Gotham Awards 2024 Nominations: ‘Anora’ Leads With Four Nods

“Anora,” a free-wheeling comedy about a sex worker who becomes entangled with the family of a Russian oligarch, led the Gotham Awards, picking up four nominations, including a nod for best feature.

“Nickel Boys,” the story of two African-American teens who are sent to an abusive reform school, and “I Saw the TV Glow,” a psychological horror film about high schoolers who begin to lose touch with reality, were close behind with three nods apiece.

More from Variety

• 'Anora' Stars Mark Eydelshteyn and Yura Borisov on Their Wild Post-Cannes Ride and Being Branded Russia's Answers to Timothée Chalamet and Jeremy Allen White

• 'Conclave,' 'The Brutalist,' 'Vermiglio' Added to Camerimage Competition Lineup

• 'The Brutalist' Trailer: Adrien Brody Rebuilds His Life in America After Escaping Post-War Europe in Brady Corbet's Historical Epic

“Nickel Boys” will vie for best feature alongside “Anora.” Other nominees for the top prize include the erotic drama “Babygirl,” the black comedy “A Different Man” and “Challengers,” a love triangle that unfolds against the backdrop of professional tennis. There were several notable omissions, with critically heralded films like “The Brutalist” and “Conclave” passed over for a best feature nomination. “The Brutalist” did earn two nominations for its star Adrien Brody and for the supporting turn of Guy Pearce.

Best director will be a race between “Anora’s” Sean Baker and “I Saw the TV Glow’s” Jane Schoenbrun, as well as Payal Kapadia (“All We Imagine as Light”), Guan Hu (“Black Dog”) and RaMell Ross (“Nickel Boys”).

In 2021, the Gothams decided the awards for acting would no longer be defined by gender. That means that Brody will compete for best lead performance with the likes of Demi Moore (“The Substance”), Pamela Anderson (“The Last Showgirl”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Saoirse Ronan (“The Outrun”), Justice Smith (“I Saw The TV Glow”), Keith Kupferer (“Ghostlight”), Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”) and Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”).

The show is one of the first major awards gatherings of the year. It serves as an unofficial kickoff to the months-long marathon that includes stops at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTAs, before culminating with Oscar night.

The Gothams’ taste haven’t always aligned with that of the Academy Awards. Last year’s winners included “Past Lives” for Best Feature, whereas the Oscars gave its top prize to “Oppenheimer,” which didn’t submit for consideration. However, other best feature victors included Best Picture winners such as “Spotlight” (2015), “Moonlight” (2016) and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022).

Just as “Oppeneheimer” opted not to be considered for Gothams, other films such as “Gladiator II” and the Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” didn’t submit, while Oscar contenders such as “Maria” and “Emilia Perez” were ineligible for best feature because they were foreign productions.

In the past, the Gothams had a budget cap of $35 million for eligible films, but that was removed in 2023 and isn’t in place this year.

Each category is decided by a different jury of critics, journalists and other industry professionals, requiring screening links to be provided to all its jury members. That’s in contrast with the Oscars or the BAFTAs, which are determined by actors, filmmakers and other artists who are in the entertainment industry.

The Gotham Awards will take place on Dec. 2, 2024, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

View the complete list of nominations below:

Best Feature 

Anora

Sean Baker, director; Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, producers (NEON)

Babygirl

Halina Reijn, director; David Hinojosa, Julia Oh, Halina Reijn, producers (A24)

Challengers

Luca Guadagnino, director; Luca Guadagnino, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, Zendaya, producers (Amazon MGM Studios)

A Different Man

Aaron Schimberg, director; Gabriel Mayers, Vanessa McDonnell, Christine Vachon, producers (A24)

Nickel Boys

RaMell Ross, director; Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine, producers (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Outstanding Lead Performance 

Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions)

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist (A24)

Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24)

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)

Nicole Kidman, Babygirl (A24)

Keith Kupferer, Ghostlight (IFC Films)

Mikey Madison, Anora (NEON)

Demi Moore, The Substance (MUBI)

Saoirse Ronan, Outrun (Sony Pictures Classics)

Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Yura Borisov, Anora (NEON)

Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)

Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson (Netflix)

Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters (Netflix)

Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24)

Katy O’Brian, Love Lies Bleeding (A24)

Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (A24)

Adam Pearson, A Different Man (A24)

Brian Tyree Henry, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Director

Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Sean Baker, Anora (NEON)

Guan Hu, Black Dog (The Forge)

Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Best International Feature

All We Imagine as Light

Payal Kapadia, director; Julien Graff, Thomas Hakim, producers (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Green Border

Agnieszka Holland, director; Fred Bernstein, Agnieszka Holland, Marcin Wierzchoslawski, producers (Kino Lorber)

Hard Truths

Mike Leigh, director; Georgina Lowe, producer (Bleecker Street)

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Thien An Pham, director; Jeremy Chua, Tran Van Thi, producers (Kino Lorber)

Vermiglio

Maura Delpero, director; Francesca Andreoli, Maura Delpero, Santiago Fondevila Sance, Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, producers (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Best Documentary Feature 

Dahomey

Mati Diop, director; Mati Diop, Judith Lou Lévy, Eve Robin, producers (MUBI)

Intercepted

Oksana Karpovych, director; Darya Bassel, Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Rocío B. Fuentes, Giacomo Nudi, Lucie Rego Pauline Tran Van Lieu, producers (Grasshopper Film)

No Other Land

Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, directors; Fabien Greenberg, B?rd Kj?ge R?nning, producers (Antipode Films)

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

Johan Grimonprez, director; Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius, producers (Kino Lorber)

Sugarcane

Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, directors; Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn, producers (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Union

Stephen Maing, Brett Story, directors; Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, producers (Self-Distributed)

Best Screenplay

Between the Temples, Nathan Silver, C. Mason Wells (Sony Pictures Classics)

Evil Does Not Exist, Ry?suke Hamaguchi (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Femme, Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping (Utopia)

His Three Daughters, Azazel Jacobs (Netflix)

Janet Planet, Annie Baker (A24)

Breakthrough Director

Shuchi Talati, Girls Will Be Girls (Juno Films, Inc)

India Donaldson, Good One (Metrograph Pictures)

Alessandra Lacorazza, In the Summers (Music Box Films)

Vera Drew, The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence)

Mahdi Fleifel, To a Land Unknown (Watermelon Pictures)

Breakthrough Performer

Lily Collias, Good One (Metrograph Pictures)

Ryan Destiny, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios)

Maisy Stella, My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)

Izaac Wang, Dìdi Y(Focus Features)

Brandon Wilson, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Best of Variety

• What's Coming to Netflix in November 2024

• The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Al Pacino to Lisa Marie Presley

• New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 

Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.