The nominations for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards) revealed that the film “One Battle After Another” has set a new standard, garnering a remarkable seven nominations. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this revolutionary saga has outperformed all previous films in the history of the SAG Awards, where no movie has ever received more than five nominations.
The nominations include the prestigious Best Ensemble award and individual nods for cast members Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and the film’s stunt performers. Competing for Best Ensemble alongside “One Battle After Another” are “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Frankenstein.” Historically, a SAG ensemble nomination is a strong indicator for success at the Oscars, with only four films in the last three decades winning Best Picture without it.
While “One Battle After Another” leads the nominations, several notable films did not receive any recognition, including “Sentimental Value,” “Wicked: For Good,” and “Train Dreams.” “Sinners,” in particular, had a strong showing with five nominations, including a Best Male Actor nod for Michael B. Jordan and supporting nominations for Miles Caton and Wunmi Mosaku.
In the television categories, Apple’s “The Studio,” HBO’s “White Lotus,” and Netflix’s “Adolescence” lead with multiple nominations. Traditionally, the SAG Awards have been a reliable predictor for the Oscars, as actors constitute the largest branch of the Academy. Over the years, nominees for the SAG Awards have often overlapped with Oscar nominees, with a success rate of approximately 80%.
The nominees for Best Male Actor include DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon,” and Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia.” The only unexpected inclusion was Plemons, while Chalamet is favored to win, having previously secured the same award last year for “A Complete Unknown.”
In the Best Female Actor category, the nominees include Infiniti, Jessie Buckley for “Hamnet,” Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” and Emma Stone for “Bugonia.”
The nominees for Best Supporting Male Actor are Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Miles Caton, Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein,” and Paul Mescal for “Hamnet.” In the Best Supporting Female Actor category, nominees include Teyana Taylor, Wunmi Mosaku, Ariana Grande for “Wicked: For Good,” Amy Madigan for “Weapons,” and Odessa A’zion for “Marty Supreme.” A’zion’s nomination came as a surprise, while Joachim Trier’s acclaimed “Sentimental Value” was overlooked entirely despite expectations for nominations for Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård.
With over 122,000 voting members, the SAG-AFTRA guild tends to favor more populist films, often shying away from non-English language nominees. In contrast, the Academy has seen a more international membership growth. Other films that may perform well during the Oscar nominations on January 22, 2024 include the Iranian drama “It Was Just an Accident” and the Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent.”
The SAG Awards have displayed significant differences from the Oscars in recent years. Last year, Chalamet won Best Male Actor at the SAG Awards but lost to Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist” at the Oscars, while the ensemble winner “Conclave” did not secure the Best Picture award, which went to Sean Baker’s “Anora.”
In the television categories, the leading comedy nominee is “The Studio,” with nods for its ensemble and actors including Seth Rogen, Kathryn Hahn, Catherine O’Hara, and Ike Barinholtz. The top drama, “The White Lotus,” earned four nominations, including Best Ensemble and individual nods for Parker Posey, Walton Goggins, and Aimee Lee Wood. The limited series “Adolescence” also received four nominations, showcasing talents such as Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty, and Christine Tremarco.
The SAG Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 1, 2024, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The event will be streamed live on Netflix, and Harrison Ford will be honored with the guild’s life achievement award, celebrating his substantial contributions to the film industry.
