Oscars 2020: Anticipated SAG 2020 Nominations Unveiled – Top

Now that we’ve seen the nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Awards and the Golden Globes, it’s time to give the final predictions for who will be nominated at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards this Wednesday, December 11th. Remembering that there are only six film categories, that doesn’t make this list as expansive, but the SAG voters are still not always lining up 100% with the nominations at the Oscars and various other awards bodies.

 

Best Stunt Ensemble

Predictions:
1917
Avengers: Endgame
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
Us

This can sometimes be a funny category, filled with action and war films, but also with some films that earn a lot of acclaim or money, so that’s why I have the billion-dollar Joker on the list in addition to the more likely contenders.

A few other stunt ensembles that could be nominated include Spider-Man: Far From Home, Captain Marvel, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Predictions:
Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers
Florence Pugh – Little Women
Margot Robbie – Bombshell
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey

Annette Bening feels like she’s falling away in this category, and that’s allowing for ingenue Florence Pugh to rise up, especially if her film is climbing up the charts, too. Smith feels like a nominee here who may miss everywhere else except BAFTA, and sometimes the SAG voters do that.

A few options left are Bening (The Report), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Zhao Shuzhen (The Farewell), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite is My Name), and maybe Octavia Spencer (Luce).

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Predictions:
Willem Dafoe – The Lighthouse
Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes
Al Pacino – The Irishman
Joe Pesci – The Irishman
Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Okay, so my thinking on this goes as follows: Willem Dafoe is a very popular actor, who works on smaller indies but also does the big blockbusters. Even if The Lighthouse isn’t looking to be a powerful player at SAG otherwise, I think he makes it in. Then with Hopkins making every list for The Two Popes, as well as both the guys from The Irishman, I can’t help but feel that leaves Tom Hanks out, thought I could be very wrong there. He may very well come back and bite me with a nomination here.

Also watch out for Jamie Foxx in Just Mercy, Shia LaBeouf in Honey Boy, Sterling K. Brown in Waves, and Aldis Hodge in Clemency.

 

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Predictions:
Awkwafina – The Farewell
Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
Charlize Theron – Bombshell
Renee Zellweger – Judy

These feel like a solid five, and have been nominated across the board by the BFCA and HFPA, so there’s really not too many reasons to go against any of them. That being said, Lupita Nyong’o in Us, Cynthia Erivo in Harriet, Alfre Woodard in Clemency, Helen Mirren in The Good Liar, and Julianne Moore in Gloria Bell are a few names to watch out for.

 

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Predictions:
Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Eddie Murphy – Dolemite is My Name
Robert De Niro – The Irishman
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

With the exception of Murphy, these gentlemen will all be in the column of likely to be nominated, so if any of them miss, this would be huge. This is starting to turn into the most competitive category, and at this point, any missed nominations in the precursors to the Oscars may result in losing out on the nomination.

The other actors in contention are Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory), Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems), Taron Egerton (Rocketman), Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes), and Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari).

 

Best Ensemble

Predictions:
Dolemite is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Irishman

Best Actor may be the most competitive acting category of the four this year, but at SAG, there’s no topping this category for most likely for upsets. There are so many fantastic ensembles in films this year, it will be hard to narrow it down, and I can see a lot of headlines coming out of Wednesday morning reading “Upset! ____ snubbed”.

A few names that could fill in that void, in addition to those I’m predicting, are Knives Out, Little Women, Downton Abbey, Bombshell, Parasite, The Farewell, Hustlers, and Just Mercy.

The awards for the 26th Screen Actors Guild will be handed out on Sunday, January 19th.