‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Nominated To ‘Best Picture’ For The Critics Choice

This is an unprecedented move on the BFCA’s part, but one thing’s for certain: the ratings for the Critics Choice Awards will certainly be higher now that Star Wars is in the mix. What does this mean for Oscar? Nothing, really. Critics don’t vote for Oscars, so there’s no voter overlap here, but it does put Star Wars: The Force Awakens and “awards” in the same sentence, so it’s possible this could pique some Academy voter interest.

There’s no denying the fact that The Force Awakens has hijacked the zeitgeist for the time-being, but will it be loud enough to break into the Oscar field? I’m doubtful, but with this bunch you never really know.

A few days ago, we learned that the Broadcast Film Critics Association was going to retroactively allow its voters to consider Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a Best Picture candidate, mere days after the full Critics Choice Awards nominees list was unveiled. Now the results of the re-vote are in, and The Force Awakens made the cut—it’s now the 11th Best Picture nominee for this year’s awards. The full list of Best Picture nominees now looks like this:

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Sicario
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

For now, there’s at least one honor for which The Force Awakens is eligible. We’ll find out if the BFCA has the gall to give it the top prize when the Critics Choice Awards are broadcast on January 17th.