‘Conclave’ Leads AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups Nominations; Glenn Close to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Gladiator II, September 5, Sing Sing, A Complete Unknown and Emilia Pérez all earn multiple nominations

AARP The Magazine today announced nominees for the annual Movies for Grownups (MFG) Awards, with A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Gladiator II and September 5 for Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups. For more than two decades, AARP’s Movies for Grownups program has championed movies for grownups, by grownups, by advocating for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism and encouraging films and TV shows that resonate with older viewers. 

The annual MFG Awards ceremony will take place on for Saturday, February 8, 2025 at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California. The event had been originally scheduled on January 11, 2025, but was postponed due to the devastating wildfires impacting Los Angeles. Alan Cumming, the Tony- and Emmy Award-winning host of the widely lauded competition show The Traitors, will return as the host of AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups Awards, which will be broadcast by Great Performances on Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 7pm ET on PBS.

8-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close is set to receive the 2024 Career Achievement Award.

“Passionate for sophisticated, high-quality content, older audiences have the ability to propel film and TV content into mainstream popularity,” says AARP film and TV critic Tim Appelo. “With this year’s Movies for Grownups nominations, AARP spotlights the talents and work that resonate with this powerful demographic. Here are the storylines, filmmakers, and actors that honor and serve this often overlooked audience.”

AARP also announced that AARP Foundation, a charitable affiliate of AARP, will donate proceeds raised from the Movies for Grownups Awards to local organizations to aid with Los Angeles’ wildfire recovery efforts for affected families and communities.

Separately, AARP Foundation launched a disaster relief fund to provide critical aid to wildfire victims—especially vulnerable older adults. AARP Foundation will direct 100% of all funds raised to organizations on the ground to both meet the urgent needs of those impacted and support the long-term recovery efforts. To amplify public impact, AARP pledged to match donations dollar for dollar—up to $500,000. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the match was met in just over 24 hours, resulting in over $1,000,000 to support relief and recovery initiatives.

In addition, AARP’s California state office has been on the ground, actively supporting the community by distributing emergency information and launching a fraud prevention campaign to assist residents.

In the Best Actress category, nominees are Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Demi Moore (The Substance), and June Squibb (Thelma).

In the Best Actor category, Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), and Jude Law (The Order). 

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are Joan Chen (Didi), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys), Lesley Manville (Queer), Connie Nielsen (Gladiator II), and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave).

In the Best Supporting Actor category, Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), Peter Sarsgaard (September 5), Stanley Tucci (Conclave) and Denzel Washington (Gladiator II).

Movies for Grownups nominees for Best Director are Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Edward Berger (Conclave), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), and Ridley Scott (Gladiator II).

In the Best TV Series or Limited Series category, nominations go to The Crown, Hacks, Palm Royale, Shōgun, and Slow Horses.  

The television nominees for Best Actress are Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country), Jean Smart (Hacks), Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building) and Sofia Vergara (Griselda). In the Best Actor category for television, Billy Crudup (The Morning Show), Idris Elba (Hijack), Jon Hamm (Fargo), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun).

The complete list of the annual Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees:

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups: A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Gladiator II and September 5.

Best Actress: Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Demi Moore (The Substance) and June Squibb (Thelma).

Best Actor: Adrian Brody (The Brutalist), Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) and Jude Law (The Order).

Best Supporting Actress: Joan Chen (Didi), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys), Lesley Manville (Queer), Connie Nielsen (Gladiator II) and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave).

Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), Peter Sarsgaard (September 5), Stanley Tucci (Conclave) and Denzel Washington (Gladiator II).

Best Director: Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Edward Berger (Conclave), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown) and Ridley Scott (Gladiator II).

Best Screenwriter: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi (Emilia Pérez), Jay Cocks and James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Winnie Holzman (Wicked), Peter Straughan (Conclave), and Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (Dune: Part Two).

Best Ensemble: A Complete Unknown, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, His Three Daughters, September 5 and Sing Sing.

Best Actress (TV): Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country), Jean Smart (Hacks), Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building) and Sofia Vergara (Griselda).

Best Actor (TV): Billy Crudup (The Morning Show), Idris Elba (Hijack), Jon Hamm (Fargo), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses) and Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun).

Best TV Series or Limited Series: The Crown, Hacks, Palm Royale, Shōgun, and Slow Horses.  

Best Intergenerational Film: Didi, Here, His Three Daughters, The Piano Lesson, and Thelma.

Best Time Capsule: A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, Here, Maria and September 5.

Best Documentary: I Am: Celine Dion, Luther: Never Too Much, Piece by Piece, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, and Will & Harper.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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