LOS ANGELES — Delroy Lindo flashed a grateful smile as he and "Sinners' producer-writer-director Ryan Coogler took in a rousing standing ovation at last month's NAACP Image Awards.

"We appreciate all the support we've been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend," the veteran actor said in his first public appearance following the uproar that erupted when he and fellow "Sinners" star Michael B. Jordan were confronted with a racial slur at the BAFTA Awards six days prior.

Added Lindo: "It's a classic case of something that could have been very negative becoming very positive."

That positivity, some awards prognosticators contend, may have moved "Sinners" within striking distance of the winner's circle at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards.

Jordan's and Lindo's handling of the BAFTA incident, along with warmly received victories for the "Sinners" cast at the Actor Awards on March 1, has given the Warner Bros. release unexpected momentum leading up to Sunday's Oscars ceremony.

Although it received a record-breaking 16 nominations, the film has been largely overshadowed through much of awards season by Paul Thomas Anderson's political thriller "One Battle After Another." And Timothée Chalamet of "Marty Supreme" had been considered for months as an almost-certain lock for lead actor. But the events in past weeks have seemingly positioned "Sinners" for upset wins in the picture race and lead actor for Jordan.

The fresh energy marks a stunning turnaround for a film that scored critical acclaim and a massive response from filmgoers since its release last April, but has also encountered unflattering headlines, snubs and what some observers have labeled a racially biased "whitelash."

The film, a horror drama set in 1932, drew audiences to theaters from the start. Despite an impressive $60 million global opening, some outlets immediately downplayed the achievement, casting doubt on the film's ability to make a profit on its $90 million production cost. (The film grossed more than $370 million at the box office worldwide.)

Some rival studio heads also criticized Coogler's highly unusual deal with Warner Bros., in which the rights to "Sinners" would revert back to him after 25 years. And prominent publications such as Variety and Rolling Stone notably left "Sinners" off their year-end lists of best films. But Coogler took it in stride, posting an open letter to fans after its release thanking them for supporting the film and writing that he "felt a deep responsibility to entertain you, and move you in the way only cinema can."

As awards season got underway, the film began racking up nominations and wins, including at the BAFTAs, the British equivalent of the Oscars, held last month at London's Royal Festival Hall. But what had been a fairly uneventful ceremony was interrupted by the shouting of a racial slur, leading to a controversy that has continued to reverberate. As Lindo and Jordan were introducing the visual effects category, Scottish campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, blurted out the N-word. The actors paused momentarily before continuing.

The furor revolving around that incident, the awkward apologies by awards officials and the BBC, which broadcasts the event, and the graceful, nonconfrontational response by Lindo and Jordan has notably elevated industry goodwill around "Sinners" and its nominees, including Coogler, Jordan and supporting actors Wunmi Mosaku and Lindo.

Prior to its release, "Sinners" was regarded as a risky big swing by Coogler — a mashup of period drama, vampires and music set in the Jim Crow South featuring a predominantly Black cast and anchored by its most well-known star, Jordan, who played twin brothers. Still, Warner Bros. was willing to take the risk with Coogler, who ranks among Hollywood's most accomplished and visionary filmmakers. He and Jordan already had a hot winning streak with their collaborations on "Fruitvale Station," the "Creed" franchise and the blockbuster Marvel film "Black Panther."

"Sinners" is now being increasingly hailed in Hollywood as a groundbreaking symbol of Black artistic excellence, as well as a timely pushback to the divisive political climate that has reached fever-pitch proportions, fueled by President Donald Trump and his administration's relentless campaign against Black people and other nonwhite cultures.

That onslaught has included Trump's post on Truth Social of a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as apes, his administration's moves to vanquish diversity and inclusion programs, the efforts to whitewash and eliminate references to slavery in federal museums, the violent nationwide attacks on immigrants and the heavy criticism surrounding the Super Bowl halftime show of Bad Bunny.

The warm and thunderous applause at the Actor Awards as the "Sinners" cast gathered on stage after winning the award for best film ensemble cast marked an upbeat — and possibly course-changing — chapter in its own "one battle after another" trajectory. Voting for the Oscars ended March 5, possibly giving members of the academy just enough time to reconsider the slate of nominees.

And now, a history-making win could be within reach. Here's more on how it unfolded.

An asterisk proved unnecessary

The debut of "Sinners" was triumphant, unseating "A Minecraft Movie" and topping the Easter weekend box office with $46.6 million domestically and $60 million globally while scoring rave reviews and an "A" ranking on Cinemascore.

But analysis about its debut was less enthusiastic. A story in the New York Times with the headline, "Sinners Is a Box Office Success (With a Big Asterisk)," said that the film had a production cost of "at least $150 million," and cast doubts on its profitability.

"As a result, for Warner Bros. to make money, 'Sinners' will need to attract substantial crowds in the weeks ahead," read the story, which included an assessment by film consultant David A. Gross: "It's an excellent opening for a period horror film, except that it's hard to call it completely successful because of its enormous budget."

Variety in its opening weekend also soft-pedaled the film's success in a post shared on X: "Sinners has amassed $60 million in its global debut. It's a great result for an original, R-rated feature yet the Warner Bros. release has a $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away."

Ben Stiller was among the entertainers who critiqued the assessment, responding with, "In what universe does a 60 million opening for an original Hollywood movie warrant this headline?"

As of June 2025, "Sinners" had made more than $370 million globally.

Coogler's deal and reaction to it

Vulture was among the publications zeroing in on Coogler's unusual deal with Warner Bros. in which he and his team negotiated a massive budget, final cut and a percentage of the theatrical box office gross, which meant he received immediate financial benefit without waiting for the studio to break even.

But the key element that alarmed and upset some rival studio executives was the stipulation that the studio would relinquish ownership of "Sinners" to Coogler after 25 years. Some honchos called it a "dangerous precedent" that would be potentially fatal to the studio system. Although the agreement was reported as being nearly unprecedented, Coogler quickly defended it.

"I'm not the first filmmaker to get any of these deals, and Warner Bros. is not the first studio to provide these deals to a filmmaker," he said in an interview with the news program "Democracy Now!" "A lot has been made of my deal in particular. I'm not sure why, but I have my guesses."

Pressed by show host Amy Goodman to expound, Coogler chuckled: "Um, I'd rather not say. But the attention on this project outside of a piece of art or commerce has been interesting."

He pointed out that his films "have made over $2 billion at the global box office. I'm not yet 40 years old ... I've missed out of a lot of things in my life, making films that will always be owned by other people. For this one, I asked for a few things that were very important to me for this project."

Some year-end snubs

"Sinners" topped the Los Angeles Times and New York Times lists for the best films of 2025. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute also named the movie in its best of the year countdowns.

But awards observers noticed that Rolling Stone omitted "Sinners" in its list of 20 best films. Critic David Fear didn't ignore the film, appearing to make a subtle swipe at it in his lead: "2025 was a year that posed a lot of questions for movie lovers: Did the success of 'Sinners' prove that there was still a mass audience hungry for original (read: non-IP) stories on a blockbuster level? Does Ryan Coogler's historic deal to have the film rights revert back to him in 25 years change how Hollywood deals with creative talent?"

Coogler's film did not earn even an honorable mention in Variety's year-end list compiled by critics Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman.

Chalamet vs. Jordan

This year's race for lead actor is packed with impressive names. Jordan is facing off against previous winner Leonardo DiCaprio ("One Battle After Another"), five-time nominee Ethan Hawke ("Blue Moon"), Wagner Moura ("The Secret Agent") and Chalamet.

Oscar predictors proclaimed earlier in the season that Chalamet was basically a shoo-in for the award. His cocky portrayal of table tennis hustler Marty Mauser marks his third lead actor nod following "Call Me by Your Name" and "A Complete Unknown."

However, the enthusiasm revolving around the actor has waned recently with Jordan's win at the Actor Awards, which is seen as a bellwether for the Oscars, particularly in the lead actor category. There has also been criticism of Chalamet's aggressive campaigning. More recently, the actor has been taken to task for remarks made at a town hall hosted by CNN and Variety in February. Chalamet, in conversation with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey, said how much he appreciated people who were working to keep movie theaters alive at a time when streaming has undercut that experience.

He added: "I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it's like, 'Hey! Keep this thing alive.' Even though it's like no one cares about this anymore."

The comments sparked backlash, particularly in the performing arts world, that gained steam in the past week. It may have also prompted Hollywood to reconsider Jordan, who plays twins who frequently interact with each other in "Sinners."

A graceful reaction at the BAFTAs

Following the racial slur outburst by Davidson, the subject of the BAFTA-nominated film "I Swear," awards host Alan Cumming addressed the shout and apologized. Davidson, an executive producer of the film, left midway through the ceremony and said in a statement he was "deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning." Criticism was lobbed at the BBC for failing to edit out the slur when it broadcast the ceremony two hours later.

Although BAFTA and the BBC eventually apologized to the actors, Lindo told Vanity Fair he wished "someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterward."

In a recent interview with NPR, Lindo said he was not initially sure if he had heard the shout correctly, so he continued reading the teleprompter. "I processed in the way that I process, in a nanosecond. Mike did similarly, and we went on and did our jobs."

Actor Rebecca Hall saluted Lindo and Jordan the following week at the Image Awards, calling them "two kings. Thank you for your grace."

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