The Awardist

Da 5 Bloods, Riz Ahmed, Carey Mulligan score wins from National Board of Review

Oscar precursor celebrates Taylor Swift, Spike Lee, Sound of Metal, Promising Young Woman, more.

By

Published on January 26, 2021 01:49PM EST

Da 5 Bloods continues its hunt to make major headway in the Oscar race.

Amid a crowded week of precursor award announcements, Spike Lee's Vietnam War drama has picked up a significant accolade in the run-up to the Academy Awards, as the National Board of Review named the Netflix feature as the best movie of 2020 on Tuesday.

Lee — a likely contender for the Best Director Oscar — also won the NBR's Best Director prize, with leading contenders Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) picking up important notices in the acting categories after scoring Indie Spirit nods earlier today.

In the supporting categories, Minari's Youn Yuh-jung earned another precursor accolade for her work in Lee Isaac Chung's A24 drama, with Sound of Metal bagging another acting award for Paul Raci's supporting performance opposite Ahmed.

Elsewhere, Taylor Swift's Netflix documentary Miss Americana earned recognition among the group's nonfiction feature crop. On the screenplay front, Paul Greengrass' News of the World earned its first major notice along the current awards trail, while Disney's Soul — presumed to be in the hunt for a Best Picture nomination from the Academy — scored a spot on the NBR's top 10 and an individual victory in the animated category.

Elsewhere on the NBR's top 10 list are seasonal mainstays like Judas and the Black Messiah, Nomadland, and First Cow, while surprise nominees like The Midnight Sky and The Forty-Year-Old Version showed up in slots widely expected to go to movies like David Fincher's Mank and Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 — both of which were shut out completely.

Made up of film enthusiasts, academics, and various movie professionals, the NBR was established in 1909 by theater owners who opposed the revoking of exhibition licenses by New York City officials. Recently, it has become an integral stepping stone on the road to the Academy Awards, often giving a key boost of visiblity to contenders vying for Oscar nominations.

In the past, the awards body has served as a prominent springboard for titles breaking into the race, as placement atop the NBR chart ignited industry attention for Her and Mad Max: Fury Road ahead of multiple Oscar nods in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

Over the last 20 years, only two of the NBR's top-film winners have missed out on a Best Picture Oscar nomination: 2000's Quills and 2014's A Most Violent Year. Last year, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman earned the top spot, but lost all 10 of its eventual Oscar categories.

See the full list of National Board of Review winners below.

Best Film: Da 5 Bloods

Best Director: Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods

Best Actor: Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung, Minari

Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies, News of the World

Best Original Screenplay: Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Breakthrough Performance: Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Directorial Debut: Channing Godfrey Peoples, Miss Juneteenth

Best Animated Feature: Soul