When a director makes as big a waves at the Oscars as Ryan Coogler has done this year, the world takes notice. Coogler's thrilling masterpiece, Sinners, has taken the top spot as most-nominated film at the 2026 Oscars, with a total of 16 nods.

While we wait to see if Sinners takes out major categories like Best Picture, it's only natural that we're turning our attention to the director's remaining filmography.

From Fruitvale Station to Black Panther, here are our favourite Ryan Coogler films worth watching next.

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Coogler’s debut feature introduced the world to a filmmaker with extraordinary empathy and precision. Starring Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant, the film recounts the final day in the young man’s life before he was fatally shot by police in Oakland in 2009. What could have been a straightforward retelling instead becomes an intimate portrait of a son, partner and father trying to do better. Billie Eilish counts it as her all-time favourite film — and for good reason, if you ask us.

Creed (2015)

With Creed, Coogler accomplished the near-impossible: reviving the decades-old Rocky franchise with a film that felt entirely its own. Again teaming up with Michael B. Jordan, the story follows Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, as he trains under the reluctant guidance of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa.

Black Panther (2018)

Under Coogler’s direction, Black Panther became a global phenomenon, redefining what a blockbuster could look like. Starring Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, king of the fictional African nation Wakanda, the film fused Afrofuturist world-building with political themes about diaspora, responsibility and power. Visually striking and thematically ambitious, Black Panther went on to become the first superhero film nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars — cementing Coogler as one of the most important directors working today.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Following the death of Chadwick Boseman, Coogler returned to Wakanda with a sequel that doubled as a tribute. Wakanda Forever navigates grief both on and off screen, with characters grappling with the loss of their king while the nation faces new global threats. Anchored by powerful performances from Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett, the film expands the emotional scope of the Marvel universe.