All the ways that ‘Sinners,’ Emma Stone could make Oscar history

Patrick Ryan, USA TODAYFri, March 13, 2026 at 12:46 PM UTC

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It’s shaping up to be an Oscars for the history books.

Going into the ceremony on March 15 (ABC and Hulu, 7 p.m. ET/4 PT), “Sinners” is the most-nominated movie ever with a whopping 16 nominations − besting “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land," all of which had 14.

“The Secret Agent” star Wagner Moura is the first Brazilian man to be nominated for best actor, while Steven Spielberg extends his record as the most-nominated producer ever with 14, thanks to the best picture nod for Shakespeare family drama “Hamnet.”

Here’s how other actors and filmmakers could make history at this year’s Academy Awards, which will once again be hosted by Conan O’Brien.

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Michael B. Jordan

If Jordan wins best actor for his dual roles in "Sinners," he'll become just the sixth Black man to win the Oscars' best actor trophy. He would join Will Smith ("King Richard"), Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"), Jamie Foxx ("Ray"), Denzel Washington ("Training Day"), and Sidney Poitier ("Lilies of the Field"), who became the first Black man to win a competitive Oscar in 1964.

Emma Stone

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Stone, 37, continues to blaze a historic trail. With best picture nominee “Bugonia,” Stone now bests Meryl Streep as the youngest woman to earn seven Oscar nominations. She has received five total acting nominations for “Bugonia,” “The Favourite,” “Birdman,” “La La Land” and “Poor Things,” winning best actress for the latter two. She also received best picture nods as a producer on “Bugonia” and “Poor Things.”

Streep, for the record, was 38 when she achieved the milestone. The three-time Oscar winner has garnered the most nominations of any actor in history with 21, most recently for “The Post” in 2018.

Sean Penn

Penn, like Stone, is a two-time Oscar winner for “Milk” and “Mystic River,” and he is heavily predicted to take a third for best supporting actor for “One Battle After Another.” If he or Stone win, they would join an elite crew of just seven actors who have won numerous acting Oscars: Katharine Hepburn, who has four; and Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep, Frances McDormand, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan, all of whom have three.

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Amy Madigan

Should Madigan, 75, win best supporting actress for playing witch-next-door Aunt Gladys, she'll set a new record for the longest amount of time between an actress' first Oscar nomination and first win (40 years), a milestone previously marked by Geraldine Page (32 years). Madigan received her first Oscar nomination in 1986 for "Twice in a Lifetime."

The "Weapons" star would also become the second-oldest recipient of the supporting actress award. She would best Josephine Hull, who was 74 when she won for 1950's "Harvey," but still trail Peggy Ashcroft, who was 77 when she took home the gold for 1984's "A Passage to India."

Stellan Skarsgård

Stellan Skarsgård poses for a portrait in New York.

Next to Madigan, Skarsgård is the oldest of this year's acting nominees at 74. But should the "Sentimental Value" patriarch win best supporting actor, he would still only be the sixth oldest man to triumph in the category. Christopher Plummer was 82 when he won for "Beginners," followed by other victors George Burns (80), Melvyn Douglas (79), John Gielgud and Don Ameche (both 77).

Timothée Chalamet

Chalamet, 30, could become the second-youngest person to win best actor if he clinches the prize for "Marty Supreme." Adrien Brody still holds the record for 2003's "The Pianist," which he won when he was 29. The oldest best actor winner, meanwhile, is Anthony Hopkins, who was 83 when he prevailed for "The Father" in 2021.

Ryan Coogler for “Sinners”

Including Coogler, only seven Black men have ever been nominated for best director, although none have ever won: Jordan Peele (“Get Out”), Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”), Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”), Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), Lee Daniels (“Precious”), and John Singleton (“Boyz N the Hood”).

Two of those movies, “Moonlight” and “12 Years a Slave,” won best picture, although Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”) and Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity”) took home best director in their respective years. If Coogler wins the category, he’ll be the first Black director to ever do so.

'The Secret Agent' and 'Sentimental Value'

Wagner Moura in "The Secret Agent."

The Oscar best picture nominees are also neck and neck for best international feature film, with both movies picking up multiple precursor prizes this season. If "The Secret Agent" wins, it'll become Brazil's second movie to take best international feature after last year's "I'm Still Here." And if "Sentimental Value" triumphs, it will be the first movie from Norway to claim the category.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Ruth E. Carter from 'Sinners'

Only four women have ever been nominated for best cinematography in the Oscars' 98-year history, and none have ever won. That could change this weekend if Arkapaw pulls out a victory for her work on Southern vampire thriller “Sinners.”

Carter, meanwhile, is the most winning Black woman in Oscar history with two trophies for best costume design for “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” She would extend her record if she wins a third this Sunday for “Sinners.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oscar history could be made if ‘Sinners,’ Michael B. Jordan win

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