“Wicked” and “Shōgun” received the most nominations for the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which were released Wednesday morning via press release after the in-person announcement was canceled due to the Los Angeles fires.

 

In the movie categories, “Wicked” scored nods for lead actress Cynthia Erivo, supporting actress Ariana Grande, supporting actor Jonathan Bailey, cast ensemble and stunt ensemble. Close behind was “A Complete Unknown,” with nominations for lead Timothée Chalamet, supporting actor Edward Norton, supporting actress Monica Barbaro and cast ensemble.

Recent Golden Globe winner Demi Moore strengthened her chances at an Oscar nomination with her lead performance nod Wednesday morning for “The Substance.” Pamela Anderson followed up her Golden Globe nomination with another surprise one for her lead performance in “The Last Showgirl.” In that highly competitive best actress category, notable snubs included Angelina Jolie (“Maria”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”) and Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”).

 

Overall, “Wicked” did better than expected, with Jonathan Bailey’s nomination edging out potential nominees Denzel Washington for “Gladiator II,” Guy Pearce for “The Brutalist” and Clarence Maclin for “Sing Sing.” “A Complete Unknown” also scored well with voters, while Golden Globes drama winner “The Brutalist” got a single nomination for lead actor Adrien Brody but nothing for Pearce or Felicity Jones and nothing in the crucial ensemble cast category.

 

Other notable omissions included Isabella Rossellini for “Conclave,” who fell victim to the SAG Nominating Committee voters’ affection for Jamie Lee Curtis and “The Last Showgirl,” and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, widely praised for her supporting turn in “Nickel Boys.”

 

Notably, nearly half of the 20 nominated actors are in musicals or music-heavy movies: “Wicked,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Emilia Pérez.”

In the TV categories, “Shōgun” continued its domination, picking up nods for Emmy and Golden Globe winners Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada, plus Golden Globe winner Tadanobu Asano (supporting), drama ensemble cast and stunt ensemble cast.

Joey King and Cooper Koch were scheduled to announce the nominees live, but due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles metro area, the in-person event was canceled. Several other events have been canceled and more than 30,000 people have been evacuated as of this writing.

 

Over the last 15 years, a little more than 75% of the SAG nominees in the individual acting categories have gone on to receive Oscar nominations. Last year, the leading actor category was a five-for-five match and the other three categories went four-for-five.

 

A SAG ensemble nomination was once considered essential for any film hoping to win Best Picture, with every Oscar winner between 1996 and 2016 first receiving the SAG cast nom. But between 2017 and 2020, three films — “The Shape of Water,” “Green Book” and “Nomadland” — won the top Oscar without a SAG ensemble nomination. Since then, though, the same film has won both all three times, restoring a bit of luster to the ensemble category.

 

The SAG Awards will stream live on Netflix on Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. As previously announced, Kristen Bell will host and Jane Fonda will receive the SAG Life Achievement Award. This will be Bell’s second time emceeing: She was the first-ever SAG Awards host in 2018.

 

Silent House Productions will return to produce the 31st annual ceremony. Jon Brockett, along with Silent House Productions’ Emmy winners Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn, will serve as executive producers.