The Big List of Nominees for 2025's AACTA Awards Includes 'Boy Swallows Universe', 'Furiosa' and 'Late Night with the Devil'

When 2024 began, it started with a beloved Australian book becoming a just-as-loved hit homegrown TV miniseries. When the year comes to an end, it'll do so with an Aussie film about an international pop star releasing in cinemas. It feels fitting, then, that Brisbane-set page-to-screen favourite Boy Swallows Universe and unconventional Robbie Williams biopic Better Man have both scored big among the just-announced AACTA Award nominations — for 2025's ceremonies, but covering 2024 releases.

Boy Swallows Universe topped the TV categories, earning a huge 22 nominations. It's up for Best Miniseries, of course, and made history by collecting eight nominations for its stellar actors, the most that any production has earned ever at the AACTAs. Better Man, which makes its way to Australian cinemas on Boxing Day 2024, received the most nods in the film fields — and by picking up a huge 16 of them, it also broke the record.

Among the movies, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga nabbed 15 nominations for George Miller's fifth film in the iconic dystopian franchise, the same number that How to Make Gravy scored for its song-to-film journey. Next came horror delight Late Night with the Devil with 14 nominations, then Oscar-winning animator Adam Elliot's gorgeous and heartfelt Memoir of a Snail with 11. They're all up for Best Film, too, alongside Better Man and family-friendly four-time nominee Runt.

The television cohort also saw Thou Shalt Not Steal pick up nine nominations, showing some affection for one of the year's absolute-best TV shows. Colin From Accounts and The Artful Dodger collected eight apiece, while Exposure scored seven, Fake picked up six, and Fisk and Total Control earned five each.

Even from just the titles mentioned above, it's been not only an excellent year in Aussie film and TV, but a diverse one in terms of the types of tales that've been reaching screens big and small. Everything from mystery sequel Force of Nature: The Dry 2 to dark comedy Audrey, and from detective series High Country to the latest season of Heartbreak High and the Australian version of The Office, too, is also on the nominees list.

As for who'll end up with a shiny trophy, the winners will be revealed on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 and Friday, February 7, 2025 at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, in tandem with the returning festival with 100-plus that's also celebrating Aussie film and television. Until then, consider the nominations list a great what-to-watch guide for homegrown flicks and shows — Christmess, You'll Never Find Me, Last Days of the Space Age and Territory are just a selection of the other titles in the running.

Here's a selection of this year's major AACTA nominations, ahead of the awards' ceremonies on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 and Friday, February 7, 2025 at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast — and you can check out the full list on AACTA's website:

2025 AACTA Award Nominees

Film Awards

Best Film

Better Man
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
How to Make Gravy
Late Night with the Devil
Memoir of a Snail
Runt

Best Indie Film

Before Dawn
Birdeater
Christmess
Just a Farmer
The Emu War
You'll Never Find Me

Best Direction in Film

Better Man, Michael Gracey
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller
How to Make Gravy, Nick Waterman
Late Night with the Devil, Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes
Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot

Best Lead Actress in Film

Laura Gordon, Late Night with the Devil
Sarah Snook, Memoir of a Snail
Jackie van Beek, Audrey
Anya Taylor-Joy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Anna Torv, Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Phoebe Tonkin, Kid Snow

Best Lead Actor in Film

Eric Bana, Force of Nature: The Dry 2
David Dastmalchian, Late Night with the Devil
Jonno Davies, Better Man
Daniel Henshall, How to Make Gravy
Guy Pearce, The Convert
Kodi Smit-McPhee, Memoir of a Snail

Best Supporting Actress in Film

Alyla Browne, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Hannah Diviney, Audrey
Kate Mulvany, Better Man
Kate Mulvany, How to Make Gravy
Ingrid Torelli, Late Night with the Devil
Jacki Weaver, Memoir of a Snail

Best Supporting Actor in Film

Fayssal Bazzi, Late Night with the Devil
Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Damon Herriman, Better Man
Damon Herriman, How to Make Gravy
Richard Roxburgh, Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Hugo Weaving, How to Make Gravy

Best Screenplay in Film

Better Man, Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller, Nico Lathouris
How to Make Gravy, Meg Washington, Nick Waterman
Late Night with the Devil, Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes
Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot

Best Documentary

A Horse Named Winx
Every Little Thing
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
Otto by Otto
Porcelain War
The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process

Best Cinematography in Film

Better Man, Erik A. Wilson, Matt Toll, Ashley Wallen
Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Andrew Commis
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Simon Duggan
Late Night with the Devil, Matthew Temple
Memoir of a Snail, Gerald Thompson

Best Editing in Film

Better Man, Martin Connor, Lee Smith, Spencer Susser, Jeff Groth, Patrick Correll
Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Alexandre de Franceschi, Maria Papoutsis
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Eliot Knapman, Margaret Sixel
Late Night with the Devil, Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Memoir of a Snail, Bill Murphy

Best Original Song

'Dream On' by Meg Washington, Electric Fields and The Prison Choir, How to Make Gravy
'Fine' by Meg Washington, Electric Fields and The Prison Choir, How to Make Gravy
'Forbidden Road' by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek, Better Man
'Side By Side' by Paul Kelly, Runt
'Streetlights' by Jacob Harvey, Under Streetlights

Best Short Film

And the Ocean Agreed
Before We Sleep
Die Bully Die
Favourites
Gorgo
Why We Fight

Television Awards

Best Drama Series

Fake
Heartbreak High
The Artful Dodger
The Twelve
Thou Shalt Not Steal
Total Control

Best Narrative Comedy Series

Austin
Bump
Colin From Accounts
Fisk
Strife
The Office

Best Miniseries

Boy Swallows Universe
Exposure
Four Years Later
House of Gods
Human Error
Last Days of the Space Age

Best Lead Actor in a Drama

Zac Burgess, Boy Swallows Universe
Felix Cameron, Boy Swallows Universe
Rob Collins, Total Control
Brendan Cowell, Plum
Sam Neill, The Twelve
Noah Taylor, Thou Shalt Not Steal

Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Asher Keddie, Fake
Deborah Mailman, Total Control
Leah Purcell, High Country
Anna Torv, Territory
Phoebe Tonkin, Boy Swallows Universe
Sherry-Lee Watson, Thou Shalt Not Steal

Best Acting in a Comedy

Patrick Brammall, Colin From Accounts
Aaron Chen, Fisk
Harriet Dyer, Colin From Accounts
Kitty Flanagan, Fisk
Genevieve Hegney, Colin From Accounts
Asher Keddie, Strife
Michael Theo, Austin
Felicity Ward, The Office

Best Comedy Performer

Wil Anderson, Taskmaster Australia
Aaron Chen, Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Anne Edmonds, Taskmaster Australia
Tom Gleeson, Hard Quiz
Guy Montgomery, Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Charlie Pickering, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama

Essie Davis, Exposure
Rachel Griffiths, Total Control
Heather Mitchell, Fake
Deborah Mailman, Boy Swallows Universe
Sophie Wilde, Boy Swallows Universe
Asher Yasbincek, Heartbreak High

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Simon Baker, Boy Swallows Universe
Wayne Blair, Total Control
Bryan Brown, Boy Swallows Universe
Travis Fimmel, Boy Swallows Universe
Lee Tiger Halley, Boy Swallows Universe
Ewen Leslie, Prosper

Best Direction in Drama or Comedy

Boy Swallows Universe, Bharat Nalluri
Colin From Accounts, Trent O'Donnell
Colin From Accounts, Madeline Dyer
Fake, Emma Freeman
Thou Shalt Not Steal, Dylan River

Best Direction in Nonfiction Television

Anne Edmonds: Why Is My Bag All Wet?, Simon Francis
Better Date Than Never, Mariel Thomas
Muster Dogs, Sally Browning
Stuff the British Stole, Marc Fennell
The Jury: Death on the Staircase, Tosca Looby, Ben Lawrence

Best Screenplay in Television

Boy Swallows Universe, John Collee
Colin From Accounts, Patrick Brammall, Harriet Dyer
Fake, Anya Beyersdorf
Fisk, Penny Flanagan, Kitty Flanagan
Thou Shalt Not Steal, Tanith Glynn-Maloney, Sophie Miller, Dylan River

Best Cinematography in Television

Boy Swallows Universe, Shelley Farthing-Dawe
Boy Swallows Universe, Mark Wareham
Exposure, Aaron McLisky
Territory, Simon Duggan
Thou Shalt Not Steal, Tyson Perkins

Best Editing in Television

Boy Swallows Universe, Mark Perry
Colin From Accounts, Danielle Boesenberg
Exposure, Leila Gaabi
Fisk, Katie Flaxman
The Artful Dodger, Rodrigo Balart

Best Entertainment Program

Dancing with the Stars
LEGO® Masters Australia vs The World
Mastermind
Spicks and Specks
The 1% Club
Tipping Point Australia

Best Comedy Entertainment Program

Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Hard Quiz
Have You Been Paying Attention?
Thank God You're Here
The Cheap Seats
The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

Best Factual Entertainment Program

Alone Australia
Gogglebox Australia
Muster Dogs
Stuff the British Stole
Take 5 with Zan Rowe
The Assembly

Best Documentary or Factual Program

Australia's Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley
I Was Actually There
Maggie Beer's Big Mission
Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian
Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye
Who Do You Think You Are?

Best Children's Program

Bluey
Eddie's Lil Homies
Hard Quiz Kids
Little J & Big Cuz
Play School: Big Ted's Time Machine
Spooky Files

Best Stand-Up Special

Anne Edmonds: Why Is My Bag All Wet?
Lloyd Langford: Current Mood
Mel Buttle: Let Me Know Either Way?
Melbourne International Comedy Festival — The Allstars Supershow
Melbourne International Comedy Festival — The Gala
Rove McManus: Loosey Goosey

Best Lifestyle Program

Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly Australia
Gardening Australia
Grand Designs Australia
Grand Designs Transformations
Restoration Australia
Selling Houses Australia

Best Reality Program

Australian Idol
Australian Survivor: Titans V Rebels
MasterChef Australia
Shark Tank Australia
The Amazing Race
The Great Australian Bake Off

Best Online Drama or Comedy

Bad Ancestors
Buried
Descent
Girl Crush
Urvi Went to an All Girls School
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