‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Receives Major Oscar Boost as National Board of Review announce

The Best Picture race is now starting to heat up, that is for sure. Historically, Oscar Season begins as soon as the National Board of Review announces its 2023 winners. Nowadays – we have a better gist of things prior to the announcement but it is still significant as we race to the Oscars. See NBR’s list of the year’s 10 best films and its other award winners below.

Top Gun: Maverick took home the top honours with the National Board of Review (NBR), giving it a little more substance to compete in the Best Picture race. NBR president Annie Schulhof states that “Top Gun: Maverick is a thrilling crowd-pleaser that is expertly crafted on every level. Tom Cruise, Joseph Kosinski and the entire filmmaking team have succeeded in making an incredibly popular film that brought audiences back to theaters, while at the same time being a full-on cinematic achievement. We’ll see how the film tracks but only once in the last ten years has the NBR Best Film gone on to win Best Picture at the Oscars – regardless, this boasts its case, even if it is just a nomination. 

Steven Spielberg wins Best Director for his work in The Fabelmans – further solidifying himself as a runaway frontrunner. Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) edges in the Best Actor race against the likes of Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Austin Butler (Elvis). Michelle Yeoh (Everything, Everywhere, All At Once) squeezes her way to the top of the pack in the tight Best Actress race as Cate Blanchett (Tár) looked to have a strong start.

Avatar: The Way of Water pushes its way into the Oscar discourse despite only beginning screenings days ago – it will be very interesting to see if it can muster up another Best Picture nomination like the original. 

Notable films missing are Tár, The Whale, Elvis, Babylon, & She Said. There is still months to go so there will be plenty of opportunities for those films to make waves in the Oscar conversations. 

Here are the National Board of Review’s 2022 winners:

Best Film

• Top Gun: Maverick 

Best Director

• Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans 

Best Actor

• Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Actress

• Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Best Supporting Actor

• Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Supporting Actress

• Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Original Screenplay

• Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, All Quiet on the Western Front

Breakthrough Performance

• Danielle Deadwyler, Till  

Breakthrough Performance

• Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans

Best Directorial Debut

• Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Best Animated Feature

• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 

Best International Film

• Close

Best Documentary

• Sr. 

Best Ensemble

• Women Talking 

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

• Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick 

NBR Freedom of Expression Awards

Top Films (in alphabetical order):

Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order)

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)