Oppenheimer comes out on top at key Producers Guild of America awards

PGA triumph puts Christopher Nolan’s film in pole position for best picture Oscar while Celine Song’s Past Lives dominated the Independent Spirit awards

In the last frenzy of major awards-giving before the Oscars, Oppenheimer has won the best theatrical feature prize at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) awards, while Past Lives dominated the Independent Spirit awards, winning best film and best director.

Oppenheimer is the first Christopher Nolan-directed film to claim the prize; Nolan (and fellow producer Emma Thomas) having previously been nominated for Dunkirk, Inception, and The Dark Knight. The win puts it in pole position in the race for the best picture Oscar; the PGA, like its fellow industry associations the Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild, has a significant crossover with the Oscar voting pool, and seven out of the last 10 winners of the PGA’s theatrical film award have gone on to claim the corresponding Academy award.