Oscars: ‘Mank’ Leads Nominees With 10

David Fincher’s Mank led the pack with 10 nominations as the 93rd Oscars were announced Monday morning.

The 1930s-set film, which centers on alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish Citizen Kane, will compete against The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 for best picture.

Husband and wife Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas announced the nominations in all 23 Oscar categories from a remote feed in London. In addition to the nominations, it was revealed that the April 25 Oscar ceremony will take place at both L.A.’s Union Station and the Dolby Theatre, the dual locations marking a first for the Academy. Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh are producing the telecast.

There were few surprises in a year in which the film industry was rocked by the global coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted moviegoing worldwide and thrown into question the future of the theatrical experience. The most notable shocker was the inclusion of Another Round helmer Thomas Vinterberg in the best director category. The category also made history with the inclusion of two female directors — Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao and Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell. They became only the sixth and seventh women to compete in the category, with Zhao becoming the first woman of color. Fincher and Minari’s Lee Isaac Chung also will vie for the directing honors. Chung and Zhao’s nominations also marked the first time two Asian directors will compete for the statue in the same year.

Six films tied for the second-most nominations — six — including Searchlight’s Nomadland, which has been named best picture by a number of bellwether groups heading into Monday’s nominations and is seen as the frontrunner. The other films nabbing six nominations are Sony Pictures Classics’ The Father, Warner Bros.’ Judas, A24’s Minari, Amazon’s Sound of Metal and Netflix’s Chicago 7.

Given that the pandemic has resulted in theatergoers being largely relegated to their couches for much of the year, it should come as no surprise that the streamers dominated. Netflix was the only distributor that scored two nominations in the best picture category for Mank and Chicago 7. Amazon also fared well with the performance of Sound of Metal, which earned nominations for Riz Ahmed (best actor) and Paul Raci (supporting actor), among other mentions. Still, Amazon was denied a best picture nomination for both Regina King’s One Night in Miami and the comedy Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Netflix scored 35 nominations overall, coming close to, but not surpassing, a record held by United Artists, which landed 45 in 1941. Amazon also showed muscle with 12 nominations total including Garrett Bradley’s documentary Time, a documentary it picked up out of Sundance.

In a year that also saw the nation face its most dramatic reckoning in decades, Monday’s nominations offered the kind of diversity that has long been absent. Steven Yeun became the first Asian American nominated for best actor in Oscars history, while Ahmed joined Ben Kingsley, who is half Indian, as the only men of South Asian descent who have been recognized in the category.

The late Chadwick Boseman, who was overlooked for a best actor nomination for his performance in Get On Up during an awards season that spawned the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, was nominated today for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a Netflix film that nabbed five mentions total. Boseman, who died in August at the age of 43, could become only the second posthumous best actor winner after Network’s Peter Finch. (Heath Ledger won supporting actor posthumously for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight).

Still, traditional distributors held their own in a year that posed greater challenges to their business models than ever before. Sony Pictures Classics fared particularly well with The Father, landing the best picture nom as well as a best actor and supporting actress mentions for previous Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, respectively. Ditto for Focus Features, which saw its drama Promising Young Woman find a spot among the eight best picture nominees. And Searchlight also found plenty to celebrate with Nomadland, which will see Frances McDormand make a run for her third best actress Oscar. (She previously won for Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.)

Nevertheless, ABC, which airs the Oscars telecast, will almost certainly face a continued downward trajectory on the ratings front. None of the films vying for best picture would likely qualify as a major box office hit in a normal year, giving movie fans less incentive to tune in than in past years where films like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Titanic won the top prize. Last year, major studio hits like Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and its stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt upped the glamour quotient but couldn’t keep ABC from sinking to an all-time ratings low with 23.6 million viewers. This year’s more obscure assortment of films, combined with overall awards show apathy, will pose a challenge like never before for the network to attract viewers.

Barack and Michelle Obama, whose Higher Ground backed last year’s documentary winner American Factory, will look to repeat history with Crip Camp. The film, about a 1970s summer oasis for the disabled, will vie against Time as well as The Mole Agent, My Octopus Teacher and The Collective. But not all politicians turned producers walked away with a doc nomination. Stacey Abrams, who executive produced and is the star subject of All In: The Fight for Democracy, didn’t make the cut despite being shortlisted. The Collective, which hails from Romania, also picked up a nomination in the foreign-language category, repeating a feat done by last year’s Honeyland.

“This past year we were incredibly lucky to work with an extremely diverse and talented group of filmmakers, actors and crews, and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. Each of the four nominated films are brilliantly executed, weaving together poignant stories and artistry that have resonated with audiences everywhere,” said Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke of the streaming giant’s showing with Sound of Metal, Borat, One Night in Miami and Time.

And though Vinterberg’s directing nomination may have been unexpected, he follows in the footsteps of Paweł Pawlikowski, who landed helming and foreign-language noms for Cold War three years ago. (Cold War represented Poland, while Vinterberg’s Another Round hails from Denmark.)

Meanwhile, the deep-pocketed Apple finally crashed the Academy party, landing its first-ever nominations for best animated feature (Wolfwalkers) and best sound (Greyhound), even if its doc Boys State, which was widely expected to receive a mention, was passed over.

And while this year’s nominees offered plenty of newcomers like Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Daniel Kaluuya (Judas), Maria Bakalova (Borat) and Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari), Oscar veterans were also well represented. Glenn Close, who is competing in the supporting actress category for Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, has been nominated eight times but has never won. Gary Oldman, who won best actor just three years ago for Darkest Hour, was nominated in the same category this year for Mank.

Overall, the Academy singled out the achievement of women this year, noting that 70 women received a total 76 nominations, a record for a given year.

The Oscar telecast will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 25.

A complete list of this year’s nominees follows.

Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Erica Rivinoja & Dan Swimer)
The Father (Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller)
Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)
One Night in Miami (Kemp Powers)
The White Tiger (Ramin Bahrani)

Best Original Screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah (Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas & Kenny Lucas)
Minari (Lee Isaac Chung)
Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell)
Sound of Metal (Derek Cianfrance, Abraham Marder & Darius Marder)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin)

Best Costume Design
Emma
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mulan
Pinocchio

Best Original Score
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul

Best Animated Short Film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People

Best Live-Action Short Film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye

Best Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time

Best Documentary Short Subject
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha

Best International Feature Film
Denmark, Another Round
Hong Kong, Better Days
Romania, Collective
Tunisia, The Man Who Sold His Skin
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Quo Vadis, Aida?

Best Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Sound of Metal
Soul

Best Production Design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet

Best Film Editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet

Best Animated Feature Film
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio

Best Original Song
“Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah
“lo Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)
“Speak Now” from One Night in Miami
“Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7