The Producers Guild of America Awards brought some clarity for the upcoming Oscars race as “Anora” took the evening’s top prize after it also won the top DGA prize for director Sean Baker just a few moments earlier as well as the Critics Choice award on Friday.
DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot” gained momentum by earning the PGA animated film prize, while “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” which missed out on the Academy Awards shortlist, took home the PGA prize for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Picture.
On the television side, “Hacks” followed up its strong showing from Friday’s Critics Choice Awards, landing the Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy. Meanwhile, Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer” landed the David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television. Other TV winners include “Saturday Night Live” in the Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television category and “The Traitors” for Game & Competition Series.
The PGA Awards are widely regarded as strong predictor for the Academy Awards, particularly in the best picture category. The PGA followed suit when the Academy expanded its lineup from five to 10 nominees in 2009. Since then, the guild’s nominations have been a good indicator of Oscar success, with eight of the 10 PGA nominees on average translating to nods at the Academy Awards.
That’s true this year as well: eight of the ten film nominees also earned Best Picture Oscar nods (“Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Emilia Pérez,” “The Substance” an “Wicked”). PGA nominees “A Real Pain” and “September 5” missed out on recognition in the category at the Oscars, with “I’m Still Here” and “Nickel Boys” snagging the remaining two slots.
Going into Saturday’s PGA Awards ceremony, Searchlight Pictures was the only studio to score two noms this year, with “A Real Pain” and “A Complete Unknown” both making the list.
Devastating wildfires in Southern California prompted both the PGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to extend voting deadlines last month, with the PGA postponing its nominations from Jan. 10 to the week of Jan. 13, and the Oscars shifting their nomination announcement from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23.
Saturday evening’s recurring theme was a call to move film and television production back to Los Angeles. It was galvanizing in some places, like when PGA co-president Donald De Line said, “The movies made Los Angeles, and it’s time to move the movies back.” Others appealed to the “moguls in the room” to do the right thing, but it wasn’t lost on many guests that the producers themselves set locations.
View the full list of PGA Awards winners below.
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
• “Anora” (Neon) — WINNER
• “The Brutalist” (A24)
• “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures)
• “Conclave” (Focus Features)
• “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.)
• “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
• “A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)
• “September 5” (Paramount Pictures)
• “The Substance” (Mubi)
• “Wicked” (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
• “Flow” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
• “Inside Out 2” (Pixar)
• “Moana 2” (Walt Disney Pictures)
• “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
• “The Wild Robot” (DreamWorks Animation) — WINNER
Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Drama
• “Bad Sisters” (Apple TV+)
• “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
• “Fallout” (Prime Video)
• “Shōgun” (FX) — WINNER
• “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+)
Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy
• “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
• “The Bear” (FX)
• “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO/Max)
• “Hacks” (HBO/Max) — WINNER
• “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television
• “Baby Reindeer” (Netflix) — WINNER
• “FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans” (FX)
• “The Penguin” (HBO/Max)
• “Ripley” (Netflix)
• “True Detective: Night Country” (HBO/Max)
Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures
• “Carry On” (Netflix)
• “The Greatest Night in Pop” (Netflix) — WINNER
• “The Killer” (Peacock)
• “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+) — WINNER
• “Welcome to Wrexham” (FX)
Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television
• “Ali Wong: Single Lady” (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) — WINNER
Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television
• “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
• “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (MTV)
• “Top Chef” (Bravo)
• “The Traitors” (Peacock) — WINNER
• “The Voice” (NBC)
Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Picture
• “Gaucho Gaucho”
• “Mediha”
• “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa”
• “Porcelain War”
• “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” — WINNER
• “We Will Dance Again”
Outstanding Children’s Program
• “Avatar: The Last Airbender”
• “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock”
• “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”
• “Sesame Street” — WINNER
• “SpongeBob SquarePants”
Outstanding Short-Form Program
• “The Crown: Farewell To A Royal Epic”
• “Hacks: Bit By Bit”
• “The Penguin: Inside Gotham”
• “Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime”
• “Shōgun – The Making of Shōgun” — WINNER
Outstanding Sports Program
• “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”
• “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants”
• “Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend”
• “Simone Biles Rising” — WINNER
• “Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics”
The PGA Innovation Award
• “Critterz”
• “Emperor”
• “Impulse: Playing with Reality”
• “Orbital” — WINNER
• “The Pirate Queen with Lucy Liu”
• “What If…? – An Immersive Story”
