The National Board of Review may not be Hollywood’s best Oscar bellwether, but it’s a good indicator of which way the wind’s blowing early in the race.
As NBR’s best picture winner for 2022, TOP GUN: MAVERICK & Tom Cruise (pictured) will get a big boost from some well-timed media coverage now and at NBR’s reception, 1/8 at NYC’s Cipriani 42nd Street — just days before voting begins 1/12 for Oscar noms.
NBR started in 1909 and began handing out awards in 1929. Under its media-savvy president, Annie Schulhof, it’s become a prime awards event by announcing its winners early and holding a high-profile gala in early January.
NBR’s best picture award is exactly what Paramount/Skydance Media’s MAVERICK needed to get on track to be taken seriously by Oscar voters. Mainstream commercial hits like MAVERICK are typically ignored as best-picture contenders by Academy voters. NBR’s valuable media coverage coming early in the Oscar race influences perceptions throughout Hollywood, including from Academy members.
MAVERICK’s grossed $1.5B globally, helped keep exhibition alive in 2022 & is 96% certified fresh with Rotten Tomatoes critics. Its NBR win should keep MAVERICK flying high in the awards skies as the Oscar race heats up.
It also helps that AFI put MAVERICK on its Top 10 list & that the Producers Guild of America is giving Cruise, a producer of MAVERICK, its David O. Selznick achievement award. Besides MAVERICK’s best picture prospects, Cruise is a likely best actor Oscar contender.