Mad Max: Fury Road leads Critics Choice Awards nominations with 13

Has this just boosted its Oscar chances?

Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner Bros)

Mad Max: Fury Road has snatched up an impressive 13 nominations at the Critics Choice Awards; strengthening its once outsider position in the Academy race.

The film landed nods in three of the major categories: Best Picture, Best Director (George Miller), and Best Actress (Charlize Theron). Though Tom Hardy failed to get nominated for his take on Max, which is pretty fair considering he has about five lines in the entire film, he did still receive a Supporting Actor nod for The Revenant. 

This year's awards are also notable for a drastic restructuring, combining both the awards for The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalist Association into one, with both film and television being honoured at the ceremony. 

Fury Road has been popping up in an increasing amount of awards fares of late; it's a strong sign for a film released to such critical adulation, yet not necessarily an immediate contender for the awards circuit. The Broadcast Film Critics Association are usually fairly reliant indicators of what will win big on Oscar night; however, as Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg points out, their younger and more diverse membership have a history of championing genre pictures like The Dark Knight, which then usually end up excluded from all but the technical awards by the Academy.

It is perhaps telling, though, that Fury Road did manage to pick up nominations for both Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director - Motion Picture at the Golden Globes; though the real fight on Oscars night will likely be between two other big-hitters at the Critics Choice Awards, Carol and The Revenant. Essentially, the ultimate question will be whether the oft conservative Academy will really take a chance on a movie which features a guy playing a guitar/flamethrower hybrid. But, boy, would it make Oscar history if it did. 

There are also some significant snubs here, with Straight Outta Compton and The Hateful Eight both missing out on Best Picture, though they're both recognised in the Best Ensemble category. Also missing are pitched awards contenders Joy, Trumbo, The Danish Girl, Beasts of No Nation, Steve Jobs and Creed; all films once pitched to be possible players, but which have since quickly fallen behind the pack. What's interesting to see is drug war drama Sicario make the Best Picture list, even though it's received very little awards season buzz and failed to pick up major nominations elsewhere. 
 

The 3-hour ceremony will take place 17 January, aired on the US Channel A&E. The major film nominations are listed below:

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian 
The Revenant
Room
Sicario
Spotlight

Actor
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Johnny Depp – Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Actress
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years|
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Supporting Actor
Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Helen Mirren – Trumbo
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs