Ryan Coogler\u2019s blues-steeped vampire epic \u201cSinners\u201d<\/a> led all films with 16 nominations to the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, setting a record for the most in Oscar history.<\/p>\n Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters showered \u201cSinners\u201d with more nominations than they had ever bestowed before, breaking the 14-nomination mark set by \u201cAll About Eve,\u201d \u201cTitanic\u201d and \u201cLa La Land.\u201d Along with best picture, Coogler was nominated for best director and best screenplay, and double-duty star Michael B. Jordan was rewarded with his first Oscar nomination, for best actor.<\/p>\n Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s father-daughter revolutionary saga \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d<\/a> the favorite coming into nominations, trailed in second with 13 nominations of its own. Four of its actors \u2014 Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn \u2014 were nominated, though newcomer Chase Infiniti was left out in best actress.<\/p>\n In those two top nominees, the film academy put its full force behind a pair of visceral and bracingly original American epics that each connected with a fraught national moment. Coogler\u2019s Jim Crow-era film \u2014 the rare horror movie to win the academy\u2019s favor \u2014 conjures a mythical allegory of Black life. In \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d a dormant spirit of rebellion is revived in an out-of-control police state.<\/p>\n Both are also Warner Bros. titles. In the midst of a contentious sale to Netflix, the 102-year-old studio had its best Oscar nominations morning ever. As the fate of Warner Bros., which Netflix is buying for $72 billion, hangs in the balance amid a challenge from Paramount Skydance, Hollywood is bracing for potentially the largest realignment in the film industry\u2019s history.<\/p>\n The 10 films nominated<\/a> for best picture are \u201cBugonia,\u201d \u201cF1,\u201d \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d \u201cHamnet,\u201d \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d \u201cThe Secret Agent,\u201d \u201cSentimental Value,\u201d \u201cSinners\u201d and \u201cTrain Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n Guillermo del Toro\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d Josh Safdie\u2019s \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d and Joachim Trier\u2019s \u201cSentimental Value\u201d all scored nine nominations.<\/p>\n The nine for \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d included a third best actor nod for 30-year-old Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, the favorite in the category he narrowly missed winning last year for \u201cA Complete Unknown.\u201d With Jordan and Chalamet, the nominees are Leonardo DiCaprio for \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d Ethan Hawke for \u201cBlue Moon\u201d and Wagner Moura for \u201cThe Secret Agent.\u201d<\/p>\n Nominated for best actress was the category favorite, Jessie Buckley (\u201cHamnet\u201d), along with Rose Byrne (\u201cIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You\u201d), Kate Hudson (\u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d), Renate Reinsve (\u201cSentimental Value\u201d) and two-time winner Emma Stone, who landed her sixth nomination, for \u201cBugonia.\u201d<\/p>\n Headlines, puzzles and death notices from the Valley delivered to your inbox 7 a.m. daily.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The year\u2019s most-watched movie, with more than half a billion views on Netflix, \u201cKPop Demon Hunters,\u201d scored nominations for both best song (\u201cGolden\u201d) and best animated feature. Sony Pictures developed and produced the film, but, after selling it to Netflix, watched it become a worldwide sensation.<\/p>\n Blockbusters otherwise had a difficult morning. Universal Pictures\u2019 \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d was shut out entirely. While \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d notched nominations for costume design and visual effects, it became the first \u201cAvatar\u201d film not nominated for best picture. The biggest box-office hit nominated for Hollywood’s top award instead was \u201cF1,\u201d an Apple production. The streamer partnered with Warner Bros. to distribute the racing drama.<\/p>\n The first category read by presenters Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman was supporting actress. The nominees are Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter LilIeaas for \u201cSentimental Value,\u201d Amy Madigan for \u201cWeapons,\u201d Wunmi Mosaku for \u201cSinners\u201d and Teyana Taylor for \u201cOne Battle After Another.\u201d<\/p>\n For supporting actor, the nominees are Jacob Elordi for \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d Sean Penn for \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd for \u201cSentimental Value,\u201d Benicio del Toro for \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d and Delroy Lindo for \u201cSinners.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, the Oscars are introducing a new category for casting<\/a>. That new honor helped \u201cSinners\u201d and \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d pad their already impressive stats. Along with those two films, the nominees are \u201cHamnet,\u201d \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d and \u201cThe Secret Agent.\u201d<\/p>\n The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will be televised live on ABC and Hulu. YouTube’s new deal to exclusively air<\/a> won’t take effect until 2029. This year, Conan O\u2019Brien will return as host.<\/p>\n