The ScreenAge Wasteland Awards, commonly known as the SAWards, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the movie industry. They are presented annually by ScreenAgeWasteland.com in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the screenagers. The SAWards are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the Wasteland.
Nomination
For the 1st SAWards, the nomination results were announced to the public in mid-January. Since then, the results have been announced in early February. Voting is open to the public and lasts from the day the nomination results are announced to the last day of the month (usually February 28th).
To qualify, a movie must be widely released in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of January 1 to midnight at the end of December 31, in the United States. If a movie is released in limited theaters by the end of the previous calendar year and does not go wide until the next, it will still qualify so long as it goes wide before January 24.
Categories
There were 14 categories for the 1st SAWards — Best Picture, Best Animated Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Onscreen Movie Ensemble, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Scene of the Year, SAW Breakout Award, and Most Overlooked Film — as well as one special category, the Lifetime Achievement Award. The special category is selected by the finalizing committee, rather than by the public.
Four more categories have since been added to the SAWards. After the 1st SAWards, the SAW Breakout Award was renamed and split into two categories, Best Breakout Film Direction and Best Breakout Film Performance. Best Cinematography and Best Score were added beginning with the 2nd SAWards, while Best Character was added for the 4th SAWards. Best Scene of the Year was also renamed Best Movie Moment beginning with the 2nd SAWards.
For the picture, directing, acting, and writing categories, any winner that also won the matching award at the Oscars for its respective year is shown with a ‡.
Best Picture, Most Overlooked Film, & Best Animated Film
| Year of Film Release | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Picture | Most Overlooked Film | Best Animated Film | |
| 2019 (1st) |
The Lighthouse | Toy Story 4‡ | |
| 2020 (2nd) |
Portrait of a Lady on Fire | We Summon the Darkness |
Soul‡ |
| 2021 (3rd) |
Spider-Man: No Way Home | Malignant | Encanto‡ |
| 2022 (4th) |
Everything Everywhere All at Once‡ | Decision to Leave |
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish |
| 2023 (5th) |
Oppenheimer‡ | Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. |
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse |
| 2024 (6th) |
Dune: Part Two | Red Rooms | The Wild Robot |
Most Awarded Distributors for Picture Categories
| Studio | Awards |
|---|---|
| A24 | 3 |
| Disney | 3 |
| Universal | 3 |
| Sony | 2 |
| Warner Bros. | 2 |
Best Director & Best Breakout Film Direction
| Year of Film Release | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Director | Best Breakout Film Direction |
|
| 2019 (1st) |
Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse) |
|
| 2020 (2nd) |
Christopher Nolan (Tenet) |
Regina King (One Night in Miami) |
| 2021 (3rd) |
Denis Villeneuve (Dune) |
Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah) |
| 2022 (4th) |
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)‡ |
Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies) |
| 2023 (5th) |
Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)‡ |
Celine Song (Past Lives) |
| 2024 (6th) |
Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) |
Dev Patel (Monkey Man) |
Most Nominated and Awarded Directors
| Director | Nominations | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Nolan | 2 | 2 |
| Denis Villeneuve | 2 | 2 |
| Robert Eggers | 2 | 1 |
| Celine Song | 2 | 1 |
| Darius Marder | 2 | 0 |
Acting – Big Four
| Year of Film Release | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Actor | Best Actress | Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress | |
| 2019 (1st) |
Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse) |
Scarlett Johannson (Marriage Story) |
Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse) |
Laura Dern (Marriage Story)‡ Park So-dam |
| 2020 (2nd) |
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) |
Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) |
Ewan McGregor (Birds of Prey) |
Amanda Seyfried (Mank) |
| 2021 (3rd) |
Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick… Boom!) |
Kristen Stewart (Spencer) |
Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man: No Way Home) |
Florence Pugh (Black Widow) |
| 2022 (4th) |
Brendan Fraser (The Whale)‡ |
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)‡ |
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)‡ |
Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) |
| 2023 (5th) |
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)‡ |
Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) |
Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)‡ |
Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)‡ |
| 2024 (6th) |
Sebastian Stan (A Different Man) |
Demi Moore (The Substance) |
Austin Butler (Dune: Part Two) |
Margaret Qualley (The Substance) |
Note: 2019, tie win for Best Supporting Actress
Acting – Other Three
| Year of Film Release | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Breakout Film Performance |
Best Onscreen Ensemble |
Best Character |
|
| 2019 (1st) |
Florence Pugh (Midsommar / Little Women) |
Avengers: Endgame
Little Women |
|
| 2020 (2nd) |
Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) Cristin Milioti |
Happiest Season |
|
| 2021 (3rd) |
Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad) |
Spider-Man: No Way Home | |
| 2022 (4th) |
Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) |
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Waymond Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once) |
| 2023 (5th) |
Milo Machado Graner (Anatomy of a Fall) |
The Iron Claw | Bella Baxter (Poor Things) |
| 2024 (6th) |
Lily-Rose Depp (Nosferatu) |
Dune: Part Two | Feyd-Rautha (Dune: Part Two) |
Note: 2019, tie for Best Onscreen Ensemble; 2020, tie win for Best Breakout Film Performance
Most Nominated and Awarded Actors and Actresses
| Actor/Actress | Nominations | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Florence Pugh | 3 | 2 |
| Andrew Garfield | 2 | 2 |
| Maria Bakalova | 2 | 1 |
| Austin Butler | 2 | 1 |
| Lily-Rose Depp | 2 | 1 |
| Da’Vine Joy Randolph | 2 | 1 |
| Yura Borisov | 2 | 0 |
| Bradley Cooper | 2 | 0 |
| Viola Davis | 2 | 0 |
| Rebecca Ferguson | 2 | 0 |
| Mia Goth | 2 | 0 |
| Alana Haim | 2 | 0 |
| Wunmi Mosaku | 2 | 0 |
| Katy O’Brian | 2 | 0 |
| Margot Robbie | 2 | 0 |
| Dominic Sessa | 2 | 0 |
Note: Does not include Best Character nominations and wins
Screenplay – Adapted & Original
| Year of Film Release | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Best Original Screenplay | |
| 2019 (1st) |
Little Women (Greta Gerwig) |
The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers & Max Eggers) |
| 2020 (2nd) |
The Devil All the Time (Antonio Campos & Paulo Campos) |
Happiest Season (Clea DuVall & Mary Holland) |
| 2021 (3rd) |
Dune (Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts & Eric Roth) |
Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson) |
| 2022 (4th) |
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Paul Fisher & Tommy Swerdlow) |
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert)‡ |
| 2023 (5th) |
Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan) |
The Holdovers (David Hemingson) |
| 2024 (6th) |
Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve & Jon Spaihts) |
The Substance (Coralie Fargeat) |
Technical Categories
| Year of Film Release | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Cinematography |
Best Score |
Best Visual Effects |
|
| 2019 (1st) |
Avengers: Endgame | ||
| 2020 (2nd) |
Tenet (Hoyte van Hoytema) |
Tenet (Ludwig Göransson) |
Tenet |
| 2021 (3rd) |
Dune (Greig Fraser) |
Dune (Hans Zimmer) |
Dune |
| 2022 (4th) |
The Batman (Greig Fraser) |
The Batman (Michael Giacchino) |
Avatar: The Way of Water |
| 2023 (5th) |
Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema) |
Oppenheimer (Ludwig Göransson) |
Oppenheimer |
| 2024 (6th) |
Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser) |
Dune: Part Two (Hans Zimmer) |
Dune: Part Two |
Best Movie Moment
| Year of Film Release | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Moment | Movie |
|
| 2019 (1st) |
“And I…am…Iron Man.” | Avengers: Endgame |
| 2020 (2nd) |
Oslo Airport Fight Take #2 | Tenet |
| 2021 (3rd) |
Meme Come True | Spider-Man: No Way Home |
| 2022 (4th) |
The Batmobile in Pursuit of The Penguin | The Batman |
| 2023 (5th) |
Trinity Test | Oppenheimer |
| 2024 (6th) |
Defying Gravity | Wicked |
Most Nominated and Awarded Movies
The following nominees received at least 8 nominations:
| Nominations | Title |
|---|---|
| 14 | Sinners |
| 12 | Dune: Part Two |
| 11 | Everything Everywhere All at Once |
| Nosferatu | |
| 10 | Barbie |
| Oppenheimer | |
| 9 | The Banshees of Inisherin |
| Marty Supreme | |
| The Substance | |
| 8 | Dune |
| One Battle After Another | |
| Poor Things | |
| Weapons |
The following winners received at least 3 awards:
| Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| 9 | Dune: Part Two |
| Oppenheimer | |
| 8 | Everything Everywhere All at Once |
| 6 | The Lighthouse |
| 5 | Dune |
| Tenet | |
| 4 | Spider-Man: No Way Home |
| 3 | Avengers: Endgame |
| The Batman | |
| Little Women | |
| The Substance |
The next ScreenAge Wasteland Awards will be in 2026.