Spotlight, Straight Outta Compton and The Martian were among the 10 feature film nominees announced Tuesday for the 27th Producers Guild Awards.
Conspicuously missing were critics’ favorite Carol and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a wild card thus far in award races.
The Producers Guild nominees reflected a diverse lot of films, including favorites such as the investigative journalism pic Spotlight; the star-studded financial crisis comedy The Big Short; and the high-octane Mad Max: Fury Road.
Crowd-pleasers like Ridley Scott's space adventure The Martian and the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton were also nominated, as was the revenge epic The Revenant.
Surprises include a few well-reviewed films that were considered underdogs in the awards race — the border drama Sicario, the artificial intelligence thriller Ex Machina; the Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies; and the immigrant romance Brooklyn.
Many hopefuls left out
PGA nominees have historically been a solid indicator of films that ultimately received Academy Award nominations for best picture. Last year, Birdman won both the PGA and the Academy Award.
This year, Oscar front-runners seem more elusive than ever to determine, aside from a strong consensus around Spotlight.
The voting period for Oscar nominees closes Friday, and the selections will be announced Jan. 14. The Golden Globes will reveal its winners Sunday.
Aside from Star Wars and Carol, many other Oscar hopefuls were left out of the PGA lot. Among them were Lenny Abrahamson's Room, which is expected to get star Brie Larson a best actress nomination; Quentin Tarantino's bloody Western The Hateful Eight; David O. Russell's miracle mop inventor pic Joy; and Ryan Coogler's continuation of the Rocky Balboa saga Creed.
There were no surprises in the animation nominees, though, which included Anomalisa, Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Minions and The Peanuts Movie.
Feature documentary nominees were previously announced and include Amy and The Look of Silence.
The Producers Guild represents more than 7,000 producers of film, television and online content.
Winners will be announced Jan. 23 during a ceremony in Los Angeles.
