‘Moana’ among contenders for Producers Guild Award

“La La Land,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight,” three films that have pulled in top honors all awards season, were among Producers Guild Award nominees announced Jan. 10.

The list of 10 also included “Deadpool,” which was a huge hit at the box office but not so much among prize-givers.

Contending for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award, the producers’ equivalent of best picture, are: “Arrival,” “Deadpool,” “Fences,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Hidden Figures,” “La La Land,” “Lion,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight.”

The Producers Guild also revealed its animation nominees on Tuesday: “Finding Dory,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Moana,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Zootopia,” which won the Golden Globe on Sunday.

The guild had previously announced its best documentary nominees: “Dancer,” “The Eagle Huntress,” “Life, Animated,” “O.J.: Made in America” and “Tower.” All except “Dancer” are on the shortlist for the Oscar for best documentary feature.

The PGAs have a strong track record of picking a feature winner that goes on to take the best-picture Oscar as well. That was the case from 2007 through 2014, more or less. In 2013 there was a tie but one of the guild’s winners, “12 Years a Slave,” did win the Oscar. Last year, though, the producers crowned “The Big Short,” while “Spotlight” nabbed the Oscar.

So if you’re hoping the PGAs will provide insight into the Oscars, you might want to wait until the guilds’ winners are clear. The PGA Awards ceremony will be held on Jan. 28. The next night will be the Screen Actors Guild Awards (nominees were announced last month). Then on Feb. 4 comes the Directors Guild, which will reveal its nominees later this week.