'Sinners' and Ryan Coogler won something deeper

Put a cold-blooded spin on it and “Sinners” is now the biggest loser in Oscars history, ceding 12 of its 16 record-breaking nominations to other films.But Ryan Coogler still won the night.In another year, I might have said “Sinners” lost to “rivals” or “competitors.” But on Sunday, anyone with an ego got swatted on the nose.

Last year’s best actor, Adrien Brody, made amends for flinging chewing gum at his wife by swallowing a fresh wad of it (and his pride).Meanwhile, this year’s thirstiest aspirant, Timothée Chalamet, sat in the front row and gamely took his lumps as the only contender who got repeatedly roasted, including an awkward gag when the band wheeled out a “Marty Supreme”-style “bum drum” that stood in for his public spanking.The dominant mood was gratitude.

Victors went beyond checking off a list of hastily scrawled names to thanking entire categories of people: women, ancestors, Koreans, audiences.Coogler was the ambassador of generous vibes, flashing the ASL sign for “I love you” to his colleagues and presenting a united front with the evening’s other dominant figure, “One Battle After Another’s” Paul Thomas Anderson, suggesting that it’s less important which quality movie wins than that more quality movies get made in the first place.

Awards The 2026 Oscars aired Sunday from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood as ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ squared off for the top prize.One of the many things I admire about “Sinners” is its acknowledgment that artists, dreamers and visionaries like Coogler still have to exist within a system they might disagree with, possibly even hate.

Michael B.Jordan’s identical twins Smoke and Stack have the “grown-men money” to purchase the property for their juke joint in full.

But the brothers’ cash goes straight into the pocket of the Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan, who more than likely spends it on the bullets he plans to murder them with in the mo...