WICKED Named One of the Best Films of the Year by The American Film Institute

Wicked has been named one of the 10 outstanding motion pictures of 2024 by The American Film Institute. The list also includes the theater drama Sing Sing, Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez, and Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

The yearly list chooses 10 outstanding motion pictures and 10 outstanding television programs that are deemed culturally and artistically representative of this year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.

An additional honoree was selected for an AFI Special Award, designated for works of excellence that fall outside of AFI AWARDS’ eligibility criteria.

AFI MOTION PICTURES OF THE YEAR

ANORA

THE BRUTALIST

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

CONCLAVE

DUNE: PART TWO

EMILIA PÉREZ

NICKEL BOYS

A REAL PAIN

SING SING

WICKED

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

THE BEAR

HACKS

A MAN ON THE INSIDE

MR. & MRS. SMITH

NOBODY WANTS THIS

THE PENGUIN

SHŌGUN

SHRINKING

TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY

AFI SPECIAL AWARD

BABY REINDEER

“AFI AWARDS is never about competition, but community,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “We look forward to bringing these artists together as one and celebrating their collective power to drive culture forward.”

Honorees will gather on Friday, January 10, 2025, for recognition at the annual AFI AWARDS private luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills — an event favored by the entertainment community for its informal intimacy and its inclusive acknowledgement of excellence.

AFI AWARDS celebrates film and television arts’ collaborative nature and is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole, recognizing those in front of and behind the camera. All of the honored works advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike and enhance the rich cultural heritage of America’s art form. When placed in a historical context, these stories provide a complex and rich visual record of our modern world.

AFI AWARDS selections are made through a jury process where AFI Trustees, artists, critics and scholars determine the year’s most outstanding achievements and provide artistic and cultural context for the selection of each honoree.

This year’s juries — one for motion pictures and one for television — included artists Sterlin Harjo, Gale Anne Hurd, Charles Melton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jane Seymour; scholars Mark Harris, Leonard Maltin and more from Syracuse University, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Santa Cruz; members of the AFI Board of Trustees; critics Ann Hornaday, Mary McNamara, Janet Maslin, Peter Travers and others from The New Yorker, NPR, TV Guide and more. The juries were chaired by AFI Board of Trustees member Jeanine Basinger (Chair Emerita and Founder of the Film Studies Department, Wesleyan University) and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chair Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).

About the American Film Institute (AFI)

The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked as one of the top film schools in America. AFI’s enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at increasing diversity in the storytelling community, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women.