‘The Shape of Water’ Wins Producers Guild Award

The monster romance “The Shape of Water” took the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, an honor that often predicts the best picture winner at the Oscars.

The movie, directed by Guillermo del Toro, who produced along with J. Miles Dale, beat out “The Big Sick,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Dunkirk,” “Get Out,” “I, Tonya,” “Lady Bird,” “Molly’s Game,” “The Post,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Wonder Woman.”

Del Toro was not on hand; he was reportedly in Mexico with his ailing father.

The winner of the PGA frequently correlates with best picture at the Oscars. The producers’ choice has gone on to win the academy’s big prize eight of the last 10 years. But don’t discount the exceptions: last year “La La Land” won the PGA but lost best picture to “Moonlight, and the year before “The Big Short” prevailed with the producers but “Spotlight” won over the academy.

Other PGA winners Saturday evening included “Coco” for animated film; “Jane” for documentary; “The Handmaid’s Tale” for drama series; “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” for episodic comedy; and “Black Mirror” for long-form television.