But the two awards do not always go hand in hand. Of the 25 films that won the SAG Award for Outstanding Achievement through a Cast in a Film since the category was established in 1995 (the second year of the award program), 12 won the Oscar for Best Picture, 12 went on to be nominated for Best Picture (but did not win), and one was not even nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. (It was Mike Nichols’ joke in 1996 The birdcage.)
If we look at it from the other direction, from the last 25 Oscars for best picture, all but three have been nominated for the SAG cast. The three Oscar winners for Best Picture Not SAG-nominated were in the cast category Brave heart (1995), The form of water (2017) and Green Paper (2018).
Are there patterns for which types of films are best in the top category at each show? Speaking very broadly, big, epic movies seem to perform better during the Oscars. This includes Brave heart, Titanic and Gladiator. Smaller, more intimate films seem to perform better during the SAG Awards. This includes The full Monty, Sideways and Little Miss Sunshine.
The five films that apparently have the inner circle for SAG nominations in the cast category this year are The Chicago 7 Trial, A night in Miami, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Da 5 bloods and Mank.
Other strong contenders include Minari, The Prom, Promising young woman, Sound of Metal and Judas and the Black Messiah.
Here are all the SAG winners for outstanding achievements through a cast in a film, which is divided into three categories, based on how well the films performed during the Oscars. Note: In the second and third categories, the second title on each line is the name of the film that won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Won the SAG Award; won the Oscar for best picture
Shakespeare in love (1998)
American beauty (1999)
Chicago (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Collapse (2005)
No land for old men (2007)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
The King’s Speech (2010)
Argo (2012)
Birdman (2014)
Spotlight (2015)
Parasite (2019)
Won the SAG Award; nominated for Oscar for Best Picture
Apollo 13 (1995); Oscar: Brave heart
The full Monty (1997); Oscar: Titanic
Traffic (2000); Oscar: Gladiator
Gosford park (2001); Oscar: A beautiful mind
Sideways (2004); Oscar: Million dollar baby
Little Miss Sunshine (2006); Oscar: Those who left us
Inglorious Basterds (2009); Oscar: The Hurt Locker
The help (2011); Oscar: The artist
American Chased (2013); Oscar: 12 years a slave
Hidden figures (2016); Oscar: Moonlight
Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017); Oscar: The form of water
Black panther (2018); Oscar: Green Paper
Won the SAG Award; not even nominated for the Oscar for best picture
The birdcage (1996); Oscar: The English patient
SAG Trivia
Of the 25 winners of the SAG cast, the film with the largest ensemble cast was Gosford park (20 actors shared the award). The movie with the smallest ensemble cast was Sideways (only four actors – Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh – shared the award).
Black panther is the only superhero film to win the ensemble award.
The full Monty, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Parasite are the only winners not nominated in any other category at the SAG Awards.