Sinners' historic Oscar breakthrough spotlights an evolved Academy
-
It’s hard not to attribute Sinners‘ record-setting nomination total as a reflection of this expanded field. A sharp rebuttal to the past two years of media cowardice and corporate reneging on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Oscars’ more diverse membership did as intended: Put the Academy more in line with the industry it’s aiming to represent and the moviegoers who watch their art. And, after all the handwringing about Ryan Coogler’s deal, Sinners was a genuine hit. It was the eighth-highest-grossing movie of 2025, and the only one in the top 10 that’s not a sequel, adaptation, or remake. An original vampire film, with a cast and creative team full of Black talent, being the movie to set this nomination record is a one-two punch for the Academy—the Oscars’ days of shunning genre movies are over, and their days of being So White are seemingly on the way out too.
