A24 could make Oscar history as first studio to sweep Best Picture, Best Director and all 4 acting categories

After spending a couple awards cycles on the sidelines, A24 reemerged this year with more Oscar nominations than any other studio–18 between six films: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Whale,” “Aftersun,” “Causeway,” “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” and “Close.” The arthouse label is positioned to set an even more staggering record, though. If Oscar night, as it did in 2022, repeats both the SAG and DGA Awards–in other words, if “EEAAO” takes Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), and Best Picture, while Best Actor goes to “The Whale” (Brendan Fraser)–A24 will become the first studio in history to make a clean sweep of the top categories. 

SEE Ke Huy Quan (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’) on a comeback 30 years in the making: ‘I don’t take for granted for a second, what a privilege it is to do what you love’ 

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Technically, Columbia already posted that stat with 1934’s “It Happened One Night,” but as the supporting acting categories weren’t introduced until 1937, it did so with two fewer trophies (the movie won Best Actor for Clark Gable, Best Actress for Claudette Colbert, Best Director for Frank Capra, and Best Picture). Even if “EEAAO” fails to win Picture or Director (or both), A24 can still pull off a feat unprecedented in modern history. Should Yeoh, Quan, Curtis, and Fraser all see their SAG victories carry over to the Dolby Theater, the studio will be the first since United Artists at the 1959 Academy Awards to sweep the acting categories. The winners that year were David Niven (“Separate Tables”), Susan Hayward (“I Want to Live!”), Burl Ives (“The Big Country”) and Wendy Hiller (“Separate Tables”). Picture and Director went to MGM’s “Gigi.” 

SEE ‘The Whale’ star Brendan Fraser on his acclaimed comeback role: ‘I didn’t want to take the obvious choice’ 

A24’s other acting contenders are “Aftersun’s” Paul Mescal (Best Actor; ranked fifth), “Causeway’s” Brian Tyree Henry (Best Supporting Actor; ranked fifth), “The Whale’s” Hong Chau (Best Supporting Actress; ranked fifth), and “EEAAO’s” Stephanie Hsu (Best Supporting Actress; ranked fourth).

“EEAAO” leads our odds to win at the Writers Guild of America Awards, but it isn’t facing off against its main Oscar competitor in Best Original Screenplay (“The Banshees of Inisherin”). If the Daniels win that Oscar race and the outcomes already mentioned indeed occur, it will be a clean sweep for the indie distributor.   

A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. As of 2023, the studio has received a total of 49 Academy Award nominations. Their past wins include Best Actress (Brie Larson, “Room” in 2016), Best Documentary Feature (“Amy” in 2016), Best Visual Effects (“Ex Machina” in 2016), Best Picture (“Moonlight” in 2017), Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” in 2017), Best Adapted Screenplay (“Moonlight” in 2017) and Best Supporting Actress (Yuh-jung Youn, “Minari” in 2021).

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