Michael B Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack in “Sinners,” which is an awards season frontrunner.
Warner Bros. Pictures
The road to the 98th Oscars begins in earnest this week with the Gotham Awards, Critics’ Choice Award nominations and top movie picks from the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle and more.
The Gotham Awards will be the first out of the gate on Monday night in New York City with the Gotham Film & Media Institute’s 35th annual ceremony, where 10 films will compete for Best Feature: Bugonia, East of Wall, Familiar Touch, Hamnet, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Lurker, One Battle After Another, The Testament of Ann Lee, Train Dreams and Sorry, Baby.
The dark comedy A Different Man, starring Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve and Adam Pearson, won the Best Feature honor at the Gothams in 2024.
While the Gothams have traditionally feted independent works, the organization lifted its $35 million cap on film productions in 2023 (via IndieWire), which explains why director Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another nabbed a Best Feature nomination. Prominent industry trade publications have reported that the film had a production budget of anywhere from $130 million to $170 million.
In addition to handing out Best International Feature, Best Director and Best Breakthrough Director trophies, among others, the Gothams also honor non-gender-specific acting categories for Best Performer, Best Supporting Performer and Best Breakthrough Performer.
Also, the Gothams will be paying a number of tributes, including an Ensemble Tribute to the cast of Sinners; a Spotlight Tribute to Hedda star Tessa Thompson; a Vanguard Tribute to Frankenstein director Guillermo del Toro and stars Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi; and a musical tribute to Song Sung Blue stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.
Other awards season honors set for this week include the top picks in several categories, including Best Feature from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review on Tuesday. In 2024, the NYFCC named The Brutalist as the Best Film, while NBR’s Best Film Honor went to Wicked.
Guillermo del Toro and Oscar Isaac on the set of “Frankenstein,” which is an awards season frontrunner.
Netflix/Ken Woroner
Nominations On The Way From Film Independent Spirit Awards And Critics’ Choice Association
Among the other big awards season announcements this week are the nominations for the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will be announced on Tuesday, while the Critics’ Choice Association will unveil its nominees for the 31st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards on Friday. In addition to film nominations, the CCA also honors the best in television.
Both the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the CCA named Anora as Best Picture of 2024. Anora, of course, went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars earlier this year, along with Best Director and Best Original Screenplay wins for Sean Baker and Best Actress for Mikey Madison.
More big awards season announcements are coming at the beginning of next week, as the Los Angeles Film Critics Circle winners will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7, while the nominees for both film and television for the 83rd annual Golden Globes will be unveiled on Monday, Dec. 8.
Among the potential nominees for this year’s awards season are Avatar: Fire and Ash, Bugonia, F1: The Movie, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Is This Thing On?, Jay Kelly, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Weapons and Wicked: For Good.
Note: Forbes contributor Tim Lammers is a member of the Critics’ Choice Association.