The 98th Academy Awards could be a record-breaking night.
Several records have already been claimed by the 2026 Oscar nominees.
Horror-action film “Sinners” leads with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including best picture, best director for Ryan Coogler and best actor for Michael B. Jordan.
The previous record for most Oscar nominations, with 14, was a three-way tie between “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”
Also breaking nomination records is Emma Stone, with two 2026 nominations — best picture for producing and best actress for her performance in “Bugonia” — which makes her the youngest woman and second-youngest person in Oscar history to rack up seven nominations.
And with her nomination for directing “Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao became the second woman ever to earn multiple Oscar nominations for best director. In 2021, she made history as the first woman of color — and only the second woman ever — to win the award for “Nomadland.”
Here are six potential record-breaking wins to watch for at the 2026 Academy Awards.
These records are ready to be broken at the Oscars
Most film wins ever could go to ‘Sinners’
Three films are currently tied for the record of most Oscars, with 11 wins each — “Ben-Hur,” “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.”
With a record-breaking 16 nominations, “Sinners” leads the 2026 Oscars with the most potential to break that record during Sunday night’s ceremony.
On the heels of “Sinners” with 13 nominations is the action-drama film “One Battle After Another,” capturing nods for best picture and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson as well as four acting nominations for Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.
At 13 noms, “One Battle After Another” is less likely to break the mega record, but carries potential to.
Timothée Chalamet could become second-youngest best actor winner
Heading into the 2026 Oscars, Timothée Chalamet has already made history as the youngest man to ever receive three best actor nominations — for “Call Me By Your Name,” “A Complete Unknown” and “Marty Supreme.”
If Chalamet wins the best actor Oscar on Sunday night for his performance as a table tennis protégé in “Marty Supreme,” he will become the second-youngest winner in the category at 30, behind Adrien Brody, who was 29 when he won for “The Pianist” in 2003.
Chalamet entered awards season as a front-runner in the category, winning the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award. He later lost out on the BAFTA and SAG awards to Michael B. Jordan, who won for “Sinners” — weakening Chalamet’s chances at the Oscar.
Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter all predict Michael B. Jordan will take the win.
Ryan Coogler could earn historic best director win
Ryan Coogler, director of “Sinners,” could become the first Black filmmaker to win the best director Oscar.
He is only the seventh Black nominee in the category, following Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Lee Daniels and John Singleton.
To take home the Oscar, Coogler will have to surpass Paul Thomas Anderson, director of “One Battle After Another,” who has dominated award seasons with best director wins at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, BAFTAS and DGA Awards.
An eighth actor could join the 3-timers club
Either Sean Penn or Emma Stone — or potentially both — could join the exclusive three-time Oscars club, a group of seven performers who have each won three awards.
Stone is entering the Oscars with two nominations, best picture for producing and best actress for her performance in “Bugonia,” bringing her total nominations to seven and making her the second-youngest person in Oscar history to reach that number.
Penn is up for best supporting actor award for his role in “One Battle After Another,” a performance that has already earned him wins at the BAFTAs and SAG awards.
The three-time Oscars club includes seven performers: Katharine Hepburn — the only performer with four acting wins — followed by Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Frances McDormand, Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep.
Chloé Zhao could earn record-breaking best director win
If Chloé Zhao wins the best director Oscar for “Hamnet,” she will become the first woman ever to win twice in that category, after her first win for “Nomadland” in 2021.
She previously made history at the Golden Globes, becoming the first woman to win best director twice.
“Sometimes a first feels like a long time coming,” Zhao told press after her historic win, per The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m sure there are many others before me that deserve the same recognition. I just love what I do, I just really love it. If this means more people like me get to live their dream and get to do what I do, I’m happy.”
First K-pop song to win Oscar
No K-pop song has ever won an Oscar — but “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” could be the first.
The animated Netflix movie, which has amassed a record-breaking 236 million views, is nominated for a best animated feature and best original song for “Golden.”
“Golden” has already won several awards this season, including a Golden Globe for best original song and a Grammy for best song written for visual media.
“When I was a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to fulfill one dream, to become a K-pop idol, and I was rejected and disappointed that my voice wasn’t good enough,” EJAE, one of the songwriters behind the track, said in her Golden Globes acceptance speech.
She continued, “So, I leaned on songs and music to get through it. So now I’m here as a singer and a songwriter.”
When are the 2026 Academy Awards?
The 98th annual Academy Awards will air live on March 15 at 5 p.m. MDT on ABC and streaming on Hulu. The award show will be hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien for the second consecutive year.
O’Brien said audiences can expect “a lot of magic” at the upcoming Oscar show.
“There’ll be some explosions, CGI will be used. I see this second Oscars as an opportunity to take things up a notch,” he told ABC.
He added, “Early on, you just generate possibilities for the show: ‘What might we do?’ You have to wait and see which movies are nominated, what’s in the zeitgeist, so there’ll be a lot of ideas that come in late. Sometimes those are the best ideas.”