Conclave, Emilia Perez, Wicked and more

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) revealed its nominees for the 2025 awards on Thursday, honoring an eclectic list of films poised to dominate this year’s Oscar race.

Among the 10 nominees for the coveted Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Producer are Sean Baker’s poignant comedy-drama “Anora,” Brady Corbet’s meticulously crafted historical epic “The Brutalist,” ‘Edward Berger “Conclave”, the genre of Jacques Audiard. -the musical “Emilia Pérez” and Jon M. Chu’s scintillating adaptation of “Wicked.”

Perhaps the most unexpected entry on this year’s list is Tim Fehlbaum’s indie thriller “September 5.” The high-stakes dystopian drama, acquired by Paramount Pictures after generating buzz in Venice and Telluride, beat out top contenders like RaMell Ross’s “Nickel Boys” and Greg Kwedar’s prison drama “Sing Sing.” The nod to “September 5” marks an important moment for the underdog film, which now finds itself in the best cinematic conversation.

Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” saw its Oscar chances increase significantly. The darkly comedic drama, which follows two estranged cousins ​​reconnecting during a trip to Poland, was struggling to gain momentum throughout awards season, although star Kieran Culkin was the one of the favorites for a supporting role. But its inclusion in the PGA lineup gives it a much-needed boost and could solidify its place in the Best Picture race at the Oscars when voting closes on Friday.

Other notable nominees include James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” and Denis Villeneuve’s epic sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part Two.” Coralie Fargeat’s body horror thriller “The Substance” also made the cut, with Demi Moore’s career-best performance propelling the film into the spotlight.

Searchlight Pictures is the only studio to get two nominations this year, with “A Real Pain” and “A Complete Unknown” both making the list. The studio continues its legacy of promoting critically acclaimed films, as evidenced by its winning best films of the past decade, including “Birdman” (2014), “The Shape of Water” (2017) and “Nomadland” (2020) .

Although the PGA nominations provide a solid road map for Oscar predictions, several notable films have been omitted from the lineup. Luca Guadagnino’s sultry sports drama “Challengers” failed to land a slot despite its star power and critical success. Robert Eggers’ gothic horror film “Nosferatu” was also absent, despite an impressive box office, as was Payal Kapadia’s poetic debut, “All We Imagine as Light.”

The announcement comes amid logistical challenges caused by the devastating wildfires in Southern California, which prompted the PGA and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to extend voting deadlines. The PGA postponed its nominations from January 10 to the week of January 13, while the Oscars shifted its announcement of nominations from January 17 to January 23.

The PGA Awards are widely considered a bellwether for the Academy Awards, particularly in the Best Picture category. The PGA followed suit when the Academy expanded its list from five to 10 nominees in 2009. Since then, the guild’s nominations have been a strong indicator of Oscar success, with eight of the 10 PGA nominees on average getting translating into Oscar nominations.

Last year marked a historic first for the PGA-Oscar connection: The top 10 films nominated by the PGA earned corresponding Oscar nominations, with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” becoming the big winner of both ceremonies.

However, such alignment is not always the case. In 2023, only seven of the PGA nominees advanced to the Oscars. Films like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and “The Whale” failed to make the Academy’s list, which instead included the German war film “All Quiet on the Western Front”, a black comedy. Triangle of Sadness” and the high-profile drama “Women Talking.”

On television, the PGA Awards highlighted the growing dominance of streaming platforms in the industry. Apple TV+ landed two nominations in the drama category with “Bad Sisters” and “Slow Horses,” joining Netflix’s political thriller “The Diplomat,” Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic series “Fallout” and FX’s sprawling historical epic “Shōgun.”

In comedy, HBO/Max had a strong performance with nods for the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and the critically acclaimed “Hacks.” They join ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” FX’s culinary hit “The Bear” and Hulu’s murder mystery favorite “Only Murders in the Building.”

Limited series saw HBO/Max double down again with “True Detective: Night Country” and “The Penguin,” in addition to Netflix, which scored with “Baby Reindeer” and “Ripley.” “Feud: Capote vs. FX’s “The Swans” rounded out the category.

Despite strong critical buzz, Netflix comedies “Nobody Wants This” and “Man on the Inside” were left out, marking a surprising snub for two series considered early Emmy frontrunners. Likewise, Prime Video’s action comedy “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and Apple TV+’s legal drama “Presumed Innocent” missed the cut in their respective categories.

Earlier this week, the PGA announced a partnership with the Entertainment Community Fund to create a fund dedicated to supporting film, television and emerging media producers affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. The Guild contributes a portion of net proceeds from the Producers Guild Awards to the fund. In addition to the Guild’s contribution, members also make donations. In total, $300,000 has already been committed.

Producers will come together to raise awareness of the fund, celebrate nominees and announce winners at the PGA Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 8, 2025 at Fairmont Century Plaza.

The list of nominees is below.

Outstanding producer of theatrical animated films
• “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
• “Inside Out 2” (Pixar)
• “Moana 2” (Walt Disney Pictures)
• “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
• “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation)

Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Drama
• “Bad Sisters” (Apple TV+)
• “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
• “Fallout” (First video)
• “Shōgun” (FX)
• “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+)

Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy
• “Abbott Elementary School” (ABC)
• “The Bear” (FX)
• “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO/Max)
• “Hacks” (HBO/Max)
• “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)

David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of a Limited or Anthology Television Series
• “Baby Reindeer” (Netflix)
• “FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans” (FX)
• “The Penguin” (HBO/Max)
• “Ripley” (Netflix)
• “True Detective: Night Country” (HBO/Max)

Outstanding producer of television and streaming films
• “Continue” (Netflix)
• “The Greatest Pop Night” (Netflix)
• “The Killer”
• “Rebel Ridge” (Netflix)
• “Unfrosted” (Netflix)

Outstanding producer of non-fiction television
• “30 for 30” (ESPN)
• “Conan O’Brien Must Go” (HBO/Max)
• “The Jinx – Part Two” (HBO/Max)
• “STEVE!” (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces » (Apple TV+)
• “Welcome to Wrexham” (FX)

Outstanding producer of live entertainment, variety, sketch, stand-up and talk television
• “Ali Wong: Single Woman” (Netflix)
• “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
• “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO/Max)
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Outstanding producer of gaming and competition television
• “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
• “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (MTV)
• “Top Chef” (Bravo)
• “The Traitors” (Peacock)
• “The Voice” (NBC)

The following nominees were previously announced.

Outstanding documentary film producer
• “Gaucho Gaucho”
• “Mediha”
• “Queen of the mountains: the peaks of Lhakpa Sherpa”
• “Porcelain War”
• “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”
• “We will dance again”

Exceptional children’s program
• “Avatar: The Last Airbender”
• “Fraggle Rock: Return to the Rock”
• “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”
• “Sesame Street”
• “Sponge Bob”

Exceptional short program
• “The Crown: farewell to a royal epic”
• “Hacks: little by little”
• “The Penguin: Inside Gotham”
• “Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime”
• “Shōgun – The Creation of Shōgun”

Exceptional sports program
• “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”
• “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants”
• “Messi World Cup: the rise of a legend”
• “Simone Biles on the rise”
• “Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympic Games”

The PGA Innovation Award
• “Critterz”
• “Emperor”
• “Impulse: playing with reality”
• “Orbital”
• “The Pirate Queen with Lucy Liu”
• “What if…? – An immersive story”