The National Board of Review Makes Some WICKED Choices This Year with A Few “Popular” Picks

National Board of Review Makes a Wicked Choice

The National Board of Review has declared Wicked: Part 1 the Best Picture of 2024 and released their list of winners, including their own 10 best films list.

The National Board of Review has unleashed the names of their award winners and right at the top of the list is none other than the immensely “popular” Wicked: Part 1. The director of that blockbuster, Jon M. Chu, took the Best Director honors while the acting winners included a line-up of distinguished performers like Daniel Craig (Queer) and Nicole Kidman (Babygirl) who won Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively.

Kieran Culkin is probably starting to clear off his mantelpiece for a slew of awards for Best Supporting Actor this season and took the National Board of Review’s honors for the fine film, A Real Pain. Elle Fanning may also want to start getting ready for some Best Supporting Actress nominations for her on-point work in the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. Taking that award from the National Board of Review was a major accomplishment for the versatile Fanning of We Bought a Zoo fame.

The Brutalist was snubbed all around by the NBR. Adrien Brody didn’t win, Guy Peace didn’t win, Felicity Jones lost and the film didn’t even make the top 10 of the National Board of Review. The top 10 (+1) films chosen were: Wicked: Part 1, Anora, Babygirl, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Juror #2, Gladiator II, A Real Pain, Queer and Sing Sing.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig took Best International Film, Flow received the Best Animated Film award, Sing Sing took Best Adapted Screenplay and Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths received the Best Original Screenplay award from the NBR. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will receive a Spotlight award for their “Creative Collaboration” for Wicked: Part 1.

Conclave won Best Ensemble while Mikey Madison took the Best Breakthrough Performance award for her star-making turn in Anora. Nosferatu was awarded for its remarkable cinematography. One of my personal favorites this year, the moving Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story was mentioned as one of the year’s top documentaries.

The inclusion of Juror #2 in the top 10 was great news and could boost Clint Eastwood’s Oscar prospects for his work on one of the most entertaining films of 2024. The Gotham Award winner for Best Picture, A Different Man, took honors as one of the best independent films of the year on a list which included Hard Truths, Love Lies Bleeding, Thelma, Didi, My Old Ass and His Three Daughters.

Don’t expect the Oscar nominations to follow in the footsteps of the National Board of Review and snub The Brutalist. Besides Kieran Culkin, the other categories for the Academy Awards are wide-open races. The NBR has truly made some “wicked” choices this year!

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