DETROIT – The Michigan Movie Critics Guild (MMCG) has announced its winners for the best films and performances of 2024. Anora was named best picture, and lead actress Mikey Madison received the guild’s best actress award and was honored as the year’s breakthrough performance; Anora also received the guild’s best screenplay award. Honors also went to The Brutalist for Brady Corbet’s direction as well as the performances of Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce, who were honored as best actor and best supporting actor, respectively. Wicked’s Ariana Grande was named best supporting actress, and the papal drama Conclave was recognized for its ensemble. The guild also voted to include cinematography as a new category in 2025.
The MMCG is a collective of film critics who are committed to enhancing the conversation about cinema and further establishing the state’s reputation as a film-loving community. This year’s group is composed of fifteen critics, who cover films for a variety of outlets across the state. From websites to newspapers and podcasts to YouTube, they capture the diversity of the field and bring a range of expertise, outlooks, and tastes.
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The Best of 2024
as picked by the Michigan Movie Critics Guild
(winners indicated by boldface and nominees are listed in alphabetical order)
BEST PICTURE
- Anora
- The Brutalist
- Dune: Part Two
- The Substance
- Wicked
BEST DIRECTOR
- Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
- Sean Baker, Anora
- Jon M. Chu, Wicked
- Robert Eggers, Nosferatu
- Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
BEST ACTRESS
- Mikey Madison, Anora
- Amy Adams, Nightbitch
- Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
- Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
- Demi Moore, The Substance
BEST ACTOR
- Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
- Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
- Daniel Craig, Queer
- Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
- Hugh Grant, Heretic
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Ariana Grande, Wicked
- Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
- Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters
- Margaret Qualley, The Substance
- Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
- Yura Burisov, Anora
- Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
- Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
- Adam Pearson, A Different Man
- Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
BEST ANIMATED FILM
- The Wild Robot
- Flow
- Inside Out 2
- Piece by Piece
- Transformers One
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
- Daughters
- Music By John Williams
- No Other Land
- Piece By Piece
- Will & Harper
BEST ENSEMBLE
- Conclave
- The Brutalist
- Dune: Part Two
- Nosferatu
- Saturday Night
- Wicked
BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED OR ORIGINAL)
- Anora
- The Brutalist
- Challengers
- Nosferatu
- The Substance
- Wicked
BREAKTHROUGH AWARD
- Mikey Madison, actress, Anora
- Giovanni Ribisi, cinematographer, Strange Darling
- Jane Schoenbrun, director, I Saw the TV Glow
- Maisy Stella, actress, My Old Ass
- Zelda Williams, director, Lisa Frankenstein
STUNTS
- Monkey Man
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- The Fall Guy
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Kill
- Road House
AWARD FOR FILM EXCELLENCE
- The Fire Inside (set in Flint, lead actress Ryan Destiny Detroit native)
- Francis Ford Coppola, writer/director, Megalopolis
- Hundreds of Beavers (partially filmed in Michigan)
- Keegan-Michael Key, actor, IF/Transformers One/Dear Santa
- J.K. Simmons, actor, Saturday Night/Red One/Juror #2
About the MMCG: The Michigan Movie Critics Guild members for this season includes, in alphabetical order: Nate Adams, (TheOnlyCritic and The Clinton Local); Mark Eaton, (Movie Reelist); Becky Fixel, (Week99er); Christopher George, (Spoiler Free Movie Sleuth); Seth Hay, (Cat With Monocle); Michelle Kisner, (Spoiler Free Movie Sleuth); Megan Loucks, (Wonder Watchlist); Cheryl Murray, (Cat With Monocle); Joshua Polanski, (Midwest Film Journal); Perry Seibert, (WLBY and the “We’re Watching Here” podcast); John Serba, (Decider); MontiLee Stormer, (MovieReelist); Mike Tyrkus, (CinemaNerdz); Carl Wheeler, (The Reel Godfather); Chris Williams, (Chrisicisms and the “We’re Watching Here” podcast).
Information about the MMCG and its members is available at its website.
For further information, email michiganmoviecritics@gmail.com.