One Battle After Another leads the race to the Oscars after setting a record seven nominations at the newly rebranded SAG Actor Awards, with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners close behind on five. The actor-voted prizes, seen as a key predictor for the Academy Awards, spotlight this year’s top performances and ensemble work in a highly competitive awards season.
Paul Thomas Anderson's politically charged One Battle After Another on Wednesday set a record for nominations for the Screen Actors Guild's influential Actor Awards with seven, staking its claim to Oscars frontrunner status.
Ryan Coogler's runaway hit period horror film Sinners came in second with five nominations, setting the stage for a two-horse race to the Academy Awards in March.
One Battle After Another, which centers on an aging revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti), is a rollicking ride featuring violent leftist radicals, immigration raids, and white supremacists.
The film earned a nomination for the coveted best ensemble prize, SAG's equivalent of best picture. It will compete against Sinners, Frankenstein, Hamnet, and Marty Supreme.
One Battle also earned nods for best male actor (DiCaprio), best female actor (Infiniti), best supporting actor (Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro), best supporting actress (Teyana Taylor), and best stunt ensemble.
Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twins in the criminal underworld who encounter a sinister force as they return home to racially segregated Mississippi in the 1930s.
Beyond best ensemble, it earned nominations for best actor (Jordan), best supporting actor (Miles Caton), best supporting actress (Wunmi Mosaku), and best stunt ensemble.
One Battle already won a duel with Sinners at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, taking home the prizes for best picture and best director. The two films split best screenplay honors.
"In case anyone was uncertain, One Battle After Another is the frontrunner for the Oscars, setting the all-time nomination record, but 'Sinners' is also now tied for the second-most noms in history," Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP.
"This is beginning to feel a little bit like La La Land versus Moonlight again," he said, referring to the 2017 Oscars showdown.
The SAG Awards are voted on by Hollywood actors, who represent the biggest branch of the membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes for the Oscars.
The prizes are therefore closely watched as indicators of who might be in the running for an Academy Award.
The organization rebranded the awards as the Actor Awards in November.
By Romain FONSEGRIVES / AFP
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