The Gotham Film Awards have delivered a nominations list that resists a simple hierarchy. Olivia Wilde's The Invite, Arie and Chuko Esiri's Clarissa, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's All of a Sudden, Marine Atlan's La Gradiva and Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care each received four nominations for the 36th edition.
The Gotham Film & Media Institute recognized 42 features and 25 performances across eleven award categories. Selection committees made up of critics, journalists, festival programmers and curators determined the nominees, while separate juries of film professionals will choose the eventual winners.
For an organization historically associated with American independent cinema, the breadth of the field is notable. International productions dominate several categories, and the top nominees range from relatively new filmmakers to some of the most established directors working today.
The Invite finds recognition beyond Sundance
Olivia Wilde's The Invite secured nominations for Best Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding Supporting Performance and the newly restored Gotham Audience Award.
The screenplay nomination recognizes Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, while Penélope Cruz received the supporting performance nomination. The film also stars Wilde, Seth Rogen and Edward Norton in a dinner-party comedy about two couples whose evening becomes increasingly unpredictable.
The Invite premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before A24 acquired its American distribution rights. It reached US theaters on June 26, giving the film a theatrical life before the fall awards campaign began.
Cruz now competes in a category that includes Adam Driver for Paper Tiger, Andrew Garfield for Artificial, Sandra Hüller for Fatherland, Channing Tatum for Josephine and several other notable performances.
Clarissa has an equally prominent position in the nominations. The film from Arie and Chuko Esiri is nominated for Best Feature, with Sophie Okonedo recognized for Outstanding Lead Performance and India Amarteifio named among the breakthrough performers. Chuko Esiri also received a nomination for adapted screenplay.
Both films have substantial visibility, but four nominations are no guarantee of multiple wins. The different categories are evaluated independently, and the final decisions will be made by separate awards juries.
International filmmakers occupy the spotlight
Three of the five most-nominated films appear in the Best International Feature category rather than Best Feature: All of a Sudden, La Gradiva and Tender Loving Care.
Hamaguchi earned a directing nomination for All of a Sudden, alongside recognition for its adapted screenplay. Tao Okamoto was also nominated for a supporting performance, extending the film's presence across categories.
Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care received nominations for director and original screenplay, with Kate O'Flynn appearing among the supporting performers. Leigh's long-standing reputation as an actor-focused filmmaker gives those nominations particular resonance.
Marine Atlan's La Gradiva occupies a different position. Its nominations include recognition for Atlan as a breakthrough director, for its original screenplay and for Colas Quignard as a breakthrough performer.
Other international titles in the selection include Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love, Andrey Zvyagintsev's Minotaur, Pawel Pawlikowski's Fatherland and Sophy Romvari's Blue Heron. This range illustrates how the Gotham Awards can connect American audiences with productions that might otherwise receive a more limited promotional spotlight.
Best Feature has eleven contenders
The leading category contains eleven nominees: Clarissa, Club Kid, The Debut, Dreams in Nightmares, The Invite, Josephine, Mouse, Paper Tiger, Primetime, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.
The expanded field continues a change introduced at the previous ceremony, when the Best Feature category grew beyond its earlier five-film structure.
Some of the most recognizable names appear on the directing side. Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut and James Gray's Paper Tiger are among the Best Feature nominees, while Jane Schoenbrun is also recognized for directing Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
Jordan Firstman, whose Club Kid is nominated for Best Feature, competes in the Breakthrough Director category. That mixture of familiar and emerging names is central to the event's identity.
The acting selections are similarly broad. Mahershala Ali, Gillian Anderson, Jeon Do-yeon, John Malkovich, Ian McKellen, Julianne Moore, Sophie Okonedo, Andrew Scott and John Turturro are among the performers nominated for leading roles.
The Gothams use a single Outstanding Lead Performance category rather than separate awards for actors and actresses, making this an especially varied group.
The Audience Award returns with a different kind of competition
After a six-year hiatus, the Gotham Audience Award is back. Eight films have been nominated: Backrooms, La Bola Negra, The Drama, The Invite, Michael, Obsession, Project Hail Mary and You Can See Everything.
The selection mixes independent releases with films carrying considerable mainstream recognition. Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling, sits alongside the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, several A24 titles and the documentary You Can See Everything.
Unlike the competitive categories decided by professional juries, this award will be determined by voting members of the Gotham Film & Media Institute. It is intended to recognize films that have connected with audiences through their cultural impact, visibility and resonance.
The Invite's inclusion gives it a fourth nomination and places it in two very different contests: one concerned with filmmaking achievement, and another with audience connection.
You Can See Everything also bridges categories, competing for both Best Documentary Feature and the Audience Award.
A useful early signal, not an Oscars prediction
The Gotham Film Awards have long served as one of the first major fixtures of the American awards season. Their nominees frequently include films that become part of the wider conversation over subsequent months, but Gotham recognition is not a reliable mechanical predictor of Academy Award results.
The institute previously removed its $35 million budget ceiling, allowing productions of different sizes to compete. Eligibility rules, submission decisions and release schedules nevertheless mean the Gotham field does not represent every film that may feature in the broader awards season.
That distinction matters when evaluating this year's nominations. The prominence of The Invite, Clarissa, All of a Sudden, La Gradiva and Tender Loving Care is significant within the Gothams' own selection, but it should not be confused with an industry-wide ranking.
The organization also continues to recognize filmmaking across a wide range of traditions. The nominees include American independent productions, European and Asian cinema, documentaries and first features, alongside work from established directors.
The winners will be announced at the 36th annual Gotham Film Awards ceremony on Monday, November 30, 2026, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
