Today, Vulture announced its first-ever Stunt Awards, an annual celebration of stunts in Hollywood. The project, inspired by Vulture film critic Bilge Ebiri’s 2019 story “It’s Time for a Best Stunts Oscar,” assembles a voting academy consisting of stunt professionals, directors, VFX artists, cinematographers, editors, and producers who work in the action genre as well as journalists, critics, and podcasters who cover it. The ten categories will recognize excellence in stunt work by individuals and teams, celebrating the year’s best action films, performances, and set pieces. The nominees, who exemplify both the artistry and technical expertise that go into safely coordinating chaos and carnage onscreen — from hand-to-hand combat and shoot-outs to vehicular and aerial feats of speed and the ensuing explosions — have long been snubbed by the Academy Awards, which lack a Best Stunts category.
The 2023 Vulture Stunt Awards categories and nominees are:
Best Stunt in an Action Film:
-RRR (the bridge scene)
-Athena (the opening)
-Top Gun: Maverick (the training montage)
-Top Gun: Maverick (the climactic dogfight)
-Ambulance (the L.A. River helicopter chase)
Best Stunt in a Non-Action Film:
-Triangle of Sadness (the boat tilt and toilet explosions)
-Thirteen Lives (the rescue)
-Deep Water (the bike chase)
-Nope (the final sequence with Keke Palmer’s “Akira slide”)
-Jackass Forever (Knoxville vs. Bull)
Best Fight:
-RRR (Ram’s intro)
-Everything Everywhere All at Once (the fanny-pack fight)
-Lost Bullet 2 (the police-station fight)
-Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday (Scott Adkins vs. Andy Long)
-Prey (the final fight)
Best Shoot-out:
-RRR (the piggyback dual wielding)
-Vikram (Vikram’s giant gun)
-Ambulance (the bank heist)
-The Big 4 (the compound siege)
-Bullet Train (the flashback shoot-out with Lemon and Tangerine)
Best Vehicular Stunt:
-The Batman (the Batmobile Penguin chase)
-Athena (the opening)
-Lost Bullet 2 (the freeway chase)
-Ambulance (the L.A. River helicopter chase)
-The Gray Man (the tram chase)
Best Aerial Stunt:
-Top Gun: Maverick (the climactic dogfight)
-Top Gun: Maverick (the training montage)
-Devotion (the insubordination)
-Ambulance (the L.A. River helicopter chase)
-Jackass Forever (the flight of Icarus)
Best Practical Explosion:
-The Batman (the Batmobile Penguin chase climax)
-Lost Bullet 2 (the electrified-car explosion)
-RRR (the bridge-scene tanker explosion)
-Ambulance (the exploding decoy)
-Athena (the Molotov cocktail)
Best Overall Action Film:
-Top Gun: Maverick
-RRR
-Ambulance
-Avatar: The Way of Water
-Lost Bullet 2
-The Northman
-Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday
-The Woman King
-Prey
-Athena
Best Achievement in Stunts Overall:
-Scott Adkins
-Jerome Gaspard
-Kevin LaRosa II
-Andy Le and Brian Le
-Jordan McKnight
-Amber Midthunder
-Nick Powell
-Jenel Stevens
-Solomon Raju
-Michelle Yeoh
Lifetime-Achievement Award: No nominations; will be announced on March 6.
Winners will be announced on March 6 leading up to the 2023 Academy Awards.
Vulture’s Stunt Awards are spearheaded by Vulture film critic Bilge Ebiri and freelance writer Brandon Streussnig. Liam O’Donnell (director and writer), Angelica Lisk-Hann (stunt coordinator and second-unit director), Todd Vaziri (visual-effects artist), and Jack Gill (action designer, second-unit director, stunt coordinator, and stuntman) served as consultants.