The National Board of Review has named Top Gun: Maverick as its best film of 2022.
The Tom Cruise-starring sequel also won outstanding achievement in cinematography.
The Banshees of Inisherin won a leading three awards, including best actor (Colin Farrell), best supporting actor (Brendan Gleeson) and best original screenplay for Martin McDonagh.
Steven Spielberg won best director for The Fabelmans, with the film’s Gabriel LaBelle winning breakthrough performance alongside Till star Danielle Deadwyler.
Michelle Yeoh was named best actress for her starring role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Janelle Monáe won best supporting actress for her role in Knives Out sequel Glass Onion.
The award for best adapted screenplay went to All Quiet on the Western Front‘s Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On was named best animated feature, with Close taking best international film; Sr., about Robert Downey Jr.’s father, named best documentary; and Women Talking being recognized with best ensemble.
“Top Gun: Maverick is a thrilling crowd-pleaser that is expertly crafted on every level,” NBR president Annie Schulhof said in a statement. “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.”
The organization’s honors are voted on by a group of film enthusiasts, professionals, academics, filmmakers and students.
NBR has a mixed record as an Oscars predictor. Last year its top film was Licorice Pizza, which scored three Oscar nominations, including best picture. In 2020 its top film was Da 5 Bloods, which ended up only landing one Oscar nomination, and in 2019, NBR selected The Irishman, which scored several Oscar nominations but no wins. Previous NBR best film winners include Green Book (2018), The Post (2017), Manchester by the Sea (2016) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
This year’s NBR honorees will be celebrated at an awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on Sunday, Jan. 8, hosted by NBC News’ Willie Geist.
A complete list of this year’s winners follows.
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:
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Argentina, 1985
Top Films (in alphabetical order):
Aftersun
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
RRR
Till
The Woman King
Women Talking
Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Decision to Leave
EO
Saint Omer
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
All That Breathes
Descendant
Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb
Wildcat
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
Armageddon Time
Emily the Criminal
The Eternal Daughter
Funny Pages
The Inspection
Living
A Love Song
Nanny
The Wonder
To Leslie
