'Sinners' Will Rule On Oscar Night. Here's Why It Already Won.

"Moviegoers often look to the Academy Awards to validate our choices. This year's Oscar nominations show it's the other way around. Ryan Coogler's Sinners debuted back in April, which is about as far as you can get from Oscar season without crossing over into the previous one. Usually, the latter months of the year is when studios distribute their more ambitious and challenging fare, hoping that the relentless promenade of red carpets and award ceremonies pique the curiosity of moviegoers."

"Sinnersa phantasmagoria that blended monster folktales, roots music, social justice commentary and, let's face it, full-blooded sexinesswas already a box office powerhouse and pop culture touchstone by the time it collected a leading 16 nominations on Thursday. This shatters the previous record of 14, held by a trio of films separated by many decades: 1950's All About Eve, 1997's Titanic and 2016's La La Land. It took a long time to do better than that, but Sinners demonstrates excellence across the board, and if Coogler and his compatriots don't walk out of the Dolby Theatre on March 15 with armloads of little gold men, something will have gone drastically wrong."

"I don't expect Sinners to sweep, since Academy voters do like to spread the wealth and bestow statuettes on others films they admired, but I have no doubt that it will be leading again on Oscar night, just as it has on nominations morning. Best Pictureguaranteed. Best Director for Cooglerwithout doubt. Best Original Screenplay, also for Cooglervery likely. Best Original Songum no, that's going to Golden from KPop Demon Hunters."

Academy Awards nominations followed audience enthusiasm rather than setting it this season. Ryan Coogler's Sinners premiered in April and became a box-office and cultural phenomenon well before awards season. Sinners blends monster folktales, roots music, social justice commentary and sexuality, and earned a record 16 nominations, surpassing All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land. The film demonstrates excellence across multiple categories, making Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay likely. The Oscars may still distribute awards among other admired films, and Best Original Song appears poised for Golden from KPop Demon Hunters.

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