Sunday Scaries: Horror is About to Have an All-Time Showing at Next Week’s Academy Awards

The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we’re again looking at the incredible showing horror is about to have at the Academy Awards…

A week from today, the Academy Awards are being held. There, we could see for the first time in decades, a horror film win Best Picture. Ryan Coogler‘s Sinners broke the all-time record for Oscar nominations (detailed in a previous Sunday Scaries here), which alone is incredible for a genre picture. Now, the movie has closed the gap in Picture, potentially being about to pull the upset over One Battle After Another.

Even beyond the big category, Sinners looks like it could end up possibly taking an Acting category as well. That includes an almost assured win for Coogler in Best Original Screenplay. Below the line, the flick has a few wins in its back pocket, making for a situation where it will more than likely end up as the most awarded title on Oscar night.

Back when Sinners first came out, I wrote here about its early Oscar chances. That article quoted my rave review here, which included the following musing about potential awards:

In a just world, Sinners would be an Oscar contender above and below the line. Now, being an early year release, as well as being an expensive film that may struggle to make back its money, will prove challenging. Still, the movie should be up for Best Picture, Best Director/Best Original Screenplay for Coogler, Best Actor for Jordan, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and the newest category of Best Casting. Yes, the flick is just that good.

Well, it did all of that and more. The Academy Awards are going to recognize the film, a horror title, with statues above and below the line. The Silence of the Lambs has been the gold standard for how horror could do at the Oscars. Without question, in a week, Sinners is going to be in that exact same breath.

Beyond Sinners, Weapons did score a Best Supporting Actress nomination, and Amy Madigan could easily end up winning. She’s the other big horror Oscar night hope, though The Ugly Stepsister did also get nominated in Best Makeup & Hairstyling. The genre showed out with nominations, and now, led by Sinners (and to a lesser degree, Weapons), it’s hoping to do the same with the actual winners.

If you’re a horror fan, this is a great time. A week from now, we’ll see how Sinners and company fares, but it’s a good time to love the genre. Last year, The Substance felt like a real Oscar breakthrough. Now, Sinners, with a little help from Weapons, has really thrown open the door. Consider what might be next? What an exciting prospect!

Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!