Oakland’s Own: How Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ Shattered Oscar Records and Galvanized a City
OAKLAND, CA — The dawn of the 98th Academy Award nominations on Thursday, January 22, 2026, did more than just announce a list of films; it cemented a legacy for a city and a filmmaker who has never forgotten where he came from. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a visceral, Jim Crow-era vampire epic, didn’t just lead the pack—it rewrote the history books.
With an unprecedented 16 nominations, Sinners officially became the most-nominated film in the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It surpassed the long-standing record of 14 nominations previously shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). For the “Town” of Oakland, the news was a thunderous validation of home-grown talent.
A Record-Breaking Morning
As the nominations were read out by actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman, the name Sinners became a rhythmic chant. The film secured nods in nearly every category for which it was eligible, including:
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Ryan Coogler)
- Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan, in a dual role)
- Best Supporting Actor (Delroy Lindo)
- Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku)
- Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler)
- Best Original Song (“I Lied to You” by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson)
- Best Achievement in Casting (The Academy’s newest category)
“Sixteen nominations is the most ever for any film in the history of the Academy,” said Allen Michaan, the longtime owner of Oakland’s historic Grand Lake Theatre. “It is a record. It’s thrilling for Ryan and for the whole film community here in Oakland.”
In a gesture of celebration, Michaan announced that the Grand Lake Theatre will begin a special encore screening of Sinners starting Friday. This week, the film will be shown digitally, followed by a prestigious 70 mm projection next week—a format reserved for cinematic masterpieces.
From the Gridiron to the Director’s Chair
While the world sees a blockbuster director, Rosemary Graham sees the freshman football player who sat in her creative writing class at Saint Mary’s College of California over two decades ago.
Coogler, who attended Saint Mary’s on a football scholarship, was originally eyeing a major in chemistry. However, Graham noticed something in his writing that the young athlete hadn’t yet recognized in himself.
“His writing really stood out from the beginning,” Graham recalled. “Very cinematic action, emotion, dialogue. It was all there.” It was Graham who famously told him, “I think you should go to Hollywood and write screenplays.”
The bond between the professor and her star pupil has remained unbreakable. Just last week, Coogler brought Graham as his guest to the National Board of Review Gala. During his acceptance speech, he asked her to stand, giving the retired professor a red-carpet moment that felt like a full-circle victory.
“College professors—we don’t walk the red carpet often,” Graham said with a smile. “We celebrate Ryan’s continued success and the craft, courage, and heart he brings to his films.”
The Soul of the Mississippi Delta: Delroy Lindo and Raphael Saadiq
The film’s nominations also highlighted the deep bench of Oakland-connected talent. Delroy Lindo, an Oakland resident and San Francisco State University alumnus, earned his first-ever Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Delta Slim, an alcoholic blues musician.
Lindo’s performance has been described as the “heartbeat” of the film. One of the movie’s most poignant scenes—a heartbreaking monologue about a lynching—was reportedly a sequence Lindo fought to keep in the final cut. His nomination at age 73 is being hailed by critics as one of the most deserved “overdue” honors in recent memory.
Joining him in the winner’s circle is legendary singer-songwriter and Castlemont High School alum Raphael Saadiq. Nominated for Best Original Song for the haunting blues track “I Lied to You,” Saadiq’s contribution brings the authentic sound of the Delta to Coogler’s supernatural world.
Keenan Foster, a Castlemont music teacher and former classmate of Saadiq, wasn’t surprised by the nod. “I knew in high school he was going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Foster said, recalling Saadiq’s days in the school’s “world-renowned” choir, the Castleers.
A Vision of Black History and Horror
Sinners is more than a genre flick; it is a “blues-steeped vampire epic” set in 1932 Mississippi. Starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, the film uses the supernatural to explore the very real horrors of Jim Crow-era racism.
Produced by Coogler’s wife, Zinzi Coogler, and featuring a score by longtime collaborator Ludwig Göransson, the film has been praised for its Afrofuturist elements and its deep dive into African folklore and Hoodoo traditions.
As the 2026 awards season heats up, Sinners finds itself in a tight race with Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which garnered 13 nominations. But regardless of the final count on Oscar night, March 15, the message from Oakland is clear: Ryan Coogler has already won.
