Of the eight Best Picture nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” has won the most awards from the Hollywood guilds and professional organizations in the lead-up to the Oscars — but its total pales next to the Pixar film “Soul,” which swept the guild awards by winning the award for animated feature at every single awards show that includes that category.
Wins at the American Cinema Editors’ ACE Eddie Awards and the Cinema Audio Society’s CAS Awards on Saturday gave Pete Docter’s “Soul” 10 guild wins, including prizes from the Producers Guild of America, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Visual Effects Society, the Art Directors Guild, the Artios Awards, the Motion Picture Sound Editors, the Guild of Music Supervisors and the Annie Awards, where it took the Best Feature award.
“Soul” didn’t win anything at the Writers Guild Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards, the Costume Designers Guild Awards, the Set Decorators Society Awards or the American Society of Cinematographers Awards, but that’s because none of those awards shows honor animated films.
Those 17 guilds and professional organizations, all of which include Oscar voters among their membership, are considered the clearest indicators of the movie industry’s sentiment toward the Oscar nominees. None are infallible, and in a year as strange as this one they’re probably more suspect than usual. But here’s how the Oscar Best Picture nominees — which do not include “Soul” — fared.
(Many of the guild shows give out multiple awards in the film categories.)
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Aaron Sorkin’s drama won five awards, including the all-important ensemble award from the Screen Actors Guild. Its other victories came from the Artios Awards (for casting), the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ Golden Reel Awards, the ACE Eddies and the Guild of Music Supervisors (for the song “Hear My Voice”).
“Promising Young Woman”
The Emerald Fennell movie starring Carey Mulligan won four guild awards, including a major one from the Writers Guild of America, beating its presumed Oscar rival “Chicago 7.” It also won awards from the Costume Designers Guild, the Guild of Music Supervisors and the Set Decorators Society.
“Mank”
Though it was bypassed by the four major guilds — the DGA, PGA, WGA and SAG — David Fincher’s period drama did win four guild awards, including the American Society of Cinematographers prize on Sunday. Its other wins came from the Art Directors Guild, the Set Decorators Society and the Visual Effects Society.
“Nomadland”
Chloe Zhao’s Oscar front runner only won two guild awards, but they were the two guilds that have the best track record for predicting a Best Picture win: the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild. And to be fair, it wasn’t eligible for the Writers Guild Award, where it would have been a very strong rival to the film that did win in the adapted screenplay category, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”
“Sound of Metal”
The biggest win for “Sound of Metal” came when the Directors Guild gave Darius Marder its award for a debut director. Not surprisingly, it also won the top prize from the Cinema Audio Society.
“Minari”
While Lee Isaac Chung’s family drama was nominated for lots of guild awards, its only wins were for Yun-Jung Youn in the supporting actress category at SAG, and in the low-budget category at the Artios Awards.
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
This late-breaking film won a SAG Award for supporting actor Daniel Kaluuya but was otherwise shut out.
“The Father”
Florian Zeller’s intimate film was the only Best Picture nominee not to win a guild award.
Of films that aren’t in the running for Best Picture, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” landed guild awards from Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild, the Costume Designers Guild and the Guild of Music Supervisors. While it did not win the SAG ensemble award, it did win individual SAG Awards for stars Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis. “Borat” won for makeup and casting, in addition to its Writers Guild Award. “Eurovision Song Contest” won from the Society of Composers and Lyricists and the Motion Picture Sound Editors. And “Tenet” took prizes at the Art Directors Guild, the Motion Picture Sound Editors and the Set Decorators Society.
Films that won a single guild award include “One Night in Miami,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Mulan,” “Greyhound,” “Birds of Prey,” “Palm Springs,” “The 40-Year-Old Version,” “The Midnight Sky” and “Pinocchio.”
(By the way, all of the winners should be glad they’re not competing in the TV categories — because “The Queen’s Gambit” did even better than “Soul,” winning 12 times.)
Here’s the full list of guild awards:
Directors Guild Awards: “Nomadland,” “Sound of Metal” (first feature) “The Truffle Hunters” (documentary)
Producers Guild Awards: “Nomadland,” “Soul” (animation) “My Octopus Teacher” (documentary)
Screen Actors Guild Awards: “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Writers Guild Awards: “Promising Young Woman,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
American Cinema Editors’ ACE Eddie Awards: “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Palm Springs,” “Soul” (animation), “My Octopus Teacher” (documentary)
American Society of Cinematographers: “Mank,” “Two of Us” (Spotlight Award)
Annie Awards: “Soul” (animation) “Wolfwalkers” (indie animation)
Art Directors Guild: “Mank,” “Tenet,” “Da 5 Bloods, “Soul” (animation)
Artios Awards: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The 40-Year-Old Version,” “One Night in Miami,” “Minari,” “Soul” (animation)
Cinema Audio Society: “Sound of Metal,” “Soul” (animation), “The Bee Gees” (documentary)
Costume Designers Guild: “Mulan,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Guild of Music Supervisors: “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Promising Young Woman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Soul” (animation)
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards: “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio”
Motion Picture Sound Editors’ Golden Reel Awards: “Tenet,” “Eurovision Song Contest,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Greyhound,” “Soul” (animation), “The Reason I Jump” (documentary)
Set Decorators Society Awards: “Promising Young Woman,” “Mank,” “Tenet,” “The Prom”
Society of Composers and Lyricists: “Eurovision Song Contest,” “Soul”
Visual Effects Society: “The Midnight Sky,” “Mank,” “Soul” (animation)
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