‘Wicked’ Leads Nominations for Astra Film Awards

The hit musical picks up a record 19 nominations from the group formerly known as the Hollywood Critics Association

Ariana Grande as Glinda in "Wicked" (Credit: Universal Pictures)
Ariana Grande as Glinda in "Wicked" (Credit: Universal Pictures)

“Wicked” led all films in nominations for the 2024 Astra Film Awards, the Hollywood Creative Coalition announced on Monday. The hit musical received a record 19 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Comedy or Musical, three acting noms and a sweep of all the below-the-line categories in which it was eligible.

The big-budget sequel “Dune: Part Two” was second with 15 nominations, while Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical “Emilia Perez” received 11, the body horror film “The Substance” received 10 and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” received nine.

Films that were not nominated in the top category include “Gladiator II,” “Nickel Boys,” “Blitz,” “September 5” and “A Complete Unknown.”

Overall, the nominations tended toward high-profile and commercial movies, with more challenging performances by Daniel Craig, Sebastian Stan, Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton and Marianne Jean-Baptiste overlooked in favor of, for instance, acting nominations for Naomi Scott for “Smile 2” and three separate stars of “Wicked”: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey.

The Hollywood Creative Coalition is a controversial organization that began as the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society in 2016 and was renamed the Hollywood Critics Association three years later. After a number of resignations among the membership and officers, the HCA was renamed the HCC in 2023, and its awards show was renamed the Astra Film Awards and Astra Creative Arts Awards. The group subsequently found itself in a legal battle with the Critics Choice Association, which was settled amicably in the summer of 2024.

Like the Critics Choice Awards, the Astra awards have a large number of categories with at least six nominees in each category – in their case 31 categories, including ones for comedies, horror movies and even marketing campaigns. The glut of categories and the tendency to reward mainstream films make the nominations an unreliable predictor of Oscar success.

Winners will be announced at two separate ceremonies on Dec. 8, an afternoon lunch ceremony for the creative arts categories and an evening dinner ceremony for the above-the-line categories.

The nominees:

Best Picture
Anora
A Real Pain
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Sing Sing
The Brutalist
The Substance
Wicked

Best Comedy or Musical
Anora
A Real Pain
Challengers
Deadpool & Wolverine
Saturday Night
Wicked

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Glen Powell – Hit Man
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Best Actress
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Demi Moore – The Substance
Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison – Anora
Naomi Scott – Smile 2

Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jonathan Bailey – Wicked
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Yura Borisov – Anora

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Selena Gomez – Emilia Pérez
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez

Best Original Screenplay
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Sean Baker – Anora
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers
Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman – Saturday Night
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Best Adapted Screenplay
Peter Straughan – Conclave
Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two
Glen Powell and Richard Linklater – Hit Man
RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox – Wicked

Best Director
Sean Baker – Anora
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Jon M. Chu – Wicked

Best Cast Ensemble
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
Saturday Night
Wicked

Best International Feature
All We Imagine As Light
Emilia Pérez
Flow
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Documentary Feature
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
Music by John Williams
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Will & Harper

Best First Feature
Anna Kendrick – Woman of the Hour
Dev Patel – Monkey Man
Kelsey Mann – Inside Out 2
Malcolm Washington – The Piano Lesson
Sean Wang – Didi
Zoë Kravitz – Blink Twice

Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
The Wild Robot
Transformers One
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Best Voice Over Performance
Amy Poehler – Inside Out 2
Brian Tyree Henry – Transformers One
Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2
Owen Teague – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot

Best Horror or Thriller Feature
Alien: Romulus
Heretic
Longlegs
Nosferatu
Smile 2
The Substance

Best Performance in a Horror or Thriller
Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu
Demi Moore – The Substance
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Lupita Nyong’o – A Quiet Place: Day One
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Naomi Scott – Smile 2

Best Action or Science Fiction Feature
Civil War
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Monkey Man
The Fall Guy
Twisters

Best Truly Indie Feature
Hundreds of Beavers
Late Night with the Devil
Strange Darling
The Apprentice
The Last Showgirl
Thelma

Astra Creative Arts Awards Categories:

Best Casting
Barbara Giordani, Nina Gold, Francesco Vedovati and Martin Ware – Conclave
Francine Maisler – Dune: Part Two
Christel Baras and Carla Hool – Emilia Pérez
John Papsidera – Saturday Night
Laure Cochener and Léa Moszkowicz – The Substance
Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey – Wicked

Best Cinematography
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Challengers
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Alice Brooks – Wicked

Best Costume Design
Colleen Atwood – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Jacqueline West – Dune: Part Two
Jenny Beavan – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
David Crossman and Janty Yates – Gladiator II
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell – Wicked

Best Film Editing
Sean Baker – Anora
Marco Costa – Challengers
Nick Emerson – Conclave
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two
Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid – Saturday Night
Myron Kerstein – Wicked

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Marketing Campaign
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Warner Bros. Pictures
Challengers – Amazon MGM Studios
Dune: Part Two – Warner Bros. Pictures
Gladiator II – Paramount Pictures
The Fall Guy – Universal Pictures
Wicked – Universal Pictures

Best Original Score
Clément Ducol & Camille – Emilia Pérez
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Stephen Schwartz – Wicked
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers

Best Original Song
“Compress/Regress” from Challengers performed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez performed by Camille, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Zoe Saldaña
“Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper performed by Kristen Wiig
“Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot performed by Maren Morris
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez performed by Selena Gomez
“Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece performed by Pharrell Williams

Best Sound
A Quiet Place: Day One
Challengers
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Wicked

Best Stunts
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
The Fall Guy
Wicked

Best Stunt Coordinator
George Cottle – Deadpool & Wolverine
Lee Morrison – Dune: Part Two
Guy Norris – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Nikki Berwick – Gladiator II
Chris O’Hara – The Fall Guy
Jo McLaren – Wicked

Best Visual Effects
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Twisters
Wicked

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