Critical Consensus 2014

Tomorrow is a huge day for the awards enthusiasts. Early in the morning is of course the Oscar nominations and later that night will be the Critics Choice Awards where the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) will give out their prizes. They will be the last critics group to chime in with their picks for bests of the year. Until then, let's take a quick look at what other critics groups had to say...

This final list of 36 critics groups include the Alliance of Women Journalist (AWFJ), African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), Online Film Critics (OFCS), Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) as well as critic groups from the following regions: Los Angeles (LAFCA), New York (NYFCC), Boston (BSFC), Washington D.C (WAFCA), New York Online (NYFCO), Boston Online (BOFCA), Southeastern (SEFCA), Indiana (IFJA), San Francisco (SFFCC), Austin (AFCA), San Diego (SDFCS), Toronto (TFCA), Dallas-Forth Worth (DFWFCA), Las Vegas (LVFCS), Utah (UFCA), Detroit (DFCS), Houston (HFCS), Chicago (CFCA), Denver (DFCA), Florida (FFCC), St. Louis (SLFC), Phoenix (PFCS), Oklahoma (OFCC), Kansas City (KCFCC), Central Ohio (COFCA), North Texas (NTFCA), Nevada (NFCS), Iowa (IFCA), Georgia (GFCA), North Carolina (NCFCA), and Vancouver (VFCC). Meanwhile, the National Board of Review (NBR) winners are marked with an asterisk.

BEST PICTURE

• Boyhood (19) - NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, NYFCO, WAFCA, SFFCC, DFCS, CFCA, IFJA, SLFC, HFCS, TFCA, AFCA, AWFJ, NSFC, OFCC, NTFCA, GFCA, VFCC, IFCA
• Birdman (6) - KCFCC, DFWFCA, LVFCS, PFCS, UFCA, FFCC
• The Grand Budapest Hotel (3) - OFCS, SEFCA, NCFCA
• Selma (3) - AAFCA, BFCC, COFCA
• Nightcrawler - SDFCS
• American Sniper - DFCA
• Gone Girl - NFCS
• Snowpiercer - BOFCA
• Goodbye to Language - NSFC
• A Most Violent Year*

Notable exclusions:  The Imitation Game, Theory of Everything, Whiplash, Foxcatcher, Unbroken

BEST DIRECTOR

• Richard Linklater (25) - NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, NYFCO, WAFCA, KCFCC, SFFCC, DFCS, CFCA, OFCS, SEFCA, IFJA, HFCS, TFCA, PFCS, AFCA, AWFJ, OFCC, FFCC, NTFCA, DFCA, GFCA, IFCA, NCFCA
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu (6) - BOFCA, DFWFCA, SLFC, LVFCS, UFCA, VFCC
• Ava DuVernay (3) - AAFCA, BFCC, COFCA
• Dan Gilroy (2) - SDFCS, NFCS
• Clint Eastwood*

Notable exclusions: Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Damien Chazelle, James Marsh, Angelina Jolie, Morten Tyldum

BEST ACTOR

• Michael Keaton* (17) - BSFC, WAFCA, KCFCC, DFWFCA, SFFCC, DFCS, CFCA, OFCS, SEFCA, LVFCS, PFCS, AWFJ, UFCA, OFCC, IFCA, NCFCA
• Jake Gyllenhaal (8) - SDFCS, SLFC, HFCS, AFCA, FFCC, NFCS, NTFCA, GFCA, VFCC
• David Oyelowo (3) - AAFCA, BFCC, COFCA
• Ralph Fiennes (2) - IFJA, DFCA
• Tom Hardy (2) - LAFCA, TFCA
• Timothy Spall (2) - NYFCC, NSFC
• Eddie Redmayne - NYFCO
• Brendan Gleeson - BOFCA
• Bradley Cooper - DFCA
• Oscar Isaac*

Notable exclusions: Benedict Cumberbatch, Steve Carrell, Joaquin Phoenix

BEST ACTRESS

• Rosamund Pike (12) - KCFCC, DFCS, OFCS, SLFC, PFCS, AFCA, UFCA, OFCC, FFCC, NFCS, NTFCA, DFCA
• Marion Cotillard (8) - NYFCC, NSFC, BSFC, NYFCO, BOFCA, SDFCS, TFCA, GFCA
• Julianne Moore* (6) - WAFCA, SFFCC, CFCA, SEFCA, HFCS, AWFJ
• Reese Witherspoon (4) - DFWFCA, IFJA, LVFCS, IFCA
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw (2) - AAFCA, BFCC
• Essie Davis (2) - COFCA, NCFCA
• Patricia Arquette - LAFCA
• Tilda Swinton - VFCC

Notable exclusions: Felicity Jones, Jennifer Aniston, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• J.K. Simmons (28) - NYFCC, LAFCA, NSFC, BSFC, NYFCO, WAFCA, AAFCA, DFWFCA, DFCS, CFCA, SEFCA, IFJA, SLFC, HFCS, LVFCS, TFCA, PFCS, AFCA, BFCC, AWFJ, UFCA,  COFCA, FFCC, NFCS, NTFCA, DFCA, GFCA, VFCC, IFCA
• Edward Norton* (6) - BOFCA, KCFCC, SFFCC, OFCS, OFCC, NCFCA
• Mark Ruffalo - SDFCS
• Tyler Perry - AAFCA

Notable exclusions: Ethan Hawke, Robert Duvall, Josh Brolin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Patricia Arquette (23) - NYFCC, NYFCO, NSFC, WAFCA, KCFCC, DFWFCA, SFFCC, DFCS, CFCA, OFCS, SEFCA, SLFC, HFCS, TFCA, AFCA, OFCC, FFCC, NFCS, NTFCA, DFCA, VFCC, IFCA, NCFCA
• Tilda Swinton (5) - BOFCA, LVFCS, AWFJ,  COFCA, GFCA,
• Jessica Chastain* (3) - IFJA, UFCA, NFCS
• Emma Stone - BSFC
• Keira Knightley - PFCS
• Rene Russo - SDFCS
• Agata Kulesza - LAFCA
• Carmen Ejogo - BFCC
• Octavia Spencer - AAFCA

Notable exclusions: Meryl Streep, Naomi Watts, Imelda Staunton

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Grand Budapest Hotel (13) - NYFCC, LAFCA, NSFC, CFCA, OFCS, SEFCA, TFCA, PFCS, OFCC, FFCC, VFCC, NCFCA
• Birdman (11) - BSFC, NYFCO, WAFCA, KCFCC, DFWFCA, SFFCC, IFJA, SLFC, LVFCS, AWFJ, UFCA, DFCA
• Nightcrawler (4) - SDFCS, AFCA, NFCS, GFCA
• Boyhood (2) - BSFC, DFCS, HFCS
• Selma (2) - BFCC, COFCA
• Calvary - BOFCA
• Beyond the Lights - AAFCA
• The LEGO Movie*

Notable exclusions: Foxcatcher, A Most Violent Year

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Gone Girl (12) - WAFCA, SDFCS, CFCA, OFCS, SEFCA, SLFC, PFCS, AFCA, BFCC, AWFJ, OFCC, FFCC, GFCA
• Inherent Vice* (3) - SFFCC, UFCA, DFCA
• Imitation Game - COFCA
• Whiplash - IFJA
• Guardians of the Galaxy - NCFCA
• Obvious Child - KCFCC
• Snowpiercer - UFCA

Notable exclusions: Theory of Everything, Wild, American Sniper, Unbroken

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• The LEGO Movie (26) - NYFCC, NYFCO, BOFCA, WAFCA, KCFCC, DFWFCA, SFFCC, CFCA, OFCS, SEFCA, IFJA, SLFC, HFCS, LVFCS, PFCS, AFCA, AWFJ, UFCA,  COFCA, OFCC, FFCC, NTFCA, DFCA, GFCA, IFCA, NCFCA
• Tale of Princess Kaguya (3) - LAFCA, BSFC, TFCA
• The Boxtrolls (2) - SDFCS, AAFCA
• Big Hero 6 (1) - NFCS
• How to Train Yoour Dragon 2*

Notable exclusion: The Book of Life

Does any of this actually mean anything for the Oscars? The answer is always yes AND no. Critics aren't Oscar voters, but as a group they are able to spotlight films, big and small. Granted consensus always forms and more often than not it means Oscar nominations so for those with double-digit tallies, they should breathe slightly easier. This means Boyhood, Richard Linklater, Michael Keaton, Rosamund Pike, J.K. Simmons, Patricia Arquette, The LEGO Movie as well as screenplays for Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, and Gone Girl are locked and loaded.

The best part obviously about all of these regional critic groups is that sometimes they do highlight films or performers which most likely will not get Oscar nominations tomorrow. Films like Snowpiercer, Obvious Child, Beyond the Lights, and Goodbye to Language and actors like Tom Hardy, Brendan Gleeson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Essie Davis, Tyler Perry, Tilda Swinton, Agata Kulesza, and Carmen Ejogo, for example. It's also interesting to see which Oscar front-runners aren't getting much critical love like Wes Anderson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ethan Hawke, and even the great Meryl Streep herself. They'll all still get nominated tomorrow though so don't feel too sad for them!