The 98th Academy Awards nominations are officially in, and Ryan Coogler is making history. His horror-thriller Sinners, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, led the field on Thursday, January 22, 2026, with a record-breaking 16 nominations. Coogler, who developed his early craft at the Sundance Institute Labs, is now a frontrunner for Best Director, while his long-time collaborator Michael B. Jordan earned a major nod for Best Actor.

The Sundance Institute is celebrating a "full circle moment" as several of its most famous alumni dominated the 2026 list. Chloé Zhao secured multiple nominations for her period drama Hamnet, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this year’s race is one of the most competitive in history, featuring a heavy presence from directors who got their start in independent film workshops.

Joining the fray is Paul Thomas Anderson, whose star-studded project One Battle After Another earned significant recognition across the technical and acting categories. PBS News reports that the 2026 nominations represent a shift in Academy voting patterns, as genre-bending films like Sinners achieve the kind of critical sweep usually reserved for traditional dramas. The winners will be revealed at the Dolby Theatre during the live ceremony on March 15, 2026.