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Black Panther to Receive 2018's Hollywood Film Award
Marvel's 2018 blockbuster, Black Panther, will receive the Hollywood Film Award at this year's ceremony. Recognized as the official start of award season, the Hollywood Film Awards began back in 1997 and honor the most acclaimed films of they year. Last year's ceremony recognized the performances of Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Allison Janney in I, Tonya, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger.
Breaking box office records when it premiered this past February, Black Panther did well with both fans and critics; the movie maintains its 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Chadwick Boseman stars as T'Challa, aka Black Panther, and became a breakout star after the film's release – he even spent a Saturday hosting SNL. Beyond Boseman, Black Panther shines from performances by co-stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, and Martin Freeman, among several others. Fresh off the overwhelming success of the film, writer/director Ryan Coogler has already signed on to return for a sequel, but it's unclear when the sequel will hit theaters.
Yesterday, the Hollywood Film Awards announced that Black Panther would be recognized with their eponymous award, with Incredibles 2 receiving the Hollywood Animation Award. The 22nd annual awards will be held on Sunday, November 4, and will honor Crazy Rich Asians and First Man alongside several other films. Nicole Kidman will receive the 2018 lifetime achievement award.
Within the announcement, the Hollywood Film Awards acknowledges the fact that Black Panther represents more than a superhero movie. The organization refers to the Marvel movie as a "cultural phenomenon." Portraying Marvel's first African American superhero in a title role, Boseman quickly became an inspiration to children everywhere. His film served as a symbol for the strides Hollywood is attempting to make towards the diversity it currently lacks. The diversity issue in Hollywood became most noticeable during the #OscarsSoWhite movement and has yet to be fully resolved.
Interestingly, Black Panther is being pushed forward with a full Oscars 2019 campaign from Walt Disney Studios. Instead of promoting Anthony and Joe Russo's Avengers: Infinity War, which is one of the biggest movies of all-time, Marvel's Black Panther movie is being marketed this awards season for its cultural influence, as well as its acting, filmmaking, and so forth. While Black Panther is being recognized for its diversity and influence by the Hollywood Film Awards, it remains to be seen how the film performs at all the other awards ceremonies later this year and next.
