Chicago’s independent film critics have gone heavy for two titles that haven’t gotten nearly as much broad love as its lower-nominated films. Nosferatu and The Substance really outdid themselves this time.

Nominations Tallies

(11) Nosferatu, The Substance
(10) The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two
(8) The Wild Robot
(7) Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, Wicked
(5) Anora
(4) Challengers, Conclave
(3) Civil War, A Complete Unknown, I Saw the TV Glow
(2) A Different Man, Emilia Pérez, Flow, Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Monkey Man, A Real Pain
(1) All We Imagine as Light, The Apprentice, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Daughters, Deadpool & Wolverine, The Fall Guy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Hard Truths, Heretic, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Kneecap, The Last Showgirl, Maria, Music by John Williams, Nightbitch, The People’s Joker, The Piano Lesson, Rebel Ridge, Saturday Night, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Strange Darling, Sugarcane, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Twisters, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Will & Harper

The Nominations

Best Studio Film (over $20M)

Challengers
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Independent Film (under $20M)

Anora
The Brutalist
I Saw the TV Glow
Sing Sing
The Substance

Best Animated Film

Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

Best Director

Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

Best Actor

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

Best Actress

Amy Adams – Nightbitch
Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu

Best Supporting Actress

Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

Best Original Screenplay

Anora
The Brutalist
I Saw the TV Glow
A Real Pain
The Substance

Best Adapted Screenplay

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Wild Robot

Best Original Song

Beautiful That Way – The Last Showgirl
Compress/Repress – Challengers
Kiss the Sky – The Wild Robot
Like a Bird – Sing Sing
Starburned and Unkissed – I Saw the TV Glow

Best Original Score

The Brutalist
Challengers
Nosferatu
The Substance
The Wild Robot

Best Editing

The Brutalist
Challengers
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu

Best Cinematography

The Brutalist
Civil War
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu

Best Production Design

The Brutalist
Conclave
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Costume Design

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Makeup

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
A Different Man
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Visual Effects

Civil War
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Nosferatu
Twisters

Best Foreign Film

All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
Flow
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Documentary

Daughters
Music by John Williams
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Breakout Artist

Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Dev Patel – Monkey Man
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

Breakout Performer

Yura Borisov – Anora
Vera Drew – The People’s Joker
Willa Fitzgerald – Strange Darling
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Adam Pearson – A Different Man
Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge

Sight Unseen Performance

Daveed Diggs – Nickel Boys
Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2
Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot
Sarah Snook – Memoir of a Snail

Best Ensemble

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked

Best Sound

Civil War
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
The Substance
The Wild Robot

Best Stunts

Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Monkey Man

Impact Award (positive impact in cinema)

.Kyle Cubr – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
.Emma Greenleaf, Nick edelberg – Facets Anime Club
.Morgan Harris – Acacia Consulting Group
.Mimi Plauche – Artistic Director of the Cinema/Chicago
.Romona Slick – Programmer, Music Box Theatre

Chicago Indie Critics Data

First Awards: 2016 (8)