The nominations for the 30th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were recently announced, and once again, Zac Efron finds himself overlooked during this award season. The Iron Claw received critical acclaim upon its late December release, with special praise for Efron’s portrayal. However, A24 seems to be making minimal efforts to promote the film or ensure it reaches enough screens for critics to consider it in their voting.
Fans have expressed their disappointment and disbelief in A24, a studio that previously championed Everything Everywhere All at Once all the way to an Oscar win. Zac Efron’s The Iron Claw explores the harrowing story of the Von Erich wrestling family.
A24’s Poor Campaigning Dooms Zac Efron And The Iron Claw At SAG Awards
When the nominations for the Best Actor Award at the upcoming SAG Awards were announced, the absence of Zac Efron‘s name raised eyebrows. Efron played Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw, which received positive reviews from critics and scored an 88% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Andrew J. Salazar of DiscussingFilm provided an explanation for this snub and shared it on his X account.
Salazar attributed the overlooking of both The Iron Claw and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla to A24’s poor campaign efforts. Salazar pointed out that even a lesser-known film like Jodie Foster’s Nyad was promoted vehemently by Netflix and sneaked its way into the Awards. However, A24’s efforts were limited to projects such as Past Lives and The Zone of Interest.
THE IRON CLAW & PRISCILLA both getting ignored this awards season comes down to A24’s poor campaign efforts.
— Andrew J. Salazar (@AndrewJ626) January 10, 2024
I know Netflix has more money to throw at the wall but it’s crazy how a movie like NYAD, with no buzz whatsoever, can sneak into awards just because the studio sent out nice gift boxes and put banners all around LA. That’s how you make your movie *known* I guess!
— Andrew J. Salazar (@AndrewJ626) January 10, 2024
One fan tried to defend the studio citing their budget constraints to promote all their good films. However, another fan countered, asserting that A24 is doing a subpar job even with the films they actively push for at the Awards. One fan called out the studio’s mismanagement and wondered how the studio went from campaigning for Everything Everywhere All at Once to this situation. Some fan reactions read:
not really, a24 won’t and shouldn’t campaign for all the movies they release.
last year they pushed eeaao while aftersun and causeway got few noms here and there, this year they chose past lives, same thing.
— 𝐞𝐝𝐢 (@edidelrey) January 11, 2024
Zone of Interest w bad distribution, Iron Claw horrible screening issues, n Priscilla/Past Lives not panning out too well in noms, idk it sounds like they’re putting more emphasis on their productions and r just happy with the Beef wins this year :/
— Nam 🧀 (@djbigotona) January 10, 2024
Yet their lackluster work also isn’t getting Past Lives frontrunning awards and nominations (for now)
— Jarrett (@jarrettandfilm) January 11, 2024
Complete mismanagement. How they went from running EEAAO so well to this is beyond me
— AMC_Vagrant (@amc_vagrant) January 10, 2024
which is CRAZY cuz last year’s award szn, they were lowkey the campaign gods
— DYSFUNCT1ONAL | #NoToPUVPhaseout 🇵🇸 (@_richard_ong_) January 10, 2024
Reports also suggested that the FYC screening for The Iron Claw was not held until the voting had already begun. The lackluster promotion may impede Efron’s career-best performance from getting its deserved recognition. Besides Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, and Stanley Simons star as the other Von Erich brothers in the film.
Also Read: Leonardo DiCaprio Made Zac Efron Cry in Public and You Can’t Blame Him
Nominees For Best Actor At SAG Awards
Following their Best Actor wins in two different categories at the Golden Globes, Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamatti come head to head in competition at the SAG Awards. Murphy has been nominated for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, while Giamatti’s role as an ornery prep school teacher in The Holdovers has earned him the nomination.
Besides these two, Colman Domingo for Rustin, Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction, and Bradley Cooper for Maestro are the other nominees. Similar to the Best Actor category, Golden Globe winners Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone will compete with each other in the Best Actress category. Carey Mulligan for Maestro, Annette Bening for Nyad, and Margot Robbie for Barbie are the other nominees.
The 30th SAG Awards will be held on February 24, and for the first time, the ceremony is set to stream globally on Netflix. Meanwhile, Zac Efron’s The Iron Claw is now successfully running in theaters.
