Sean Baker, left, and Mikey Madison, winners of the award for best picture for "Anora," pose in the press room during the 30th Critics Choice Awards on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Sean Baker arrives at the 77th Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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Mikey Madison arrives at the 77th Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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Sean Baker, left, and Mikey Madison, winners of the award for best picture for "Anora," pose in the press room during the 30th Critics Choice Awards on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Did a wide-open Oscar race just get a frontrunner?
took top honors at both the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards on Saturday night, catapulting it to Oscar favorite status with wins from a pair of closely watched precursors.
Hollywood's award season has been uncharacteristically up for grabs with half a dozen films viewed as legitimate best-picture contenders. Some had pegged “Anora” as the frontrunner going into the season after the film, starring as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, .
But after a number of films took turns in the spotlight, including “Anora” reemerged in a big way over the weekend. Baker's film also won best picture at the Critics Choice Awards on Friday.
Both guild ceremonies were held in Beverly Hills, California. The PGA's top prize, the Darryl F. Zanuck Award, has matched the Oscar winner for best picture in 16 of the last 21 years. Since 2009, when the guild and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences both adopted a preferential ballot to pick a winner from 10 nominees, they've corresponded all but three times.
The DGA is similarly predictive. In the past 74 years, 66 winners have gone on to triumph at the Oscars. That makes Baker the favorite for best director in a field entirely composed of first-time nominees.
The guild also named best first film. Ross' movie, nominated for best picture by the Oscars, is his narrative film debut.
Oscar voting begins Tuesday. Jacques Audiard's “Emilia Pérez" is the lead nominee with 13 nominations, but the Netflix film has seen its chances crater following
Another Oscar category also found clarity over the weekend. On Saturday at the Annie Awards, DreamWorks Animation's cleaned up with nine awards including best film. “The Wild Robot” will be the heavy favorite to win best animated film at the March 2 Academy Awards.
