This list was originally published on Audible.com.
It’s that time again! Awards season is upon us as Hollywood prepares to recognize the many talented creators and contributors that made 2024 an incredible year in cinema. With the nominees announced, the deliberations beginning, and the final ballots still to be cast, we’ve got a few weeks until the big winners are finally revealed. One way to bide your time until the envelopes are opened and the statuettes are bestowed it to queue up one of the acclaimed audiobooks behind this year's nominated films. Boasting a Pulitzer Prize, a Hugo Award, a Nebula Award, and multiple Audie Awards among them, this year's listens exemplify our belief that awards season is even better when you listen before you watch!
The film: A Complete Unknown
Nominated for: Best Picture, Sound, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Actor in a Leading Role (Timothée Chalamet), Actor in a Supporting Role (Edward Norton), Actress in a Supporting Role (Monica Barbaro), Costume Design, Directing
Adapted from: Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric!, which explores the cultural, political, and historical context of Bob Dylan's seminal pivot from acoustic, read in audio by Sean Runnette.
The film: Conclave
Nominated for: Best Picture, Production Design, Actor in a Leading Role (Ralph Fiennes), Actress in a Supporting Role (Isabella Rossellini), Costume Design, Film Editing, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Music (Original Score)
Adapted from: Robert Harris’s Conclave, a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller in which the power of God is nearly equaled by the ambition of men, narrated by Roy McMillan.
The film: Nickel Boys
Nominated for: Best Picture, Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Adapted from: The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida, performed in audio by JD Jackson.
The film: Wicked
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Cynthia Erivo), Actress in a Supporting Role (Ariana Grande), Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Sound, Visual Effects
Adapted from: Wicked, Gregory Maguire’s wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz, told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. The basis for the Broadway musical and award-nominated feature film starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Wicked follows Elphaba and Glinda in their university days in the Emerald City.
The film: The Wild Robot
Nominated for: Animated Feature Film, Music (Original Score), Sound
Adapted from: The Wild Robot, Peter Brown’s bestselling middle-grade novel about a robot named Roz who opens her eyes to discover that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. The audiobook is performed by Kate Atwater.
The film: Dune: Part Two
Nominated for: Best Picture, Production Design, Sound, Visual Effects, Cinematography
Adapted from: Frank Herbert’s 1965 Nebula and Hugo Award-winning Dune, which formed the basis of science fiction’s grandest epic. This full-cast audiobook won an Audie Award and is an Audible Essential.
The film: Nosferatu
Nominated for: Production Design, Cinematography, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling
Adapted from: The 1922 silent film Nosferatu, which was famously an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, hence the renamed movie and vampire, Count Orlok. This Audie-winning production stars Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, and a full cast of award-winning narrators.
