At the Oscar Nominations Ceremony, ‘Sinners’ Was the People’s Champion

Ryan Coogler's vampire blockbuster broke the record for most nominations, and the energy in the room made it clear it was the audience favorite.

The nominations for the 98th Annual Academy Awards were announced live Thursday, January 22, with press, publicists, and other guests gathering at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the very early hours of the morning. Attendees were still sleepy as the ceremony began — on the dot, at 5:30 a.m. — but there was also a palpable excitement in the air for Phase Two of awards season to kick off, and to finally find out what films made the final cut in what has been a particularly competitive Oscar race.

Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor kicked off the ceremony with a brief speech thanking the audience, both in person and those watching the livestream, while providing a preamble that gestured at the ongoing conversations about the role of AI in film.

“This year, the Oscars celebrate our humanity, our connection with each other, and remind us once again that the world is made up of individual stories that have the power to unite us through narratives that speak to the emotions we all share,” she said. “We live in a time of limitless technology that enables us to push the boundaries of our cinematic experience, and our profound belief is that the heartbeat of film is, and will always remain, unmistakably human.”

That last line earned applause from the in-person audience, keying up the main event perfectly: Former Best Supporting Actress nominee Danielle Brooks and “The Testament of Ann Lee” star Lewis Pullman started reading the esteemed names and titles, and a clear crowd favorite soon emerged:

“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s Southern horror blockbuster about a Black community in a small town haunted by vampires, cleaned up, breaking the record with 16 total nominations. The film got the biggest and most excited reaction by far among the small sample crowd assembled, with huge cheers for every single nomination it pulled — especially Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor nod and its inclusion in the very first Best Casting lineup.

“Sinners” also gave nomination morning one of the most delightful surprises, when on-the-bubble contender Delroy Lindo, who plays pianist Delta Slim, made his way into the Best Supporting Actor lineup. Beating out the presumptive fifth-man, Paul Mescal for “Hamnet,” Lindo’s long-awaited first Oscar nom sparked massive applause.

On the opposite end of the surprise scale, but clearly a film that had its fans present, was “KPop Demon Hunters,” which received a huge reaction for its very expected Best Animated Feature and Best Song (for “Golden”) nods.

Other unexpected nominations elicited more shock mixed with excitement. The crowd reacted with audible gasps when “F1,” which had only emerged as a contender very recently after being included in the PGA nominations, was announced as the second Best Picture contender in the 10-film field.

Kate Hudson’s surprise entry in the Best Actress field, for the Neil Diamond jukebox musical “Song Sung Blue,” was met with cheers but also some evident astonishment, as did Elle Fanning’s inclusion in Best Supporting Actress for “Sentimental Value,” the very first nomination announced. And Oliver Laxe’s rave drama “Sirāt,” which over-performed in the shortlists, was greeted with delight when it made the Best International Feature and Best Sound categories.

The 98th Annual Academy Awards will be held Sunday, March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. After his acclaimed performance last year, comedian Conan O’Brien will return to host the show for a second year. The ceremony will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu.