The Stunt Awards Are Back

Last year, when we introduced Vulture’s annual Stunt Awards, we did so partly as a way to advocate for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to finally introduce a Best Stunts Oscar. We keep hearing that AMPAS is getting closer to doing so, though it keeps not happening. But last year’s Stunt Awards also demonstrated something else: that the world of stunts is far too big and diverse and wonderful to narrow into one award. Our nominees for 2023 range from massive action blockbusters to small French dramas, from straight-to-video beat-downs to slick erotic thrillers, and more. The nominees (not to mention the eventual winners) are proof of just how integrated stunts have become in all of modern moviemaking.

At the time, 2022 seemed like a watershed year for stunts, with titles like Top Gun: Maverick, RRR, and Everything Everywhere All at Once on everyone’s minds. Well, 2023 was even more so: Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt jumped a motorcycle off a cliff in Norway (well, actually, he did that in 2021, but we finally got to see it this year), and Keanu Reeves’s John Wick fought all of Paris. The action in 2023’s horror movies was spectacular. Even some of the big-budget blockbusters that underperformed had fantastic action sequences. Plus, we had how many racing pictures? And these are just the movies one would expect to have great action sequences. There were also films like Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid and Bottoms — not obvious stunt titles but great stunt pictures all the same.

Like last year’s nominations, this year’s came from our expanding mini-academy of stunt professionals, writers, filmmakers, and other industry folk who are helping us honor work in these feature-length films released between January 1 and December 31, 2023. (To be eligible, the films must have been made available to U.S. audiences in that time period, whether in limited screenings, wide release, or on a streaming platform.) In the second edition of our awards, we have three times as many nominations as in our inaugural event, honoring everything from a Godzilla flick and the latest Fast to a Jennifer Lawrence rom-com and more than one A24 movie. The final voting period is open now, and the Second Annual Stunt Awards winners will be announced on March 4.

Best Stunt in an Action Film

Awarded to a specific sequence in an action film that exemplifies the work of a stunt-coordination team. The award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

-The Equalizer 3 (the Stained Glass Ceiling scene)
-Extraction 2 (the Opening Oner)
-Jawan (the Highway Chase)
-John Wick: Chapter 4 (the Stair Fight and Fall)
-Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (the Base Jump)

Best Stunt in a Nonaction Film

Awarded to a specific sequence in a nonaction film (defined as a movie not predominantly occupied by physical spectacle in the form of fights, chases, explosions, or other violence). The award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

-Beau Is Afraid (Beau’s Run Home)
-Bottoms (the Field Mêlée)
-The Iron Claw (the Wrestling Montage)
-No Hard Feelings (the Naked Beach Fight)
-Sick (the Home Invasion)

Best Fight

Awarded to a hand-to-hand combat sequence that is not a shoot-out, though it can involve weapons. The award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

-Creed III (Donny and Dame Ascend to the Astral Plane)
-John Wick: Chapter 4 (Caine Cooks in the Kitchen)
-The Killer (the Brute Fight)
-The Roundup (Ma Dong-seok vs. Hong Joon-young)
-Sniper G.R.I.T. (Lady Death vs. Everybody)

Best Shoot-out

Awarded to any sequence involving guns at relatively close range. The award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

Ballerina (Jang Ok-ju Invades the Grow House)
The Channel (the Bank Heist)
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (Ambush on the Mine)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (the Overhead Gun Fight)
Silent Night (the Final Shoot-out)

Best Vehicular Stunt

Awarded to any sequence involving motorized vehicles. The award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

Fast X (the Rome Car Chase)
Ferrari (the Mille Miglia Race)
Jawan (the Highway Chase)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (the Arc de Triomphe Scene)
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (the Rome Car Chase)

Best Aerial Stunt

Awarded to any sequence that takes place predominantly in the air. The award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

Extraction 2 (the Helicopter Shoot-out)
Godzilla Minus One (the Plane Circling Godzilla)
Kandahar (the Helicopter Fight)
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (the Base Jump)
Pathaan (the Jet-Pack Fight)

Best Practical Explosion

Awarded to any sequence that involves any reactive substance that amounts to an explosion. This award will be given to a stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, pyrotechnician, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (the Truck Explosion)
Extraction 2 (Chris Hemsworth’s Flaming Fist)
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (the Pipeline Blows Up)
Killers of the Flower Moon (the House Explosion)
Oppenhemier (the Trinity Test)

Best Overall Action Film

Awarded to the best film for stunt work overall. The award will be given to a director, stunt coordinator, stunt choreographer, cinematographer, unit director, and/or any notable stunt professionals. The nominees are:

Ballerina 
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant 
Extraction 2 
Fist of the Condor 
Jawan 
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One 
Pathaan 
Silent Night 
Shin Kamen Rider

Best Achievement in Stunts Overall

Awarded to the best overall stunt professional (or duo) in 2023. The nominees are:

Kefi Abrikh (Furies, The Princess)
Vincent Bouillon (John Wick: Chapter 4, Freelance, Sniper: G.R.I.T.)
Stephen Dunlevy (John Wick: Chapter 4)
Saori Izawa (Baby Assassins 2, John Wick: Chapter 4)
Jeremy Marinas (Blue Beetle, Fast X, John Wick: Chapter 4, Silent Night)
Rachel McDermott (Extraction 2)
Scott Rogers (John Wick: Chapter 4)
Marko Zaror (The Fist of the Condor, John Wick: Chapter 4)

Lifetime Achievement Award

The winner will be announced on March 4, 2023.

More From Last Year's Stunt Awards

• And the Winners of the 2024 Stunt Awards Are …
• Academy Awards Reportedly in Preliminary Talks for a Stunt Category
• Joseph Kosinski Doesn’t Think Top Gun: Maverick Is an Action Movie

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