A ‘Conclave’ Win Was the Perfect Fit for a Gossipy SAG Awards

As awards season finally wraps up, a treat was on offer in the second to last weekend of events. This year, the Screen Actors Guild Awards fell after final Oscar voting had ended, meaning that attendees at Sunday night’s show seemingly felt much freer to discuss who and what they think will win at the Academy Awards on March 2. 

Given the momentum built off of its wins at the PGA Awards, DGA Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and a Best Actress win for star Mikey Madison at the BAFTA Awards, there was strong notion that not only was “Anora” the favorite for Best Ensemble, but that the film’s young star was set to beat “The Substance” actress Demi Moore for Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture in an upset.

Of course, that did not happen, with the ceremony once again reminding everyone to expect the unexpected this awards season. Not only did Moore triumph (almost a given in retrospect considering what her performance in the body horror film has to say about aging as an actress,) but “A Complete Unknown” star Timothée Chalamet finally got one win over “The Brutalist” star Adrien Brody, making a second Best Actor Oscar for the latter become less of a sure thing.

And to cap it all off, “Conclave” won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble right on the heels of its Best Film at the BAFTAs 2025. A late stage surge for the papal election drama has proven to be especially fun, given how much it represents life imitating art.

Much like how Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and company see different candidates for pope being taken down one by one until an unexpected contender pulls through at the end, at least half of the Best Picture Oscar nominees have faced some level of public scrutiny, leading to this rollercoaster ride that saw the popular Focus Features release go from being counted out to now arguably becoming the frontrunner. 

But some of those infamous whisper campaigns haven’t stopped just because voting is over. At the cocktail reception inside the Shrine Auditorium, held before the SAG Awards were handed out, there was already talk of which star does not actually get along with their director, and speculation over which A-list actor was the one who “The Apprentice” director Ali Abbasi was reportedly inappropriate with at CAA’s Golden Globes after-party in January.

Colin Farrell accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series award for ‘The Penguin’ onstage during the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild AwardsMatt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Interestingly enough, a previous edition of that annual event was brought up on the show, when Jamie Lee Curtis mentioned catching COVID from Colin Farrell as she gave him his SAG Award for Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for “The Penguin.” Though she referred to the Globes more broadly, it was reported that the 2023 CAA Golden Globes afterparty was the culprit for them. (Remember: Brendan Gleeson and Michelle Pfeiffer had to drop out of attending the Critics Choice Awards that year because they all caught COVID.)

Selena Gomez was also the only one of the main “Only Murders in the Building” trio present at the SAG Awards, where the show got surprise wins for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series and Best Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Martin Short because, as “Weekend Update” host Colin Jost prophesied, several “SNL 50” attendees caught COVID at the event, according to the also ailing Steve Martin.

For those who could attend the SAG Awards, the event was ultimately one of the more fun shows of the season. The benefit of the major Oscar races being so close is that many of the players had such a long streak of barely winning anything that an Academy Award now would feel more like a welcome surprise than any one film’s Best Picture Oscar to lose — even if the winner is “Conclave.”