2022 National Board of Review (NBR): ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ named Best Film

The National Board of Review (NBR) has selected the year’s biggest blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick as the best film of 2022, the group announced on Thursday.

NBR’s most recent best film winners Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book and George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road all went on to earn Best Picture Oscar nominations with Green Book taking home the top Academy Award.

In the last 30 years, most winners of NBR’s best film have gone on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The exceptions being 2020’s Da 5 Bloods, 2014’s A Most Violent Year, 2000’s Quills and 1998’s Gods and Monsters.

It was a good day for The Banshees of Inisherin, which won three awards plus a Top 10 placement. The film earned wins for Colin Farrell in Best Actor, Supporting Actor for Brendan Gleeson and Original Screenplay for director Martin McDonaugh. Michelle Yeoh picked up Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All At Once, while Janelle Monáe was named Best Supporting Actress for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Both films landed Top 10 placements as well.

Joining those films as NBR’s Top 10 of 2022 were: Aftersun, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Fabelmans, RRR, Till, The Woman King and Women Talking. Aftersun also took a Directorial Debut win for Charlotte Wells, The Fabelmans won Best Director for Steven Spielberg and Breakthrough Performance for star Gabriel LaBelle.

Last year’s top NBR winners Will Smith (Best Actor for King Richard), Encanto (Animated Feature) and Summer of Soul (Documentary) went on to win Oscars in their respective categories. King Richard‘s Aunjanue Ellis (Supporting Actress) and Belfast‘s Ciarán Hinds (Supporting Actor) were among those to translate their NBR wins into Oscar nominations.

The National Board of Review awards gala will take place on January 8, 2023 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City and hosted by Willie Geist of NBC News’ Sunday TODAY and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Here is the full list of 2022 NBR 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:

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