What The SAG Awards Mean For The Oscars 2024: 5 Takeaways From The Winners Losers

By Greg MacArthur Published 5 minutes ago

The 2024 SAG Awards provided the final indications for the winners of major acting categories at the upcoming 96th Oscars reaffirmed some favorites.

Summary

• The 2024 SAG Awards hinted at potential Oscar winners in major acting categories, reaffirming established favorites like Succession.
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Robert Downey Jr. emerged as strong contenders for Best Supporting Actress and Actor, respectively.
• Cillian Murphy and Lily Gladstone won big at the SAG Awards, setting up a close race for Best Actor and Actress at the 2024 Oscars.

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The 2024 SAG Awards provided some major clues and indications for the upcoming 96th Academy Awards. The 2024 SAG Awards featured five major categories in the film as well as several more honors specifically for television and limited series. Some of the biggest winners of the night included the ensemble cast of Succession as well as the individual leading performances of Netflix's limited series Beef. As the last prominent awards show before the highly-anticipated 2024 Oscars, the SAG Awards reaffirmed several previously established favorites in a handful of major acting categories.

The 2024 SAG Awards aired for the first time ever on Netflix following the historic dual WGA and SAG strikes of 2023. The awards ceremony was held at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles near the University of Southern California, a legendary venue that has hosted the Oscars in previous years. The first SAG Awards was held in 1995 and has recurred every year since as a way of actors honoring other actors. Historically, the SAG Awards have provided solid indications of how the acting categories at the Academy Awards will shape out, which appears to be the case in 2024 as well.

5 Da'Vine Joy Randolph Seems Like A Lock For Best Supporting Actress

Randolph also won the Golden Globe for her role in The Holdovers

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Da'Vine Joy Randolph won the 2024 SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress in A Motion Picture. After Randolph previously took home the award in the same category at the 2024 Golden Globes back in January, it appears that she is the clear favorite going into the Academy Awards, in which she is a nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. Randolph has won an extraordinary number of awards already for her role as a grieving mother named Mary Lamb in The Holdovers such as the Critics Choice Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.

4 Robert Downey Jr. Becomes Heavy Favorite For Best Supporting Actor

He also won the Golden Globe & BAFTA for his role as Lewis Strauss

Similar to Da'Vine Joy Randolph's dominant and sweeping performance in a supporting category this awards season, Robery Downey Jr.'s SAG Award win makes him an even heavier Oscar favorite. Downey Jr. has been the favorite to win the Oscar in the Supporting Actor category even before the 2024 award season began. After multiple recent wins including the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, and the BAFTA, Robert Downey Jr. appears to be a shoo-in to take home his very first Academy Award for his standout role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Downey Jr. had previously been nominated for his roles in Tropic Thunder (2009) and Chaplin (1993).

3 Cillian Murphy Edges Ahead Of Paul Giamatti In Best Actor Race

Giamatti won the Critics Choice award over Murphy

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Cillian Murphy has been the favorite for the Best Actor Oscar for months, but a recent Critics Choice Award win for Paul Giamatti's performance in The Holdovers certainly shook things up. Murphy won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his brilliant portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer and has now won the SAG Award as well, cementing his status as the clear and undeniable favorite for Best Actor at the upcoming 2024 Oscars. There is still certainly the chance that Giamatti could prevail over Murphy once again but after Murphy's SAG Award triumph, Giamatti is certainly fighting an uphill battle heading into the Academy Awards.

2 Lily Gladstone & Emma Stone Even The Playing Field For Best Actress

Gladstone won a Golden Globe & SAG Award

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Lily Gladstone took home the SAG Award for Best Actress for her role as Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon, adding to her other recent win at the Golden Globes in the same category. Her biggest competition remains to be Emma Stone, who took home the BAFTA and the Critics Choice Award for her role as Bella Baxter in the Yorgos Lanthimos film Poor Things. Gladstone and Stone have essentially evened the playing field with two major wins a piece, although the Golden Globes are arguably the most significant of the aforementioned honors. The Oscar for Best Actress will almost certainly come down to Gladstone and Stone.

1 Oppenheimer's Ensemble Win Opens Emphasizes Murphy & Downey Jr.'s Chances

Oppenheimer's ensemble win could also boost Nolan's bid for Best Director

Oppenheimer unsurprisingly took home the SAG Award for Best Film Ensemble, which is only right considering its massive and outstanding supporting cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Jason Clarke, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, and more. Oppenheimer's ensemble win could add even more security to the already heavy favorites of Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy, and could even support the claim for Christopher Nolan's first-ever Best Director and Best Picture wins. The SAG Awards honored predictable yet incredibly well-deserved candidates that could greatly inform the 2024 Academy Awards.

Dates March 10, 2024 Location Los Angeles, CA Network ABC