After a sweeping box office success, earning more than $365 million, and making Oscar history with 16 nominations, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” not only won four Academy Awards on Sunday, but continues to break barriers and make cultural waves.
“When I look back at ‘Sinners,’ the cultural significance, representation, the way it brought people together, had people determined to go watch in different formats— that’s beautiful, that’s HISTORY,” one social media user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter after this year’s 98th Academy Awards show, televised on ABC. “That’s a win for Ryan [and] the cast that cannot be quantified or voted.”
The 2025, critically acclaimed vampire film scored four Oscars, including: Michael B. Jordan earning Best Actor in a lead role; director and writer Coogler winning Best Original Screenplay; Autumn Durald Arkapaw honored for Best Cinematography; and Ludwig Goransson garnering the award Best Original Score.
These wins made history. Arkapaw is the first woman to earn an Oscar for cinematography, Coogler is the second Black man to win for original screenplay, and Jordan is only the sixth African American to win in his category at the Academy Awards.
Jordan, who played both the roles of identical twins Smoke and Stack in “Sinners,” thanked Warner Brothers, the producers and creative team for believing in Coogler’s vision. He also expressed deep gratitude to the film’s director, who has been a longtime collaborator and friend since Coogler cast Jordan as the lead in his 2013 directorial debut “Frutivale Station” (2013).
He also celebrated the Black Oscar-winning actors who paved the way for his Sunday evening achievement.
“I stand here because of the people that came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith,” said Jordan. “To be amongst those giants, amongst those great greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys, thank you everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting me over my career.”
Further, “Sinners” took center stage during the Academy Awards, as the film’s star Miles Caton performed the song “I Lied to You,” alongside other cast members and celebrated artists, such as Raphael Saadiq and D.C.’s own Shaboozey.
“I sobbed watching this,” said Riana MP on X, referencing the exciting performance, which pulls from the film and highlights the depth and breadth of Black culture. “The significance of the performance (and its existence) aside, seeing Alice Smith, Brittany Howard, and Misty Copeland (retired, and fresh off of hip surgery!!!) among the guest performers, recreating the very scene representing how culturally connected we all are, truly shook something inside of me.
