AFI Top 10 Films of 2021: ‘CODA,’ King Richard,’ ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ and more

The American Film Institute (AFI) released its annual list of the top 10 films of the year today and they include CODA, King Richard, Licorice Pizza and tick, tick…BOOM!

The list is as about as you’d expect, no wild outliers like a Richard Jewell or Eighth Grade or Fruitvale Station. Belfast, a non-American production is not on the list nor was it expected to be. It did, however, receive a special citation, much like The King’s Speech did in 2010.

“AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon the most outstanding screen stories of 2021 and those who worked collaboratively to bring them to screens large and small,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “From soaring in spirit to dark and dangerous – from heartbreaking to hilarious – these are the stories that have united us in uncertain times and continue to drive culture forward.”  

Honorees will gather on January 7, 2022, for recognition at the annual AFI AWARDS private reception at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. 

• CODA
• DON’T LOOK UP
• DUNE
• KING RICHARD
• LICORICE PIZZA
• NIGHTMARE ALLEY
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• tick, tick… BOOM!
• THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
• WEST SIDE STORY

The National Board of Review named Licorice Pizza the best of 2021 and their Top 10 films were: Belfast, Don’t Look Up, Dune, King Richard, The Last Duel, Nightmare Alley, Red Rocket, The Tragedy of Macbeth and West Side Story.

That makes the crossover films: Don’t Look Up, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Tragedy of Macbeth and West Side Story. But where have AFI and NBR agreed and disagreed when it comes to what will ultimately earn a Best Picture spot at the Oscars?

Best Picture-nominated movies at the Oscars that were snubbed by both NBR and AFI
2020: none
2019: none
2018: Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice
2017: none
2016: none
2015: The Revenant
2014: The Grand Budapest Hotel
2013: Dallas Buyers Club
2012: none
2011: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
2010: none
2009: Avatar, District 9, The Blind Side

Best Picture-snubbed movies at the Oscars that were nominated by both NBR and AFI
2020: Da 5 Bloods, Soul
2019: Knives Out, Richard Jewell
2018: If Beale Street Could Talk, Mary Poppins Returns, A Quiet Place, Eighth Grade
2017: The Florida Project
2016: Sully, Silence
2015: Inside Out, Straight Outta Compton
2014: Nightcrawler, Unbroken
2013: Saving Mr. Banks, Inside Llewyn Davis, Fruitvale Station
2012: none
2011: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, J. Edgar
2010: The Town
2009: The Messenger

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

• HACKS 
• MAID 
• MARE OF EASTTOWN 
• RESERVATION DOGS 
• SCHMIGADOON! 
• SUCCESSION 
• TED LASSO 
• THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
• WANDAVISION 
• THE WHITE LOTUS

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

• BELFAST 
• SQUID GAME 
• SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

Beginning January 8, 2022, AFI’s global Movie Club program will showcase the official selections with new daily content, including videos of special guests from the honored works introducing the titles. AFI AWARDS official selections will be celebrated on AFI.com/MovieClub and across all AFI social media platforms.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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