The association also selects a Film of the Month and recommends other films throughout the year, based on the cumulative grades each film receives in the monthly balloting. Since 2018 the association organized the Celebration of Cinema and Television, a serie of three awards ceremonies to honor African Americans, Latino, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans in film and television industries.
The association was founded by Joey Berlin and Rod Lurie in 1995[3] as the Broadcast Film Critics Association.[4] It had 44 members at the time of its inaugural awards ceremony,[5] which has since grown to 500.[2] In 2019, it merged with the Broadcast Television Journalists Association.[4] The association originally aired the film awards and television awards separately, but these events were combined into a single three-hour event in 2016.[6] The association inaugurated the Critics' Choice Super Awards in 2021,[7] and awarded its first Social Impact Award to Tommie Smith.[8]
When the Golden Globe Awards went on hiatus in 2022, the Critics' Choice Awards took its January 9 airdate.[3] Beginning on November 4, 2022, the Critics' Choice Award has held the Celebration of Asian Pacific Cinema and Television.[9]
The Critics' Choice Awards have a reputation for predicting or influencing the results of the Academy Awards.[10][11] According to the Hollywood Reporter, the winners of the Critics' Choice Awards mirrored the results of the Oscars 73% of the time, and were particularly close in categories such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Actress. The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress and Academy Award for Best Actress went to the same person every year between 2010 and 2021.[12]
BFCA members are professional entertainment journalists and "working critics whose reviews are broadcast on a regular basis to a wide audience, either on television, on radio, or (in special cases) on the internet." More specific requirements must be met by radio- and internet-based critics:[13]
Radio film critics "must be heard in at least five markets in addition to their primary radio station, unless their primary outlet is in a major city" such as New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, and Toronto
Internet-based critics must be "well-known print critics as well, or among the few internet critics whose reviews are read by a large enough audience", are "easily accessible on their site," and "identified as the site's primary critic."
Broadcast Television Journalists Association[edit]
The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) launched in 2011 as an offshoot of the BFCA. The BTJA presented its first awards at a ceremony luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles in June 2011. Cat Deeley hosted the event.[15] On November 17, 2017, the BJTA Executive Committee announced the appointment of Ed Martin, a member of the BJTA since 1990, as its new president, succeeding founder Joey Berlin.[16] Martin also serves as the editor and chief television and content critic of MediaVillage.[17]
^Blair, Iain (January 12, 2012). "Org observes Haitian earthquake anniversary". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2013. 'The best tables (at our show) always come at a premium price where the extra money goes to the charities,' reports BFCA prexy Joey Berlin.
