Ryan Coogler Wins First Oscar, Makes History at 2026 Academy Awards

Ryan Coogler just made history at the 2026 Academy Awards. The filmmaker won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his film Sinners, making him only the second Black American filmmaker ever to receive the award. It was also his very first Oscar win.

When Robert Downey Jr. announced the win, the room gave Coogler a standing ovation, led by his Sinners cast and crew. "Please sit down, I'm very nervous they're gonna play me off," he joked. "I grew up in Oakland, in Richmond, California, and we can talk a lot," he added, referencing the earlier speeches that had been cut short.

He thanked the Academy for the honor and gave a shout out to the cast and crew of Sinners, telling them, "you're all winners in my book." In an emotional speech, he thanked his wife, Zinzi Evans, calling her "the best wife and mom in my world. Every day I spend with you is better than the one that came before."

This win puts Coogler in an unfortunately small group. The only other Black American to take home this award was Jordan Peele, who won for Get Out back in 2018.

The other nominated screenplays in the running were It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi, Blue Moon by Robert Kaplow, Marty Supreme by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, and Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt.

Coogler is also in the running to break another Oscar record later tonight if he wins the Best Director award, for which he is also nominated. A win would make him the first Black filmmaker to ever receive the honor.

Related: Ryan Coogler Could Make Oscars History on Sunday Night