Oscars 2026: Surprising facts about the nominees

LOS ANGELES — From nearly a dozen first-time nominees to several records broken, there were many standout moments during the 2026 Oscar nominations announcement on Thursday.

FULL LIST: Nominations for the 2026 Oscars

Here’s a look at some of the surprising facts about the nominees for the 98th annual Academy Awards.

‘Sinners’ leads the 2026 Oscar nominees

Ryan Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” led all films with 16 nominations, setting a record for the most in Oscar history.

This breaks the 14-nomination mark set by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”

Paul Thomas Anderson’s father-daughter revolutionary saga “One Battle After Another,” the favorite coming into nominations, trailed in second with 13 of its own.

Timothée Chalamet comes out on top

The nine nods for “Marty Supreme” included a third Best Actor nod for Timothée Chalamet, the favorite in the category he narrowly missed winning last year for “A Complete Unknown.”

With this nomination, he’s now the youngest actor since Marlon Brando, and the second youngest overall, to receive a third nomination for actor in a leading role.

He previously earned nods for best actor in 2018 for “Call Me By Your Name” and in 2025 for “A Complete Unknown.”

A history making moment

Another notable record was for costume designer Ruth E. Carter, whose fifth Oscar nomination for “Sinners” makes her the most nominated Black woman in Oscar history across any category, according to Variety.

Carter has won two Oscars in her career for achievement in costume design. Her first was in 2019 for “Black Panther,” and her second was in 2023 for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

New class of first-time nominees

Nominations for this year’s Oscars welcomed a new class of first-time nominees.

This includes Rose Byrne, Jacob Elordi, Elle Fanning, Michael B. Jordan, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Delroy Lindo, Wagner Moura, Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard and Teyana Taylor, among others.

Will this be her year?

For a ninth year in a row, prolific songwriter Diane Warren has been nominated for Best Original Song.

This year’s accolade honors “Dear Me” from the documentary “Diane Warren: Relentless,” and marks her 17th Oscar nomination.

While she’s yet to win the coveted statuette from her many nominations, Warren was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2022 for her body of work and contribution to the film industry.

A ‘Golden’ moment for K-pop

Popular Netflix film “KPop Demon Hunters” made history on Thursday when the hit song “Golden” became the first song in the K-pop genre to ever be nominated for an Oscar.

The film also received a nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

Steven Spielberg breaks a record

Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who co-produced “Hamnet,” has broken the record for an individual producer with his 14th nomination for Best Picture.

The 98th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will be televised live on ABC and Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

ABC News, “Good Morning America” and The Associated Press contributed to this report.