Warner Bros’s acclaimed films, Sinners and One Battle After Another, are set to lead this year’s Oscar nominations. The Academy will announce its final contenders on Thursday.
Both films are expected to receive more than a dozen nominations each. Categories include Best Picture, Best Actor, and the new Best Casting award. Experts say Warner Bros’s rare position with two frontrunners highlights the studio’s success this awards season.
This could be Warner Bros’s swansong year as an independent distributor. The studio is currently the focus of a bidding war involving Paramount, Skydance, and Netflix. Despite challenges at its parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, the studio has enjoyed a banner year, favoring original films over sequels.
Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler of Black Panther fame, is a blues-inflected period horror film set in the segregated South. Michael B. Jordan stars as twins fighting vampires and racists. The film is tipped for nominations in acting, screenplay, and music. Awards expert Clayton Davis noted that Sinners could break the record for most nominations by a single film.
Meanwhile, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another has dominated awards circuits. The thriller follows a retired revolutionary searching for his daughter amidst violence and political unrest. Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to earn his seventh Best Actor nomination.
The Academy has also introduced a Best Casting award this year. Warner Bros’s careful selection of actors in both Sinners and One Battle After Another could make them contenders for this new category.
Other studios, like Netflix and Paramount, have fewer clear frontrunners. Netflix hopes for nominations with films like Frankenstein and KPop Demon Hunters, while Paramount’s awards prospects are limited this season.
The Oscar nominations will be revealed Thursday at 5:30 a.m. local time in Los Angeles. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for March 15. Warner Bros’s success this year shows the studio’s continued influence in Hollywood, even amid corporate challenges.
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