SAG Awards Throw Oscar Curveballs: Penelope Cruz and Sterling K. Brown Hit, but Will A24 and ‘May December’ Strike Out?

The SAG Awards nominations provided an exciting blend of usual suspects and stunning omissions. For some awards season strategists — particularly the ones behind critically adored films like “Anatomy of a Fall” and “May December” — there’s no choice but to ask, “what happened?”

The SAG Awards’ pearl anniversary brought expected mentions for Oscar contenders such as the two summer smash hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” leading the tally for all movies with four nominations each. In addition, the crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the satirical dramedy “American Fiction” managed three mentions. The latter needed the boost, picking up vital mentions for Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown, which turbocharges their campaigns.

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SAG wasn’t the only group to change the shape of the Oscar race, with the Directors Guild of America naming five directing nominees: Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”), Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”), Alexander Payne (“The Holdovers”), and Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”).

But that left other major contenders like Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”) and Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”) out in the cold. One thing worth noting is that filmmakers who were recognized by the DGA for directing their first feature such as Cord Jefferson (“American Fiction”) and Celine Song (“Past Lives”) could still be nominated for an Oscar for directing. Those movies have plenty of buzz. After all, the DGA top five has not matched the Oscar nominees for directing since 2009.

Here are the snubs and surprises from a busy day on the awards circuit:

Snub: “May December” shut out.

Netflix’s “May December” has been very popular with critics and audiences, with praise getting heaped on its acting trifecta of Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. However, the stars of Todd Haynes’ black comedy didn’t hear any of their names called. Portman was considered a longshot due to the competitive nature of the lead actress race, but Moore, a former winner for “Still Alice” (2014), was expected to be included. Ultimately, Melton was most hurt by the omission, especially after missing the BAFTA longlist, leaving no other opportunities for recognition before the Oscars.

Surprise: Sterling K. Brown

MGM’s “American Fiction” enjoyed a great showing with SAG, with its ensemble getting recognized, as well as its leading actor Jeffrey Wright. Brown’s impressive work as Cliff, a recently divorced gay man, jumped ahead of big names such as Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”) to get on the list. That could be the boost he needed right before Oscar voting starts.

Snub: Leonardo DiCaprio

“Killers of the Flower Moon” had a solid showing with the ensemble and actors Lily Gladstone and Robert DeNiro recognized. But DiCaprio was the casualty of a highly competitive lead actor race. It appears that the Oscar-winning actor is on the bubble to receive his seventh acting nod; he’ll need help from BAFTA to keep his hopes alive.

Surprise: Annette Bening

The sports drama “Nyad” has often felt like it’s trying to keep up with the tide this Oscar season. However, Bening’s chances are being kept afloat after she was included in SAG’s list of top leading actress performances. A four-time Oscar nominee, Bening is also a SAG winner for “American Beauty.” She’s clearly built up a lot of respect and goodwill around the industry.

Snub: Sandra Hüller

The courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” has been surging recently, winning multiple prizes at various awards ceremonies. And yet Hüller, who has been a revelation this year, was omitted from the best actress category. However, SAG typically doesn’t embrace non-English language performances (even though her performance was partially in English). They’ve overlooked eventual Oscar nominees such as Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”), Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), and Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”) through the years. That could explain why her name was also missing in supporting actress, where she is a contender for her chilling work in the Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest.”

Surprise: Penélope Cruz

Cruz often shows strength later in an awards season (see her runs for “Nine” and “Parallel Mothers”). This time she’s coming in hot down the stretch for her volcanic work as a grieving mother in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari.” The Neon drama has mostly flown under the radar. However, that’s now changed, proving Cruz could be one of the last entries in a supporting actress race where the only sure things seem to be Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”) and Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”). Watch this race!

Snub: A24

Indie distributor A24 made history last year, becoming the first studio to win all five of the SAG Awards’ major prizes with four record-breaking wins for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and best actor for Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”). The pendulum made a sharp swing this time around, with all four of their major awards pushes — “The Iron Claw,” “Past Lives,” “Priscilla,” and “The Zone of Interest” — getting shut out. But fear not, BAFTA and Oscar voters are likely to fall over themselves recognizing “Past Lives” and “Zone.”

Surprise: “The Color Purple”

The musical adaptation of the novel by Alice Walker seem to have paid off. The cast of Blitz Bazawule’s holiday hit managed to slip by films with formidable ensembles such as “Air” and “Poor Things.” Standout Danielle Brooks, who plays Sofia, the role initially occupied by producer Oprah Winfrey, also got a nomination.

Snub: America Ferrera

“Barbie” had a fantastic day in terms of SAG noms and Gerwig scored a DGA nod. Nonetheless, Ferrera’s funny and tender turn as a Mattel employee was left out of the supporting actress names. The Emmy-winning actress still has a shot after earning a Critics Choice nod and getting longlisted at BAFTA. The better “Barbie” does nomination-wise, the better her Oscar chances.

TV Snubs and Surprises: “Jury Duty,” Jeremy Strong omissions and “Gilded Age’s” big morning

The SAG Awards don’t have supporting TV categories (please fix this), so that leaves room for many omissions, such as Meryl Streep from “Only Murders in the Building” and Henry Winkler for “Barry.” Elsewhere in the snubbed pile, you’ll find Showtime’s horror-thriller series “Yellowjackets” and Amazon Freevee’s smash hit “Jury Duty.” Also overlooked were Jeremy Strong’s work in Max’s “Succession” in the drama actor race, where three of his co-stars are nominated: Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen. Kendall can never catch a break.

In the surprise column, period drama “The Gilded Age” got an ensemble nod and finally got the kind of awards season acceptance that has henceforth eluded the show (how did Bertha Russell pull that off?). At the same time, Uzo Aduba’s nod for Netflix’s limited series “Painkiller” and Tony Shalhoub’s for the TV movie “Mr. Monk’s Last Case” made a few heads tilt.

The 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony will stream live globally on Netflix for the first time this year on Feb. 24.

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