Sinners leads the charge into the most competitive Oscars race in years, and for once, nobody in Hollywood is pretending to know how it ends.
The 98th Academy Awards take place March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with Conan O’Brien back at the helm for his second consecutive year as host. Coverage kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu, with the main ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The show runs roughly three hours and reaches viewers across more than 200 territories worldwide.
O’Brien’s debut last year landed well — he kept the energy up without making the evening about himself, which is precisely the kind of hosting the Academy wants more of. His return is a vote of confidence in that approach.
Sinners Makes Oscars History With 16 Nominations
No film arrived at this year’s ceremony with more momentum — or more hardware on the line — than Sinners. Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, the film earned 16 nominations, a new record that breaks the previous high of 14 shared by Titanic, All About Eve, and La La Land. Sinners is in contention for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, among others.
Standing in its way is One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film built quiet, consistent support throughout awards season, earning praise from critics groups and a strong showing at the Directors Guild. That kind of institutional backing has historically been a reliable predictor of Oscar night success.
The Best Picture field is rounded out by Hamnet, Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, Train Dreams, Bugonia, F1, Sentimental Value, and The Secret Agent — ten films total, each with a legitimate claim to the night.
The Sinners Acting Races Have Real Stakes
Michael B. Jordan leads a stacked Best Actor category for Sinners, with a recent Actors Award win giving him a late surge of momentum. His competition includes Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.
Best Actress features Emma Stone for Bugonia, Jessie Buckley for Hamnet, Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, and Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value.
Best Supporting Actor contenders include Benicio del Toro, Jacob Elordi, Delroy Lindo, Sean Penn, and Stellan Skarsgård. Best Supporting Actress nominees are Elle Fanning, Wunmi Mosaku, Teyana Taylor, Amy Madigan, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.
A New Category Makes Its Oscars Debut
This year’s ceremony introduces Best Casting for the first time in the Academy’s history — a long-overdue recognition for the casting directors who shape every film from the ground up. It is a category the industry has pushed for over many years, and its arrival feels well-timed given how central ensemble-building has been to this year’s strongest films. The nominees are Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners, and The Secret Agent.
A Presenter Lineup Built for the Moment
The stage will see Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paul Mescal, Adrien Brody, Zoe Saldaña, Chris Evans, Javier Bardem, and Demi Moore all taking the mic throughout the night. Brody presents Best Actor while Mikey Madison handles Best Actress — two presenters with fresh Oscar history of their own, which adds a layer of weight to both moments.
Best Picture closes the show, as it always does. The gap between Sinners and One Battle After Another has narrowed sharply in the final days, and neither side is treating anything as guaranteed. Both films represent something real about what cinema produced in 2025 — and Sunday night will decide which story Hollywood tells first.
