Summer blockbusters dominated the awards nominations for the St. Louis Film Critics Association with Mad Max: Fury Road and The Martian topping all other films. Tied for third, Carol was apparently well acted, well written, well directed and well photographed, but not one of the best pictures of the year, a rather bizarre outcome. The biggest problem arising out of this set of nominations is the bizarre twists on two big issues of category fraud. Rooney Mara is support, but Alicia Vikander is lead. These results have been swapped and reproduced elsewhere, which just creates a sea of confusion in terms of Oscar consideration.

Nominations Tallies

(8) Mad Max: Fury Road
(7) The Martian
(6) Carol, The Revenant
(5) Inside Out, Spotlight
(4) The Hateful Eight
(3) Beasts of No Nation, Brooklyn, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, Room

The Nominations

Best Film

Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Director

Todd Haynes – Carol
Alejandro G. Inarritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott – The Martian

Best Actor

Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation
Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Ian McKellen – Mr. Holmes
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Kristen Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Best Original Screenplay

Clouds of Sils Maria
Ex Machina
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

Brooklyn
Creed
The Martian
Room
Steve Jobs

Best Song

Writing’s on the Wall – Spectre
See You Again – Furious 7
Feels Like Summer – Shaun the Sheep Movie
Til It Happens to You – The Hunting Ground
Simple Song #3 – Youth

Best Score

Carol
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
It Follows
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Editing

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight

Best Cinematography

Beasts of No Nation
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Best Art Direction

Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
The Walk

Best Foreign Language Film

The Assassin
Goodnight Mommy
Phoenix
Son of Saul
Wild Tales

Best Documentary

Amy
Cartel Land
Best of Enemies
The Hunting Ground
The Look of Silence

Best Comedy

Inside Out
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Spy
Trainwreck
What We Do in the Shadows

Best Soundtrack

Amy
Dope
Love & Mercy
The Martian
Straight Outta Compton

St. Louis Film Critics Association Data

Year Founded: 2004
First Awards: 2006 (10)