individuals who happen to look alike. Furthermore, there’s the “music scene,” in which Coogler somehow tells the history of Black people across the diaspora in just five minutes of screen time.
But don’t just take my word for why this film is worthy of winning multiple Oscars; read what the Hollywood elite have said:
“When I saw your film, the Irish River Dance, it was so chilling. It’s really the most spectacular musical inversion since Kubrick’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain.” — Director/Screenwriter Chris Nolan.
“I really respect him (Jordan). Respect Coogler, I love that film. I love the films that they make. It’s brilliant, you know, big cinema. And I admire what they do.” — Tom Cruise.
“Michael, man. Unbelievable. Just re-watched Sinners. Hadn’t seen the after-credits scene. I’m happy I stuck around the second time.” — Timothée Chalamet in his acceptance speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards when he bested Jordan in the category.
“I just had the greatest experience of watching a film in years. My brother Ryan Coogler invited me to experience his new film Sinners (In IMAX).” — Spike Lee.
This isn’t about Sinners needing the Academy’s validation or desiring praise from the white gaze; it’s realizing that the film was so undeniable that it couldn’t be overlooked in multiple categories. The Oscars put itself in a position where the crowning of the creator, cast, and crew is a forgone conclusion, given that anything less would call into question their own legitimacy, given the number of nominations.
However, #OscarsSoWhite didn’t become a hashtag and a movement without reason.
We watched The Color Purple get nominated 11 times in 1985 without winning a single award. We still don’t understand how Angela Bassett didn’t win for “What’s Love Got To Do With It, or how Denzel Washington went home empty-handed for “Malcolm X.” In 2018, “Get Out” lost Best Picture to a movie about a woman who fell in love with a fish-man.
Over the years, we have seen Black movies and Black actors repeatedly “get robbed” at award shows. It’s a reminder that we can’t depend on others to honor our talents and genius — especially in times like these. We can’t keep getting mad at the Grammys and Oscars when we get overlooked, when we don’t tune in or show up with the same excitement at events that were created solely to celebrate us because others refused.
Sinners has a total of 18 nominations for the NAACP Image Awards. Let’s make sure we keep that same energy.
When Hattie McDaniel became the first Black-American to win an Oscar in 1940, she famously said, “I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry.” And now, eighty-six years later, that same motion picture industry has made one of the Blackest films ever made, the standard of what cinematic achievement looks like.
On Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the 98th Academy Awards will take place, and hopefully, even more history will unfold. Have the champagne and caviar put on ice in preparation for a celebration. But keep your receipts, just in case, as we’ve seen this movie before. Here’s to Hollywood giving us the perfect ending we deserve.
SEE ALSO:
Ryan Coogler And Spike Lee Talk ‘Sinners,’ Hollywood
‘Sinners’: Black Horror Scholars Discuss The Blockbuster Film