Oscar 2026: Interesting and Historic Facts About the Nominations

Oscar 2026: Interesting and Historic Facts About the Nominations

The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards brought plenty of surprises, records, and historic milestones. Here’s a look at the most interesting facts and achievements from this year’s Oscar race.

 Record-Setting & Historic Milestones

• “Sinners” made Oscar history with 16 nominations, the highest number ever received by a single film.
• Emma Stone became only the second actor ever — and the first woman — to be nominated for playing an alien character.
• Ryan Coogler joined an exclusive group as just the third Black filmmaker nominated in the same year for producing, directing, and writing.
• F1 surprised many by earning a Best Picture nomination despite missing major precursor awards like the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

Studio & Franchise Stats

• Warner Bros. collected 30 nominations across three films: Sinners (16), One Battle After Another (13), and Weapons (1).
• The Jurassic World franchise returned to the Oscars for the first time since 1997.

Unique Nomination Facts

• Adam Somner received a rare posthumous nomination for One Battle After Another.
• Despite strong awards buzz, Guillermo del Toro was notably absent from the Best Director lineup.

Returning Nominees

Several actors returned to the Oscar spotlight this year, including:

• Benicio del Toro
• Sean Penn
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Kate Hudson
• Jessie Buckley
• Ethan Hawke

First-Time Nominees

Many performers celebrated their first Academy Award nominations:

• Delroy Lindo
• Wunmi Mosaku
• Renate Reinsve
• Elle Fanning
• Rose Byrne
• Wagner Moura
• Stellan Skarsgård
• Teyana Taylor

More Notable Records

• Hamnet became only the 24th film directed by a woman to receive a Best Picture nomination.
• Timothée Chalamet, at age 30, became the youngest male actor ever nominated for three acting Oscars and also earned a producing nomination.
• Steven Spielberg received his 14th Best Picture nomination.
• Emma Stone set a record as the youngest person to reach seven total Oscar nominations.
• Sentimental Value saw all four of its principal cast members nominated for acting awards.
• Chloé Zhao became only the second woman ever nominated twice for Best Director.
• Josh Safdie made an impressive Oscar debut with four nominations in one year.
• Wagner Moura became the third Brazilian performer ever nominated for an Oscar.
• Brad Pitt earned his fourth Best Picture nomination as a producer with F1.
• Both Emma Stone and Timothée Chalamet received nominations for acting and Best Picture in the same year.

Awards Season Stats

• 9 of the 10 Producers Guild Best Picture nominees also made the Oscar lineup.
• 14 of the 20 SAG acting nominees secured Oscar nominations.

Notable Snubs

Some high-profile names that missed out on nominations include:

Chase Infiniti, Amanda Seyfried, Joel Edgerton, Adam Sandler, George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, and Ariana Grande.

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Stay tuned for the Oscars ceremony to see which of these nominees take home the gold!