‘Oppenheimer’ Leads AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards Nominations

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” received six nominations and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” received five to lead all films in noms for the AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards, which were announced on Tuesday morning.

While the awards were established in 2001 to promote films for an audience over 50, this year’s nominees are essentially the same films that have been awarded and nominated by most other awards bodies. In the Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups category, the nominees were “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Barbie,” “The Color Purple” and “Maestro.” Oscar contenders “The Holdovers,” “Poor Things” and “American Fiction” were not nominated in the top category but they did receive four nominations each, tying them with “The Color Purple.”

The acting categories were more of a departure from the season’s conventional wisdom, because of AARP rules that restrict acting nominees to performers over 50. Actresses Juliette Binoche, Aunjanue Ellis-Tayor and Julia Roberts (all in their 50s) and Helen Mirren (78) landed nominations in place of awards frontrunners like the 30-something Emma Stone, Lily Gladstone, Carey Mulligan and Margot Robbie.

In the lead actor category, Cillian Murphy, Bradley Cooper and Leonardo DiCaprio weren’t eligible because they are in their 40s, leaving room for Anthony Hopkins, 86, and for Colman Domingo, Nicolas Cage, Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright, in their 50s.

The AARP Movies for Grownups Awards were first handed out in 2001. Over the years, more than half the Movies for Grownups nominees have gone on to receive Oscar Best Picture noms, though only four films in 23 years (“The King’s Speech,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Spotlight” and “Green Book”) have won both awards.

In the four television categories which were expanded three years ago, “The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Succession” and “The White Lotus” received two nominations each.

Paul Giamatti, Martin Scorsese and Meryl Streep in Palm Springs

Here is the full list of nominees. Winners will be announced in the February/March issue of AARP The Magazine.

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups:
“Barbie”
“The Color Purple”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer”

Best Actress 
Annette Bening, “Nyad”
Juliette Binoche, “The Taste of Things”
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, “Origin”
Helen Mirren, “Golda”
Julia Roberts, “Leave the World Behind”

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage, “Dream Scenario”
Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
Anthony Hopkins, “Freud’s Last Session”
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis, “Air”
Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Color Purple”
Julianne Moore, “May December”
Leslie Uggams, “American Fiction”

Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, “Poor Things”
Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Colman Domingo, “The Color Purple”
Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”
Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Air”
Michael Mann, “Ferrari”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
Alexander Payne, “The Holdovers”
Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Screenwriter
Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, “Barbie”
David Hemingson, “The Holdovers”
Tony McNamara, “Poor Things”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best Ensemble
“American Fiction”
“The Color Purple”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Oppenheimer”
“Rustin”

Best Actress “TV”
Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show”
Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”
Jennifer Garner, “The Last Thing He Told Me”
Imelda Staunton, “The Crown”
Meryl Streep, “Only Murders in the Building”

Best Actor “TV”
Brian Cox, “Succession”
Bryan Cranston, “Your Honor”
Oliver Platt, “The Bear”
Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”
Henry Winkler, “Barry”

Best TV Movie/Series or Limited Series
“The Bear”
“Fargo”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Succession”
“The White Lotus”

Best Reality TV Series
“The Amazing Race”
“America’s Got Talent”
“The Golden Bachelor”
“Jury Duty”
“The Voice”

Best Intergenerational Film
“American Fiction”
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
“The Holdovers”
“Leave the World Behind”
“Poor Things”

Best Time Capsule
“Ferrari”
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer”
“Priscilla”
“Rustin”

Best Documentary
“Invisible Beauty”
“Judy Blume Forever”
“The Lost Weekend”
“The Pigeon Tunnel”
“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”

Best Foreign Film
“Amerikatsi” (Armenia)
“Perfect Days” (Japan)
“Radical” (Mexico)
“The Taste of Things” (France)
“The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom)

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