'Sinners' Filmmaker Shocked at Record Oscar Nominations

Ryan Coogler was still processing the moment when the Oscar nominations were announced early Thursday morning. Sinners had earned 16 nominations, the most ever received by a single film. Speaking to Deadline, the director described the achievement as “pretty crazy,” explaining he felt both disbelief and gratitude.

Despite the historic showing, Coogler emphasized that awards recognition was never his primary focus. He said that if audiences simply enjoyed the film, that alone would have justified the effort.

The nominations placed Sinners ahead of longtime Oscar benchmarks like Titanic, All About Eve, and La La Land. The film appeared across nearly every major category, from Best Picture and directing to acting, technical, casting, and production design. The scale of recognition underscores the massive amount of collective work that goes into a film like Sinners.

Coogler also addressed the film’s genre-blending elements, noting that he had not spent much time thinking about its classification. While Sinners incorporates horror elements (it does include vampires, after all), he sees the recognition as validation of the creative risks involved rather than a statement about a specific genre of movie. He spoke about his long admiration for films that defy easy definition. And Coogler is expected to again take those genre-bending risks in his upcoming X-Files reboot.

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The filmmaker acknowledged that his previous work, includingFruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther, did not prepare audiences for a project like Sinners. He anticipated possible pushback, but found his set of collaborators were all fully on board. Filming in New Orleans required many on the team to make personal sacrifices, and Coogler said seeing that kind of dedication firsthand reinforced his belief in the quality of the work.

One of the film’s Oscar nominations is Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor nod, extending a creative partnership with Coogler that began more than a decade ago. Coogler reflected on their shared history and described seeing Jordan recognized by his peers as ‘the best feeling to have.’ Supporting nominations for Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku further highlighted the film’s ensemble strength.

Producer Sev Ohanian shared that his family surprised him before dawn on nomination morning, arriving with food and watching the announcement together. The moment added a sense of intimacy to an otherwise industry-defining event.

For Coogler, the nominations represent appreciation for the craft and individual contributions behind Sinners. But despite the obvious honor of record-breaking nominations, Coogler maintains the practical view that only one thing really matters. The most meaningful measure of success, he says, is ‘people just showing up and having a good time.’

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