‘Nope’ Gets Major Oscar Boost as AFI Winner for Best Film

If you’re an American movie and you don’t make the American Film Institute’s list of the top 10 films of the year, you’re in the danger zone. Last year no eligible production missed AFI’s list of winners before going on to a best-picture Oscar nod, and generally, only one or two movies ever find the room to beat those odds. 

So if AFI’s 2022 selections are any indication, this is a major development for Nope, this summer’s commercial and critical hit from Jordan Peele, which has been bubbling around as a potential contender and just picked up a major award for star Keke Palmer last week. The news is also good for She Said, Maria Schrader’s biopic of the New York Times journalists who exposed Harvey Weinstein, which bombed at the box office last month. Meanwhile, contenders that missed out, and now clearly face an uphill climb, include Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, which met divisive reactions out of its premiere a few weeks ago; Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion; and Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.

The Banshees of Inisherin will be honored with the group’s annual special award, which recognizes strong Oscar players outside of the AFI’s US-exclusive parameters. (Last year’s winner on the film side was Belfast.) Other hopefuls not eligible here include Living, Triangle of Sadness, and the rising RRR.

A few other points of note: Reviews are still not out for Avatar: The Way of Water, but its inclusion here and on NBR’s top 10 yesterday—plus the ecstatic reactions coming out of this week’s screenings—affirms it is in the thick of this race. While the AFI ignored Babylon and Glass Onion, that does not mean it dismissed audience-friendly films more broadly: Avatar, Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis, and even The Woman King are all here. And in case there was any doubt, following their dominance with the Spirit Award nominations, the indies leading the Oscar charge right now are Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tár, and Women Talking.

On the studio front, the two arguable surprises, Nope and She Said, are both distributed by Universal—some cheers likely happening over there this Friday morning, with The Fabelmans also ranking in the top 10. The streamers, meanwhile, were blanked entirely, from Apple TV+’s late-breaking Emancipation to Netflix’s array of hopefuls. The possibility that the Oscars’ 10 will exclude them as well, following CODA’s historic win earlier this year, seems increasingly plausible. 

The AFI also announces 10 annual winners for television, this year naming newly minted Emmy winners Abbott Elementary and The White Lotus, as well as impending 2023 heavy hitter The Bear. The AFI Awards ceremony, taking place at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles on January 13, will gather creators and stars from each recognized film and show for a luncheon full of schmoozing. It’s a major campaign stop—great news for today’s winners, and a tough break for those left behind.  

Full list of winners below:

Film

• 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
• Special award: The Banshees of Inisherin

TV

• Abbott Elementary
• The Bear
• Better Call Saul
• Hacks
• Mo
• Pachinko
• Reservation Dogs
• Severance
• Somebody Somewhere
• The White Lotus