By securing 16 Academy Award nominations on Thursday morning, “Sinners,” a vampire tale that’s really an allegory about race in America, now holds the record for the most Oscar-nominated film of all time.
“Sinners” earned nominations in many of the major categories — best film, best director, best actor, and best supporting actor and actress — as well as several of the technical categories including best cinematography and the academy’s newest category, best casting. The casting category was expected to be a potential tipping point.
This unprecedented haul broke the previous three-way tie between “All About Eve” (1950), “Titanic” (1997) and “La La Land” (2016), which each had received 14 nominations.
While this triumph might seem relatively clear-cut, there is more that plays into these numbers than might be evident at first glance. Here’s a look at the previous record-holders and what has changed since.
‘All About Eve’
(Rent on most major platforms.)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s satirical masterpiece about those who make a living on the Broadway stage (based on a short story by Mary Orr) earned a staggering five acting nominations, setting a record that endures to this day: the most female acting nominees from a single film, for Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter.
While none of those women took home the statuette, George Sanders prevailed as best supporting actor, one of six Oscars that the film won including best director and best screenplay for Mankiewicz, and the night’s biggest honor, best film.
“All About Eve” was also nominated for a bevy of technical awards including best art direction in black and white, best cinematography in black and white and best costume design in black and white, winning the costume award.
You probably caught that, yes? At the time, the academy separately recognized these achievements for color films and black-and-white ones. The categories were consolidated after the 1967 ceremony, eliminating the distinction, and the chance for additional nominations.
‘Titanic’
(Stream on Netflix or Paramount+.)
James Cameron’s blockbuster epic about the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic — part disaster movie, part tragic romance — won 11 of the 14 Oscars it was up for including best picture and best director. That feat put the film in rarefied territory as one of the most Oscar-winning movies of all time, tied with “Ben-Hur” (1959) and joined a few years later by “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003).
Perhaps surprisingly, of those 14 nominations, only two were in acting categories: Kate Winslet for best actress and Gloria Stuart for best supporting actress. Neither won.
“Titanic” also benefited from nominations in two sound categories, sound effects editing and sound (for the mix), winning both. It’s a distinction that was eliminated in 2020, when the academy announced that these categories would be combined into one Oscar for best achievement in sound. It was a welcome development for voters who couldn’t tell the difference. It also helped streamline the telecast (slightly), a win for ABC. But for filmmakers, it made the path to nominations glory more difficult.
‘La La Land’
(Rent on most major platforms.)
Damien Chazelle’s romantic musical “La La Land” mimics “Titanic” to some degree. Of its 14 nominations, only two were in performing categories: Ryan Gosling for best actor and Emma Stone for best actress, with Stone triumphing.
Chazelle also won for best director, but the film, while nominated for best picture, did not win (despite a jaw-dropping mix-up on the telecast).
Perhaps most important, like “Titanic,” “La La Land” was nominated in both sound-category awards and won both, raising its total to six Oscars.
Maya Salam is an editor and reporter, focusing primarily on pop culture across genres.
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