Sinners made history this year after earning a record-breaking 16 Academy Award nominations, the most nominations ever received by a single film.
“It was a captivating film… The horror elements worked like a metaphor, and even though the meaning wasn’t always clear, it sparked good discussion and was worth watching,” Stacey Sklar said.
The Nomination Process
According to PBS News and Forbes, Sinners earned its nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Best Picture category is voted on by all members of the Academy. Other awards are voted on by a board that specializes in those areas.
“I didn’t [know that it was nominated], but after seeing the movie, I realize why it is,” Deegan McGinn (’28) said.
Members vote on movies based on criteria like acting, directing, writing, and overall quality. Films must meet certain rules, such as being shown in theaters for a specific period of time, before they can be nominated. Members then vote to decide which movies get nominated in each category. The nominations are announced every January.
“My first reaction was that the plot was really good, and I didn’t expect the ending,” Rachel Norton (‘27) said.
Why Sinners Stands Out
With 16 nominations, Sinners passed the old record of 14 nominations. Previously, Titanic and La La Land had the most nominations. Ryan Coogler was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Michael B. Jordan, who starred as two characters, was nominated for Best Actor.
“Sinners was very intense and kept my attention the entire time… Remmick stood out because his actions had big impacts on the story and made him very interesting,” McGinn said.
Viewers had different opinions about Sinners based on what they liked and how they understood the movie. Some enjoyed how intense the story was, how the characters developed, and how the story and music intertwined. Others felt that some parts of the movie were confusing or hard to understand.
“I lost my belief in the storyline at a certain point, but I definitely think it’s worth seeing and good sparks good discussion,” Sklar said.
