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    African American Film Critics Name “The Harder They Fall” As Year’s Best Picture

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1968 Views
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    Filmmaker Jeymes Samuel (l) with actor Idris Elba on the set of “The Harder They Fall” (photo by David Lee/courtesy of Netflix)
    LOS ANGELES --

    “The Harder They Fall” and “King Richard” topped the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards with four wins apiece. “The Harder They Fall” took honors for Best Picture, Ensemble, Director (Jeymes Samuel) and Music (Samuel, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z). "King Richard" won for Best Actor (Will Smith), Supporting Actress (Aunjanue Ellis), Breakout Actor (Saniyya Sidney) and Emerging Director (Reinaldo Marcus Green).

    Other winners included Best Actress Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”), Best Supporting Actor Corey Hawkins (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Best Screenplay (“Don’t Look Up” written by Adam McKay), “Who We Are” for Best Independent Feature and “Summer of Soul” for Best Documentary. Winners will be celebrated at the 13th Annual AAFCA Awards on March 2nd at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles with a limited capacity audience and other health and safety protocols in place. 

    “It’s been a fantastic year for film,” said AAFCA president and co-founder Gil Robertson. “Just having passed the two-year mark of a global pandemic, great entertainment means more to all of us than ever before. This year’s AAFCA winners not only entertained us, but educated and inspired us and we’re looking forward to celebrating them at the AAFCA Awards.”

    WINNERS | 13TH ANNUAL AAFCA AWARDS

    Best Picture: “The Harder They Fall”

    Best Director: Jeymes Samuel (“The Harder They Fall”)

    Best Screenplay: “Don’t Look Up” (Adam McKay)

    Best Actor: Will Smith (“King Richard”)

    Best Actress: Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”)

    Best Supporting Actor: Corey Hawkins (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)

    Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)

    Breakout Actor: Saniyya Sidney (“King Richard”)

    Best Ensemble: “The Harder They Fall”

    Emerging Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”)

    Best Music: “The Harder They Fall” (Jeymes Samuel, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z)

    Best Independent Feature: “Who We Are”

    Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul”

    Winners are voted on by AAFCA’s 90+ members. Several special achievement awards will be announced in the coming weeks including the Cinema Vanguard Award, the ICON Award, AAFCA’s Stanley & Karen Kramer Award for Social Justice, the Building Change Award and the Innovator Award. 

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    Category:News
    Tags:AAFCA AwardsAfrican American Film Critics AssociationJeymes SamuelKing RichardThe Harder They Fall



    “Send Help” Remains Atop Box Office, “Melania” Plummets On A Quiet Weekend In Theaters

    Sunday, February 8, 2026

    Hollywood largely ceded attention to football over a slow box-office weekend, with the survival thriller "Send Help" repeating as No. 1 in ticket sales and the Melania Trump documentary "Melania" falling sharply in its second weekend.

    Super Bowl weekend is typically one of the lowest attended moviegoing times of the year. It was the second slowest weekend last year and in 2024 it ranked dead last for moviegoing.

    Studios instead put their focus on advertising movies for the massive television audience. Among the trailers expected to hit the NFL broadcast Sunday were The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mandalorian and Grogu," Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic, "Michael" and Universal Pictures' "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie."

    In North American theaters, the Disney.-20th Century Studios release "Send Help," directed by Sam Raimi, lead all films with $10 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. With $53.7 million globally thus far, the R-rated survival thriller has proved a solid midbudget success. Disney meanwhile watched its remarkably long-lasting "Zootopia 2" cross $1.8 billion worldwide in its 11th week of release.

    "Melania," from Amazon MGM, added 300 theaters in its second weekend but dropped steeply to $2.4 million in ticket sales, down 67% from its much-discussed debut. The rapid downturn means the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high price tag. Amazon MGM paid $40 million for film rights, plus some $35 million to market it.

    The North American total for "Melania" stands at $13.4 million. Amazon MGM has not released international figures, though they're expected to be paltry.

    Kevin Wilson, head of domestic distribution for the studio, said the movie's... Read More

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