A total of five films tied for top nominations as the 2026 Gotham Film Group spread the wealth in a big way ahead of its upcoming 38th ceremony. The NYC event that opens the movie awards season saw All of a Sudden, Clarissa, The Invite, La Gradiva and Tender Loving Care all score four noms each.
Everytime, Josephine, Minotaur, Possible Love, Primetime, Teenage Sex and Death At Camp Miasma and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother nabbed three nominations.
Best Features noms include: Clarissa (Neon), Club Kid (A24);The Debut (A24); Dreams in Nightmares (Lunette Films); The Invite (A24); Josephine (Sumerian Pictures); Mouse (Independent Film Company); Paper Tiger (Neon); Primetime (A24); Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma (Mubi); and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Amazon MGM Studios).
The Gothams expanded its Best Feature category last year.
A24 and Neon dominated the nominations, with, respectively, 15 and 14 each. New distributor 1-2 Special had eight noms for Everytime, La Gradiva and Closure. Mubi notched seven for Teenage Sex And Death, Fatherland and Minotaur. Nominations were spread among 42 features and 25 performances in 11 categories, including the Audience Award, which has reappeared for 2026 after a six-year hiatus.
“It’s a pleasure to announce this year’s nominees. It has been a remarkable year for film, with audiences turning out in theaters for bold, distinctive work from first-time filmmakers and established artists alike,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “This year’s nominations, alongside our Tributes and the return of the Audience Award, reflect that abundance and celebrate the creative community that has been at the heart of The Gothams for more than three decades.”
The Gotham Awards aim to elevate independent film and it does spread the wealth among smaller films and distributors. But it eliminated a budget cap for eligibility in 2023 ahead of its 33rd edition, opening the door for larger-budget fare from major studios to compete. Previously, budgets couldn’t surpass $35 million.
Nominees were selected by committees of film critics, journalists, festival programmers and film curators. Separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and other industry professionals will determine the winners.
Returning after a six-year hiatus, the Gotham Audience Award celebrates films that transcend the screen to become defining cultural moments, capturing audiences’ attention through their impact, reach, and resonance. Gotham members will vote to determine the winner. This year’s nominees were curated from films submitted to The Gothams for consideration, measured by opening-weekend per-theater average against the highest-rated and most-watched films of 2026, as reported in box office tracking and on Letterboxd.
This year’s sprawling announcement was quite a difference from 2025, when Paul Thomas Anderson’s Warner Bros. thriller One Battle After Another led all nominations with a record six noms.
All winners will be unveiled at an awards ceremony Cipriani Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
Full list of nominees:
Best Feature
Clarissa
Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri, directors; Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri, Theresa Park, Nicholas Weinstock, producers (NEON)
Club Kid
Jordan Firstman, director; Michael Bloom, Alex Coco, Galen Core, Ryan Heller, producers (A24)
The Debut
Jesse Eisenberg, director; Jesse Eisenberg, Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, producers (A24)
Dreams in Nightmares
Shatara Michelle Ford, director; Naima Abed, Shatara Michelle Ford, Pin-Chun Liu, producers (Lunette Films)
The Invite
Olivia Wilde, director; Ben Browning, Megan Ellison, David Permut, producers (A24)
Josephine
Beth de Araújo, director; Beth de Araújo, Josh Beirne-Golden, Gemma Chan, David Kaplan, Josh Peters, Jordan Rapaport, Mark H. Rapaport, Robina Riccitiello, Marina Stabile, Channing Tatum, Crystine Zhang, producers (Sumerian Pictures)
Mouse
Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson, directors; Bonnie Comley, Pierce Cravens, Steven A. Jones, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Stewart F. Lane, Abigail Rose Solomon, Alex Thompson, Alex Wilson, producers (Independent Film Company)
Paper Tiger
James Gray, director; Andrea Bucko, Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, Gary Farkas, James Gray, Anthony Katagas, Andrea Leone, Raffaella Leone, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem, Rodrigo Teixeira, producers (NEON)
Primetime
Lance Oppenheim, director; Ari Aster, Fred Berger, William Iannaccone, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Lars Knudsen, Brighton McCloskey, Robert Pattinson, producers (A24)
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Jane Schoenbrun, director; Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, producers (MUBI)
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
Bassam Tariq, director; Babak Anvari, Bassam Tariq, Lucan Toh, producers (Amazon MGM Studios)
Best International Feature
All of A Sudden
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, director; Julien Deris, David Gauquié, Kosuke Oshida, Yuji Sadai, producers (NEON)
Ben’Imana
Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, director; Samantha Biffot, Pierre-Adrien Ceccaldi, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, Marie Epiphanie Uwayezu, producers (Alexander)
Blue Heron
Sophy Romvari, director; Ryan Bobkin, Sara Wylie, Sophy Romvari, Gábor Osváth, producers (Janus Films)
Everytime
Sandra Wollner, director; David Bohun, Lixi Frank, Viktoria Stolpe, producers (1-2 Special)
Fatherland
Pawel Pawlikowski, director; Edward Berger, Lorenzo Gangarossa, Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli, Ewa Puszczynska, Dimitri Rassam, Jeanne Tremsal, producers (MUBI)
Filipiñana
Rafael Manuel, director; Bianca Balbuena, Jeremy Chua, Omar El Kadi, Bradley Liew, Rafael Manuel, Alex Polunin, Nadia Turincev, producers (Kino Lorber)
La Gradiva
Marine Atlan, director; Inès Daïen Dasi, producer (1-2 Special)
Minotaur
Andrey Zvyagintsev, director; Charles Gillibert, Nathanaël Karmitz, Marco Perego, Andrey Zvyagintsev, producers (MUBI)
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong, director; Lee Joon-dong, Lee Chang-dong, David Levine, Chadwick Prichard, producers (Netflix)
Tender Loving Care
Mike Leigh, director; Georgina Lowe, producer (Bleecker Street)
Best Documentary Feature
Closure
Michal Marczak, director; Monika Braid, Rémi Grellety, Karolina Marczak, Michal Marczak, Katarzyna Szczerba, producers (1-2 Special)
A Fox Under a Pink Moon
Soraya Akhlaghi, Mehrdad Oskouei, directors; Siavash Jamali, Mehrdad Oskouei, producers (Kino Lorber)
NAZA
Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, directors; Harry Davies, Lindsay Poulton, James Wilson, producers (NEON)
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
David Greaves, director; Anne de Mare, Liani Greaves, producers (NEON)
You Can See Everything
Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, directors; Maggie Ambrose, Tatiana Bears, Jack Davis, Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, producers (A24)
Best Director
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, All of a Sudden (NEON)
Sandra Wollner, Everytime (1-2 Special)
Andrey Zvyagintsev, Minotaur (MUBI)
Jane Schoenbrun, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (MUBI)
Mike Leigh, Tender Loving Care (Bleecker Street)
Breakthrough Director
Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron (Janus Films)
Jordan Firstman, Club Kid (A24)
Aleshea Harris, Is God Is (Amazon MGM Studios)
Marine Atlan, La Gradiva (1-2 Special)
Joel Alfonso Vargas, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
John Early, Maddie’s Secret (Magnolia Pictures)
Best Original Screenplay
Everytime, Sandra Wollner (1-2 Special)
La Gradiva, Marine Atlan, Anne Brouillet (1-2 Special)
Possible Love, Lee Chang-dong, Oh Jung-mi (Netflix)
Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh (Bleecker Street)
Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Adapted Screenplay
All of a Sudden, Ryusuke Hamaguchi (NEON)
Clarissa, Chuko Esiri (NEON)
The Invite, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack (A24)
Minotaur, Simon Lyashenko, Andrey Zvyagintsev (MUBI)
Primetime, Ajon Singh (A24)
Outstanding Lead Performance
Mahershala Ali, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Amazon MGM Studios)
Gillian Anderson, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (MUBI)
Jeon Do-yeon, Possible Love (Netflix)
John Early, Maddie’s Secret (Magnolia Pictures)
John Malkovich, Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)
Ian McKellen, The Christophers (NEON)
Julianne Moore, The Debut (A24)
Sophie Okonedo, Clarissa (NEON)
Andrew Scott, Elsinore (Focus Features)
John Turturro, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Sony Pictures Classics)
Outstanding Supporting Performance
Tom Courtenay, Queen at Sea (Greenwich Entertainment)
Esmé Creed-Miles, Sense and Sensibility (Focus Features)
Penélope Cruz, The Invite (A24)
Adam Driver, Paper Tiger (NEON)
Andrew Garfield, Artificial (NEON)
Skyler Gisondo, Primetime (A24)
Sandra Hüller, Fatherland (MUBI)
Kate O’Flynn, Tender Loving Care (Bleecker Street)
Tao Okamoto, All of a Sudden (NEON)
Channing Tatum, Josephine (Sumerian Pictures)
Breakthrough Performer
Adia, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Amazon MGM Studios)
India Amarteifio, Clarissa (NEON)
Guitarricadelafuente, La Bola Negra (Netflix)
Colas Quignard, La Gradiva (1-2 Special)
Mason Reeves, Josephine (Sumerian Pictures)
Gotham Audience Award
Backrooms
Kane Parsons, director; Kori Adelson, Michael Clear, Dan Cohen, Chris Ferguson, Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Roberto Patino, Osgood Perkins, Jenno Topping, James Wan, producers (A24)
La Bola Negra
Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, directors; Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, producers (Netflix)
The Drama
Kristoffer Borgli, director; Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, producers (A24)
The Invite
Olivia Wilde, director; Ben Browning, Megan Ellison, David Permut, producers (A24)
Michael
Antoine Fuqua, director; John Branca, John McClain, Graham King, producers (Lionsgate)
Obsession
Curry Barker, director; James Harris, Haley Nicole Johnson, Christian Mercuri, Roman Viaris, producers (Focus Features)
Project Hail Mary
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, directors; Ryan Gosling, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, Andy Weir, producers (Amazon MGM Studios)
You Can See Everything
Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, directors; Maggie Ambrose, Tatiana Bears, Jack Davis, Nathan Fielder, Lance Oppenheim, producers (A24)