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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Dee Jefferson

Robbie Williams biopic Better Man and Boy Swallows Universe lead 2025 Aacta award nominations

Singer Robbie Williams (left) and Australian film director Michael Gracey at the Spanish premiere for Better Man. The biopic, in which Williams is portrayed as a CGI monkey, has broken the record in Aacta film categories with 16 nominations.
Singer Robbie Williams (left) and Australian film director Michael Gracey at the Spanish premiere for Better Man. The biopic, in which Williams is portrayed as a CGI monkey, has broken the record in Aacta film categories with 16 nominations. Photograph: Carlos Álvarez/Getty Images

Boy Swallows Universe, the Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton’s bestselling novel, has scored a record-breaking 22 nominations at the 2025 Aacta awards – the most nominations for any production in the history of Australia’s screen industry awards – while the upcoming Robbie Williams biopic Better Man leads the film categories with 16 nominations.

Better Man charts Williams’ stratospheric rise from a working-class upbringing to global superstardom, and sees the pop singer portrayed by a CGI monkey. It was filmed mostly in Melbourne and features a predominantly Australian creative team, including director Michael Gracey, who directed The Greatest Showman. It will hit cinemas in Australia and the UK on Boxing Day.

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