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Universal Pictures' blockbuster musical "Wicked" has been named best picture by the National Board of Review, the organization announced on Wednesday, in addition to taking home the directing prize for Jon M. Chu and a special award for the collaboration of stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Over the last 40 years, most of the winners of NBR's best film has gone on to receive an Oscar nomination for best picture, with the exception of films like 1998's "Gods and Monsters," 2000's "Quills" and 2014's "A Most Violent Year." In the 1980s, there were technically two misses with 1987's "Empire of the Sun" and 1983's "Betrayal," the latter of which won in a tie with "Terms of Endearment." So far this decade, Spike Lee's war drama "Da 5 Bloods" (2020) is the only film to fail to achieve Oscar recognition. Notably, since the Academy expanded the best picture lineup from five to 10 in 2009, NBR and the Oscars have only matched once with "Green Book" (2018).
Daniel Craig took home the best actor prize for his work in Luca Guadagnino's period drama "Queer." Two NBR best actor winners in the last decade have translated to Oscar wins: Casey Affleck for "Manchester by the Sea" (2016) and Will Smith for "King Richard" (2021). For NBR winners becoming eventual nominees, only three men have been snubbed by the Academy: Oscar Isaac for "A Most Violent Year" (2014), Tom Hanks for "The Post" (2017) and Adam Sandler for "Uncut Gems" (2019).
At the same time, Nicole Kidman walked away with best actress for her towering turn in Halina Reijn's "Babygirl." The awards have had a stronger correlation for women, as three NBR lead actress recipients have moved on to the Dolby Theatre stage: Brie Larson in "Room" (2015), Renée Zellweger in "Judy" (2019) and Michelle Yeoh for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (2022). Regarding becoming eventual nominees, four have missed out on an Oscar mention in the past 14 years: Lesley Manville for "Another Year" (2010), Tilda Swinton for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (2011), Emma Thompson for "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013) and Rachel Zegler for "West Side Story" (2021).
Kieran Culkin continues his winning streak for his supporting turn in "A Real Pain" while Elle Fanning is the big surprise of the honorees taking home supporting actress for "A Complete Unknown."
Since 2009, three complete sets of NBR acting winners have garnered Oscar nominations, including the ones from 2009 and 2020, plus 2023 with Paul Giamatti, Lily Gladstone, Mark Ruffalo and Da'Vine Joy Randolph.
The nonprofit organization, which encompasses film enthusiasts from New York City and critics, academic and consumer members, also named its top 10 movies of the year. Among those are "Anora," "Babygirl," "A Complete Unknown," "Conclave," "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," "Gladiator 2," "Juror No. 2," "Queer," "A Real Pain" and "Sing Sing."
Some of the notable omissions from the top 10 list include Denis Villenueve's "Dune: Part Two," Jacques Audiard's "Emilia Perez" and Brady Corbet's "The Brutalist.".
But don't write those movies off yet. Take "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003) and Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" (2017), which failed to make NBR's top 10 lists. Both went on to win best picture at the Oscars.
NBR will host its annual Awards Gala on Jan. 7, in New York City.