Today, the American Film Institute announced its top ten movies of the year, typically a precursor to the Academy Awards’ Best Picture nominations. To cap this unusual distribution year, streaming services dominated, with Netflix topping the list with four films, a record haul for the platform: Mank, Da Five Bloods, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The AFI also chose two films from Amazon — Sound of Metal and Regina King’s directorial debut, One Night in Miami — to go with four from major Hollywood powerhouses: Disney’s Soul, A24’s Minari, Searchlight’s Nomadland and Warner Bros.’ Judas and the Black Messiah. This year’s list is also a record for diversity, with more than half the films featuring majority-Black casts. The good news for contenders like News of the World and Promising Young Woman? This list isn’t the be-all, end-all of awards-show predictions.
On the television side, Netflix led the way again, with The Crown, Bridgerton, The Queen’s Gambit, and Unorthodox all making the list. Romps like Disney+’s The Mandelorian and Apple’s Ted Lasso earned honors, and Disney+’s Hamilton received a special award for its adaptation of the Tony-winning musical. The full list of AFI Awards’ honorees may be found below.
AFI Movies Of The Year
Da 5 Bloods
Judas And The Black Messiah
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
One Night In Miami…
Soul
Sound Of Metal
The Trial Of The Chicago 7
AFI Television Programs Of The Year
Better Call Saul
Bridgerton
The Crown
The Good Lord BirdÂ
Lovecraft CountryÂ
The MandalorianÂ
Mrs. AmericaÂ
The Queen’s Gambit
Ted LassoÂ
UnorthodoxÂ
AFI Special Award
Hamilton
Correction: This post originally misstated Parasite’s eligibility for the AFI’s 2019 list.