Nominations Announced For The 26th Annual Black Reel Awards
'Sinners' Leads With 21 Nominations
The 26th Annual Black Reel Awards nominations were led by Sinners, which dominated the field with a record-setting 21 nominations across nearly every major category, including Outstanding Film, Director, Lead Performance, Supporting Performance, Screenplay, Ensemble, Score, and multiple craft and music honors. Ryan Coogler’s film earned nominations for Michael B. Jordan in Lead Performance, with supporting nods for Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo, and Wunmi Mosaku, alongside recognition for its soundtrack, original songs, costume design, editing, production design, and hair and makeup. Other top contenders included Highest 2 Lowest with 11 nominations, 40 Acres and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl with nine each, One of Them Days with eight, and Hedda with six, underscoring a strong year for Black-led storytelling across film, performance, and behind-the-camera categories.
Below is the complete list of the 26th Annual Black Reel Awards nominees, organized by film/project with individual nominees.
Sinners (21 nominations)
Outstanding Film
Producers: Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler
Outstanding Director
Ryan Coogler
Outstanding Lead Performance
Michael B. Jordan
Outstanding Supporting Performance
Miles Caton
Delroy Lindo
Wunmi Mosaku
Outstanding Screenplay
Ryan Coogler
Outstanding Ensemble
Casting Director: Francine Maisler
Outstanding Score
Ludwig Göransson
Outstanding Original Song
“I Lied to You” – Miles Caton (performer); Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson (writers)
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” – Miles Caton, Alice Smith (performers/writers)
“Pale, Pale Moon” – Brittany Howard (performer/writer); Ludwig Göransson (writer)
“Sinners” – Rod Wave (performer); Darius Povillunas, Kyris D’Asia, Rod Wave, Tarkan Kozluklu (writers)
Outstanding Soundtrack
Sinners
Outstanding Costume Design
Ruth E. Carter
Outstanding Editing
Michael P. Shawver
Outstanding Hair & Makeup
Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Sian Richards, Shunika Terry
Outstanding Production Design
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne
Highest 2 Lowest (11 nominations)
Outstanding Film
Producers: Todd Black, Jason Michael Berman
Outstanding Director
Spike Lee
Outstanding Lead Performance
Denzel Washington
Outstanding Supporting Performance
A$AP Rocky
Jeffrey Wright
Outstanding Ensemble
Casting Director: Kim Coleman
Outstanding Score
Howard Drossin
Outstanding Original Song
“Highest 2 Lowest” – Aiyana-Lee Anderson (performer); Aiyana-Lee Anderson, Nicole Daciana Anderson (writers)
Outstanding Soundtrack
Highest 2 Lowest
Outstanding Costume Design
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
40 Acres (9 nominations)
Outstanding Lead Performance
Danielle Deadwyler
Outstanding Director
R.T. Thorne
Outstanding Screenplay
R.T. Thorne
Outstanding Ensemble
Casting Director: Stephanie Gorin
Outstanding Independent Film
40 Acres
Outstanding Costume Design
Charlene Akuamoah
Outstanding Hair & Makeup
Antonio Hines, Chancelle Mulela
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (9 nominations)
Outstanding Director
Rungano Nyoni
Outstanding Screenplay
Rungano Nyoni
Outstanding Ensemble
Casting Director: Isabella Odoffin
Outstanding International Film
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Susan Chardy
Outstanding First Screenplay
Rungano Nyoni
Outstanding Costume Design
Estelle Don Banda
One of Them Days (8 nominations)
Outstanding Film
Producers: Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, Sara Rastogi, James Lopez, Poppy Hank
Outstanding Lead Performance
Keke Palmer
Outstanding Screenplay
Syreeta Singleton
Outstanding Ensemble
Casting Directors: Nicole Abellera, Jeanne McCarthy
Outstanding Soundtrack
One of Them Days
Outstanding Hair & Makeup
Vonda K. Morris, Nikki Wright
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
SZA
Hedda (6 nominations)
Outstanding Film
Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Gabrielle Nadig, Nia DaCosta, Tessa Thompson
Outstanding Director
Nia DaCosta
Outstanding Lead Performance
Tessa Thompson
Outstanding Screenplay
Nia DaCosta
Outstanding Score
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Outstanding Production Design
Cara Brower, Stella Fox
Wicked: For Good
Outstanding Film
Producers: Marc Platt, David Stone
Outstanding Lead Performance
Cynthia Erivo
Outstanding Soundtrack
Wicked: For Good
Outstanding Production Design
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sanders
Outstanding Costume Design
Paul Tazewell
Documentary Films
Outstanding Documentary
Being Eddie – Angus Wall
In Whose Name? – Nico Ballesteros
Orwell: 2+2=5 – Raoul Peck
Songs From the Hole – Contessa Gayles
The Perfect Neighbor – Geeta Gandbhir
Outstanding Independent Documentary
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions – Kahlil Joseph
The Eyes of Ghana – Ben Proudfoot
Fatherless No More – Kayla Johnson
Seeds – Brittany Shyne
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe – Fred Kudjo Kuwornu
Short Film and Emerging Categories
Outstanding Short Film
The Devil Is Busy – Geeta Gandbhir, Christalyn Hampton
JULES – Tiffany Abney
Walk in the Light – Princella Smith
Outstanding Emerging Director
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Rachael Holder – Love, Brooklyn
Kahlil Joseph – BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres
Outstanding First Screenplay
The Knife – Nnamdi Asomugha
My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Rungano Nyoni
One of Them Days – Syreeta Singleton
40 Acres – R.T. Thorne
Outstanding Cinematography
My Father’s Shadow – Jermaine Canute, Bradley Edwards
HIM – Kira Kelly
After the Hunt – Malik Hassan Sayeed
Seeds – Brittany Shyne
Sinners pulling 21 nominations is wild - last year I watched a similar situation where one film swept but what really caught my attention here is the spread acros craft categories. The fact that Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler are both nominated alongside the headline names shows how much vertical integration exists in Coogler's creative team. What's interesting tho is how Highest 2 Lowest managed 11 noms without the same level of ensemble buzz, which might signal somethign about how the academy is valuing director-driven narratives differently this cycle.