Michigan Movie Critics Guild names 'Anora' best picture of 2024

Sean Baker's film, 'The Brutalist,' and Ariana Grande walk away with major honors.

Here it is! After several months of screenings, voting and debating, the Michigan Movie Critics Guild — of which I’m a voting member and on the leadership board — announced its winners today. I’m proud of these awards; they honor some great movies and work, and while I might have quibbles (particularly in the stunt category), I think it’s a great and diverse lineup of films this year. The press release follows; my top 10 list will hit in a week!

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The Michigan Movie Critics Guild has announced its winners for the best films and performances of 2024. Anora was named best picture, and lead actress Mikey Madison received the guild’s best actress award and was honored as the year’s breakthrough performance; Anora also received the guild’s best screenplay award. Honors also went to The Brutalist for Brady Corbet’s direction as well as the performances of Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce, who were honored as best actor and best supporting actor, respectively. Wicked’s Ariana Grande was named best supporting actress, and the papal drama Conclave was recognized for its ensemble. The guild also voted to include cinematography as a new category in 2025.

This year’s full list of nominees is (winners in bold):

• Best Picture

  • Anora

  • The Brutalist

  • Dune: Part Two

  • The Substance

  • Wicked

• Best Director

  • Sean Baker, Anora

  • Jon M. Chu, Wicked

  • Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

  • Robert Eggers, Nosferatu

  • Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

• Best Actress

  • Amy Adams, Nightbitch

  • Cynthia Erivo, Wicked

  • Nicole Kidman, Babygirl

  • Mikey Madison, Anora

  • Demi Moore, The Substance

• Best Actor

  • Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

  • Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

  • Daniel Craig, Queer

  • Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

  • Hugh Grant, Heretic

• Best Supporting Actress

  • Ariana Grande, Wicked

  • Felicity Jones, The Brutalist

  • Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters

  • Margaret Qualley, The Substance

  • Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

• Best Supporting Actor

  • Yura Burisov, Anora

  • Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

  • Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing

  • Guy Pearce, The Brutalist

  • Adam Pearson, A Different Man

  • Denzel Washington, Gladiator II

• Best Animated Film

  • Flow

  • Inside Out 2

  • Piece by Piece

  • Transformers One

  • The Wild Robot

• Best Documentary

  • Daughters

  • Music By John Williams

  • No Other Land

  • Piece By Piece

  • Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

  • Will & Harper

• Best Ensemble

  • Conclave

  • Dune: Part Two

  • Nosferatu

  • Saturday Night

  • Wicked

• Best Screenplay (Adapted or Original)

  • Anora

  • The Brutalist

  • Challengers

  • Nosferatu

  • The Substance

  • Wicked

• Breakthrough Award

  • Mikey Madison, actress, Anora

  • Giovanni Ribisi, cinematographer, Strange Darling

  • Jane Schoenbrun, director, I Saw the TV Glow

  • Maisy Stella, actress, My Old Ass

  • Zelda Williams, director, Lisa Frankenstein

• Stunts

  • Deadpool & Wolverine

  • The Fall Guy

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

  • Kill

  • Monkey Man

  • Road House

• The MMCG Award for Film Excellence (presented to a filmmaker, writer, actor, crew member etc. who has Michigan ties or to a film made or set in Michigan)

  • The Fire Inside (set in Flint, lead actress Ryan Destiny Detroit native)

  • Francis Ford Coppola, writer/director, Megalopolis

  • Hundreds of Beavers (partially filmed in Michigan)

  • Keegan-Michael Key, actor, IF/Transformers One/Dear Santa

  • J.K. Simmons, actor, Saturday Night/Red One/Juror #2

The MMCG is a collective of film critics who are committed to enhancing the conversation about cinema and further establishing the state’s reputation as a film-loving community. This year’s MMCG is composed of 15 critics, who cover films for a variety of outlets across the state. From websites to newspapers and podcasts to YouTube, they capture the diversity of the field and bring a range of expertise, outlooks, and tastes.

This year’s lineup includes:

• Nate Adams, TheOnlyCritic and The Clinton Local

• Mark Eaton, Movie Reelist

• Becky Fixel, Week99er

• Christopher George, Spoiler Free Movie Sleuth

• Seth Hay, Cat With Monocle

• Michelle Kisner, Spoiler Free Movie Sleuth

• Megan Loucks, Wonder Watchlist

• Cheryl Murray, Cat With Monocle

• Joshua Polanski, Midwest Film Journal

• Perry Seibert, WLBY and the “We’re Watching Here” podcast

• John Serba, Decider

• MontiLee Stormer, MovieReelist

• Mike Tyrkus, CinemaNerdz

• Carl Wheeler, The Reel Godfather

• Chris Williams, Chrisicisms and the “We’re Watching Here” podcast

Information about the MMCG and its members is available at its website. For further information, email michiganmoviecritics@gmail.com.

You can find them on Facebook, Blue Sky, Instagram and X.