Ryan Coogler feels ‘really fortunate’ for Sinners’ record-breaking Oscar nominations

Ryan Coogler feels “really fortunate” that Sinners has become the most-nominated movie of all time at the Academy Awards.

The 39-year-old filmmaker’s 2025 vampire-thriller has been put forward for a whopping 16 honors at The 98th Academy Awards - including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Music - and Coogler has now reflected on Sinners making Oscars history.

Speaking with Variety, he said: “I was very impressed by everything that my collaborators were doing every day, so I’m so happy that everybody got recognized by their peers.

“Obviously, I’m biased. I think these folks I work with are some of the best in the world. I feel really fortunate. Because it doesn’t always go that way.”

The director’s wife Zinzi Coogler - who served as a co-producer on Sinners alongside her husband and Sev Ohanian - added she didn’t know if the movie’s Academy Awards success had “truly settled in yet”.

She added: “We’re still trying to catch our bearings. Like, literally for any morning, it’s so early. But what an insane honor.”

The Black Panther filmmaker recalled the moment he heard Sinners had been nominated for 16 awards.

He said: “I turned on YouTube when I woke up. Me and Zinzi sleep in the same room, so it was like, ‘Hey, get up.’ Very similar to how it’s been for 20-something years.

“It was no different from when we were in New Orleans or on other movies. It was nice to roll over and turn on YouTube. We were up late last night working, so we’re still waking up.

“We’re all in California, and we’ve gotta take the kids to school. But Sev, you say what happened with you, bro.”

Ohanian added: “At 5:15 a.m., my doorbell rang. ‘Ding Dong.’ My parents and my sister were like, ‘Hey, we brought food.’ So I got a chance to watch it with the family. It was awesome.”

Sinners has also made history as the first movie helmed by an Armenian American to be nominated for Best Picture, and Ohanian is “beyond honored” for the recognition.

He said: “Man, that’s the first time I heard that spoken out loud. Wow. That’s not a statistic I was tracking. I’m beyond honored and to have done it with Ryan and Zinzi, my collaborators, my friends, my partners.

“At our company, Proximity, we value telling stories about people who are often overlooked, and from different cultures.

“When I read the Sinners screenplay over a year ago, I called Ryan to talk about how I felt, as an Armenian, connected to the storyline.

“It’s so specific to Ryan and Zinzi’s ancestors, and a time in American history, but I related to it through my own people.”

Sinners has also been nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Michael B. Jordan), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Delroy Lindo) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Wunmi Mosaku).

Alongside Sinners, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme have found success at The 98th Academy Awards - being put forward for 13 and nine accolades, respectively.