Anticipation is building in Hollywood as the Academy prepares to announce nominations for the 98th Academy Awards, with industry experts predicting that One Battle After Another and Sinners will dominate this year’s list.
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Both films, released by Warner Bros, are widely expected to secure a dozen or more nominations across major categories, including best picture, best actor and the newly introduced best casting award. Some analysts believe the films could even tie or surpass the long-standing record of 14 nominations held by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
It is uncommon for a single studio to produce the two clear Oscar frontrunners in one year, a distinction that comes amid uncertainty over Warner Bros’ future as an independent distributor, as it faces a bidding contest involving Paramount Skydance and Netflix.
Sinners, a blues-infused period horror film directed by Black Panther filmmaker Ryan Coogler, is set in the racially segregated American South. The film is expected to earn a best actor nomination for Michael B. Jordan, who portrays twin brothers confronting both vampires and racism in 1930s Mississippi. The film is also tipped for nominations in screenplay, music and technical categories.
Awards analysts suggest Sinners could challenge long-standing nomination records, with some calling Coogler’s achievements unprecedented in awards-season history.
Meanwhile, One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, has been sweeping major industry awards throughout the season. The film, a stylised thriller about a former revolutionary searching for his teenage daughter amid political unrest, has already broken records with Hollywood’s actors’ guild.
Leonardo DiCaprio, who leads the film, is widely expected to secure his seventh Oscar acting nomination, further strengthening the film’s awards momentum.
Netflix is also expected to feature prominently with contenders including Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, frontier drama Train Dreams and animated musical hit KPop Demon Hunters.
In the acting categories, Hamnet, a literary drama inspired by William Shakespeare’s personal tragedy, is expected to earn multiple nominations. Jessie Buckley is considered a strong contender for best actress for her role as Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes.
She is likely to face competition from Emma Stone for her performance in conspiracy drama Bugonia, as well as Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve in arthouse favourite Sentimental Value. With the Academy’s international membership growing, non-English-language films such as Sentimental Value, Persian-language Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident, and Brazil’s The Secret Agent are also seen as potential best picture contenders.
In the best actor race, The Secret Agent star Wagner Moura is expected to compete with DiCaprio and Jordan, though Timothée Chalamet is currently viewed as the frontrunner for his role as a fiercely ambitious ping pong prodigy in Marty Supreme, a performance that has already earned him multiple major awards this season.
This year also marks the debut of the Academy Award for best casting, recognising casting directors for their role in assembling film ensembles. With no prior benchmarks, it remains unclear what criteria voters will prioritise.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday at 5:30am local time in Los Angeles (1330 GMT). The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 15.
