BEVERLY HILLS—On Wednesday, January 10, the nominees for the 2024 Directors Guild of America Awards were announced. The DGA are huge predictors of who could be nominated for the highest accolade in the entertainment industry: The Academy Award or as most people call it the Oscar. Who would make the cut and who would not?

Well Christopher Nolan picked up a nomination for “Oppenheimer” which is starting to look like the frontrunner. He faces competition from Yorgos Lanthimos for “Poor Things,” Greta Gerwig “Barbie,” Martin Scorsese “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Alexander Payne “The Holdovers.” The interesting candidate is Payne who up to this point hasn’t received much attention for his critically acclaimed dramedy “The Holdovers.” His slot likely means Celine Song who is nominated in the First-Time Director race might not land that Oscar nomination that so many are predicting.

Nominees for First-Time Director include Cord Jefferson “American Fiction,” Manuela Martelli “Chile ’76,” Noora Niasari “Shayda,” A.V. Rockwell “A Thousand and One” and Celine Song “Past Lives.”

Scorsese earned his 11th nomination Wednesday, while Gerwig was previously nominated in for “Lady Bird,” and Nolan was nominated 4 times prior with no wins. Payne picked up his third nomination with his accolade for “The Holdovers.”

“In a year full of so many extraordinary films, DGA members have nominated an incredible group of gifted storytellers,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter in a statement. “Their films fused technical prowess with unique artistic visions that captured the depth of the human experience and left an indelible impact on audiences around the world. Congratulations to these superb directors on their well-deserved nominations.”