The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or, the Oscars, officially announced their picks for the films and artists who will battle it out for coveted and prestigious accolades at the 97th Academy Awards to be held on March 16, 2026. Ryan Coogler's soul music-infused vampire epic 'Sinners' made history by becoming the first motion picture to net a whopping 16 nominations.
Paul Thomas Anderson's political black comedy 'One Battle After Another' and auteur Josh Safide's sports caper 'Marty Supreme' also topped the lists, among many other notable films.
Neeraj Ghaywan's emotional drama 'Homebound', which was India's official entry to the Oscars was unable to secure a nomination.
NDTV Profit covers the major categories and their respective nominations:
Best Picture
'One Battle After Another', 'Sinners', 'Marty Supreme', 'Hamnet', 'Bugonia' and 'Frankenstein' recieved this nomination along with 'The Secret Agent', 'Sentimental Value', 'F1' and 'Train Dreams'. Sinners surpassed previous titans in this category such as James Cameron's 'Titanic' and Damien Chazelle's 'La La Land' with its 16 nominations, the film is closely followed by the satirical tour-de-force 'One Battle After Another' sitting at 13 nominations.
Best Actor In A Leading Role
Micheal B Jordon of 'Creed', 'Black Panther' and 'The Wire' fame was nominated for his double role as the twins 'Smoke and Stack' whose efforts to establish a juke joint for the local black community in 1930s Mississippi attract the unwanted attentions of vampires and something much worse — racists.
Veteran film star Leonardo DiCaprio who has starred in notable projects helmed by Hollywood giants such as Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino and now Anderson was nominated for his role as a washed-up revolutionary in 'One Battle After Another'.
Ethan Hawke of 'Before Sunrise' fame teamed up once again with director Richard Linklater to essay the role of real life Broadway icon Lorenz Hart in the 'Blue Moon'.
Timothy Chalamet's turn as the titular 'Marty Supreme', a conniving and ambitious ping pong player in Josh Safdie's film of the same name also netted him a nomination.
Wagner Moura also made history as the first Brazilian to be nominated in the category in political thriller 'The Secret Agent'.
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Best Actress In A Leading Role
Emma Stone's performance as the kidnapped pharma exec who is seemingly at the mercy of conspiracy theorists who are convinced she is an alien in 'Bugonia', netted her the nomination in the prestigious category.
Rose Byrne's was nominated for her turn as a psychotherapist trying to keep her head above water in a sea of stress brought upon by a series of unfortunate circumstances in the aptly titled 'If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You'.
Jessie Buckley was nominated for her role as Agnes Shakespeare (commonly known as Anne Hathaway), the wife of seminal playwright William Shakespeare in the film 'Hamnet' which deals with the couple's loss of their son of the same name.
Renate Reinsev earned her seat at the awards table with her performance as an actress who deals with familial bonds and trauma in Sentimental Value.
Kate Hudson was nominated for her performance as 'Thunder' the one half of a Neil Diamon Tribute Band who are the focus of the film 'Song Sung Blue'.
Best Director
Coogler was given his flowers with his nomination for best director for 'Sinners', while Oscar darling Anderson who has had 11 nominations across his career was once again selected for 'One Battle After Another', despite his films 'There Will Be Blood' and 'Phantom Thread' winning Oscars in different categories, Anderson is yet to win one for Best Director.
Chloe Zhao was also given her due recognition with a nomination in the category for Hamnet, after making prominent and acclaimed independent films and helming the Marvel superhero film Eternals. Josh Safide who recently split with his brother Benny Safdie who had both collaborated on crime capers like 'Uncut Gems' also received a nomination in this category.
Joachim Trier known for acclaimed films such as 'The Worst Person In The World' also earned a nomination in the category.
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