(L-R): 'Anora' producers Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker

Source: Producers Guild of America

(L-R): ‘Anora’ producers Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker

The latest twist in a thrillingly unpredictable season saw Anora assert its Oscars credentials over the weekend with a stunning trifecta of awards circuit wins, earning top prizes from the Producers Guild of America, Directors Guild Of America, and Critics Choice Association.

If history is any guide, Saturday’s PGA Awards win for Sean Baker, Samantha Quan, and Alex Coco certainly boosts the likelihood that the Cannes Palme d’Or winner will win the best picture Academy Award on March 2. Sixteen of the last 24 PGA Darryl F. Zanuck Award winners have gone on to do so, most recently Oppenheimer in 2024.

Other PGA winners at The Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City saw Jeff Hermann collect the animated theatrical film award for The Wild Robot, and Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford, and Ian Bonhôte receive the documentary film prize for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which is not nominated for the Oscar.

Baker was a busy man on Saturday, and also collected the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film. This firmly establishes the American as the favourite to win the directing Oscar, given that the DGA winner has done so in all but eight occasions in the last 76 years. Neon distributes Anora in North America.

The ceremony at Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills also saw RaMell Ross win the first-time award for Nickel Boys, and Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev prevail in the documentary category for Porcelain War.

Friday’s best picture triumph too at the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica will have added momentum to Anora’s Oscar charge ahead of the Academy Awards final voting window running February 11-18.

It was a night that saw the beleaguered Emilia Pérez earn much-needed succour with three awards for best foreign language film, supporting actress for Zoe Saldana, and best song for El Mal.

Demi Moore was named best actress for The Substance, Adrien Brody best actor for The Brutalist, and Kieran Culkin best supporting actor for A Real Pain. Conclave took the prize for acting ensemble, Coralie Fargeat and Peter Straughan won original and adapted screenplay awards for The Substance and Conclave, respectively, while Jon M. Chu best director for Wicked, and The WIld Robot won best animation.

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