Will "One Battle..." or "Sinners" Tie or Break Oscar Records?

by Nathaniel R

Can One Battle After Another defeat the Oscar Nomination Champs?

When France's Spanish-language trans musical Emilia Perez scored 13 nominations last January I felt an impending dread. The dread spoketh so... "If even this bizarre and divisive non-Hollywood film nearly broke the all time nomination record (14), then it's only a matter of time before it falls!" This is a terrifying development for those of us who cherish the spreading of wealth. If you love more than one or two movies a year it's downright heartbreaking. To date in Oscar's nearly century-long history, only three films have scored 14 nominations across available Oscar categories: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). This season honoring the films of 2025 One Battle After Another and Sinners will try to join or surpass them. The first new category in ages (Casting) could help them match or break that record. But will they pull it off?

Since we've just updated every single Oscar chart with late December predictions, it seems like the ideal time to investigate. Let's do that after the jump...

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“OBAA” stays on top but “Sinners” is on the rise

by Cláudio Alves

SINNERS is gaining steam and catching up. | © Warner Bros.

It’s been two weeks since our last update on regional critics prizes and other such organizations. Much has happened in the meantime, though One Battle After Another remains the frontrunner with the most wins. And yet, Sinners is starting to show some strength. So far, Coogler’s southern gothic vampire proto-musical mélange is the only film to take Best Picture honors away from PTA’s latest. That’s not to say these are the only choices on voters’ minds. In a season already full of repetition, when notions of “spreading the wealth” are thoroughly repudiated, the runner-up mentions often tell a more interesting story than the winners' list. Just look at the LAFCA…

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The Golden Globe Nominations are here!

by Eric Blume

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER leads the pack with nine Globe nominations. | © Warner Bros.

The 83rd Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, and, despite a few clunkers, I'm going to give a HOT TAKE and say that, overall, these nominations are pretty fantastic. It'll be interesting to see how Oscar voters screw them up! But then, I'll go out on a limb with another HOT TAKE and say that, often, the Globes do better than Oscar wins for Brokeback Mountain, The Social Network, The Power of the Dog, Colin Ferrell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, etc. Let's take a look category by category...

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Eligible Original Songs & Scores for the 98th Oscars

by Nathaniel R

Both of the following massive lists will be narrowed down to fifteen contenders on December 16 when the Academy reveals the shortlists in all the categories that use multiple ballots. But for now all the composers can all imagine golden statues in their future...

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Critics Choice Voters All Infected By "Sinners"

by Nathaniel R

SINNERS

As a voting member, despite my votes rarely being reflected in nominations, it is my duty to share the annual Critics Choice Award Nominations. As is increasingly the case in modern awards voting, hardly a problem unique to the CCAs, there is far less spread the wealth than there use to be. I believe this is an unintended consequence of expanded Best Picture lists which theoretically narrow voters ideas about a) what they should watch and b) what they should vote for without "wasting" their precious few ballot spots. This year FOUR pictures had double digit nominations with Ryan Coogler's genre hopping vampire picture Sinners scoring 17 (gulp) nominations, just one shy of Barbie's all time record (18). One Battle After Another was in second place with 14 nominations. 

Anyway let's get to the nominations, some commentary, and a few Oscar punditry notes, too.... 

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