Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' has taken home the coveted People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), significantly boosting its chances at the Academy Awards. This win marks a historic achievement for Zhao, making her the first director to win the prestigious TIFF award twice, following her 2020 victory for 'Nomadland'.
The TIFF Audience Award has proven to be a strong indicator of Oscar success since the Academy expanded the Best Picture category in 2009. Previous winners like 'Green Book' (2018) and 'Nomadland' (2020) went on to win Best Picture, while others, such as 'The Fabelmans' (2022), played significant roles in awards season. The award's predictive power is remarkable, with only one exception – 'Where Do We Go Now?' (2011) – failing to receive a Best Picture nomination. Even then, virtually every other winner has secured at least one Oscar nomination. While last year's winner, 'The Life of Chuck,' faces a challenging path to maintain this streak due to its June 2025 release date, it still holds potential for recognition, particularly in the Adapted Screenplay category.
Established in 1978, the People's Choice Award boasts an impressive legacy. A remarkable seven recipients have gone on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, with five of those wins occurring in the last two decades. This year's competition was fierce, with Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' securing the first runner-up position, and Rian Johnson's 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' placing third.
Beyond the main award, TIFF 2024 also celebrated exceptional achievements in other categories. The International People's Choice Award went to Park Chan-wook's South Korean film 'No Other Choice,' while Barry Avrich's 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue' won the People's Choice Documentary Award. The 50th edition of TIFF proved to be a star-studded event, generating significant buzz and potential for future distribution deals for films like Steven Soderbergh's 'The Christophers,' Mona Fastvold's 'The Testament of Ann Lee,' and Daniel Roher's 'Tuner'.
**Full List of TIFF People's Choice Award Winners:**
* **TIFF People’s Choice Award:** “Hamnet”
* **First runner-up:** “Frankenstein”
* **Second runner-up:** “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
* **TIFF People’s Choice International Award:** “No Other Choice”
* **First runner-up:** “Sentimental Value”
* **Second runner-up:** “Homebound”
* **TIFF People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award:** “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”
* **First runner-up:** “Obsession”
* **Second runner-up:** “The Furious”
* **TIFF People’s Choice Documentary Award:** “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue”
* **First runner-up:** “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert”
* **Second runner-up:** “You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…”
---
Originally published at: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/hamnet-wins-toronto-audience-award-1236517242/
