MUMBAI: On Sunday, 19 January, the Producers Guild Awards (PGA) was announced at the Beverley Hilton with a major twist. For the first time in the 25 years of PGA history, two films have won the coveted statuette. Alfonso Cuaron’s space epic Gravity and the harrowing historical drama 12 Years a Slave shared the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.

In the past week, 12 Years a Slave landed wins from the Golden Globes (drama film) and the Critics’ Choice Awards. American Hustle won the Globe (comedy film) and the SAG Ensemble prize.

Gravity has been hailed as an Oscar front-runner since its release with 10 Oscar nominations in its kitty. However, it had not scored any high-profile top prizes until Sunday. The PGA win is a giant leap for the film.

Frozen, Disney’s latest animated feature film which surpassed box office records worldwide, won the award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures. This does not come as a surprise since it also won a Golden Globe award in the same category.

On the television front, Breaking Bad won The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama, while Modern Family won The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy. The Michael Douglas and Matt Damon HBO movie, Behind the Candelabra won The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television.