By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (Reuters) – “Sinners,” a Segregation-era vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan, stormed into the awards race on Thursday with the most Academy Award nominations of any film this year, landing a record 16 nods.
The large haul sets up “Sinners” as the frontrunner heading into the March 15 Oscars, where it will face off against contenders including “One Battle After Another,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme” and others for the coveted best picture prize. The previous record for most nominations in a single year was 14, a mark hit by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”
“Bugonia,” “F1,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value” and “Train Dreams” also were nominated for this year’s best picture trophy.
Jordan was nominated for best actor for his dual role in “Sinners” as twin brothers who set up a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. Other nominations for the Warner Bros film include best director for Ryan Coogler, supporting actor for Delroy Lindo, supporting actress for Wunmi Mosaku and best cinematography, costume design, original screenplay and visual effects.
Jordan’s competition includes Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another,” which scored 13 nominations, and Timothee Chalamet in “Marty Supreme.”
For best actress, Jessie Buckley was nominated for “Hamnet” and Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue.”
Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 10,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Walt Disney’s ABC will broadcast the awards, and comedian Conan O’Brien will host for the second straight year.
Warner Bros Discovery, the studio subject to a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance, led all studios with 30 nominations.
Netflix has never won best picture despite nominations for such films as “Roma,” “Emilia Perez” and “The Irishman.” It has a chance this year with “Frankenstein,” which earned nine nominations. The streaming service releases its movies in theaters for only a limited time to qualify them for awards consideration.
(Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)
