Avatar: The Way of Water is still yet to release in movie theatres but that hasn’t stopped it making waves in the race for Best Picture, as it is amongst American Film Institute (AFI) Movies of the Year.
AFI Movies of the Year
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Elvis
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- The Fabelmans
- Nope
- She Said
- TÁR
- Top Gun: Maverick
- The Woman King
- Women Talking
AFI Special Award
- The Banshees of Inisherin
If you want a particular measurement to inspect the relevance of an inclusion in the AFI Movies of the Year; well, last year no Best Picture nominee missed out on the American Film Institute list. That isn’t to say it won’t be exactly comparable this year but it does highlight its importance.
Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, and Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale are the notable snubs from this years list and now face a heavy uphill climb to a Best Picture nod. The Whale and Babylon also missed out on the National Board of Reviews Top Films of the Year, furthering their struggles in this Oscar season. TÁR re-established itself amongst the leaders after missing out with the NBR. Nope enters the conversation despite remaining relatively quiet and Elvis looks to make a case for itself and perhaps, at best, be a fringe nomination in the Best Picture category.
The AFI Special Award recognizes strong Oscar players outside of the AFI’s US-exclusive parameters so strong fans of The Banshees of Inisherin, do not freak out, the film remains heavy in play.
We’ll continue to analyze how the race to Best Picture continues on but it is looking to be a competitive top ten selection right now. Plenty of time to see if films enter the fray or disappear.
