Genre media has gone into some genuinely uncharted territory over the past year, with a lot of it taking on a whole different meaning amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards is setting out to celebrate that in some epic ways, giving awards to some of the most unexpected and beloved movies and TV shows of 2020. Among those is the Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie award — and it looks like one film has taken home the prize. Palm Springs was awarded the Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie award, beating out Love and Monsters, Possessor, Synchronic, and The Vast of Night.
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In Palm Springs, when carefree Nyles (Andy Samberg) and reluctant maid of honor Sarah (Cristin Milioti) have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated as they are unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other. The film also stars J.K. Simmons, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, Meredith Hagner, Dale Dickey, Chris Pang, Peter Gallagher, June Squibb, Jacqueline Obradors, Connor O’Malley, and Tongay Chirisa. The film is directed by Max Barbakow (The Duke).
The film made headlines after debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, with reports indicating that Hulu and Neon had acquired its distribution rights for a record-breaking $17,500,000.69. Those numbers were later adjusted to $22 million.
“We spent over 85 million dollars of our own money on this movie, WE ARE TAKING A BATH on this deal,” Samberg, Schaffer, Taccone, and Sloviter said in a statement at the time. “We hope NEON and Hulu are happy but we definitely have a lot of explaining to do to our families.”
The film exclusively made its debut on Hulu over the summer to critical and fan acclaim, with many embracing the irreverent way that it (unintentionally) captured the energy of life within the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I feel like I’m a part of a cult classic,” Chirisa told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview last year. “And I’ve always believed that Andy, with his work ethic and just his style, that he’s definitely going to be one of the comedy greats in the genre. So for it to have people respond the way they are is just really, really great. I think was a fresh spin on an old narrative that everybody knows too well, and the fact that people are receiving it the way they are means that it’s brought a new, fresh twist to it for the new generation. So hopefully it will carry on, and it will carry forward for the next 25, 30 years as one of those films that had made everybody really famous and really successful. You know, it’s like ‘What were they doing before they became famous?’ So hopefully Palm Springs will be one of those films. Or, it could just be people are really bored and have got nothing else to do during the quarantine season, and that’s why they’re watching it!”
What do you think of the winner for the Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie at the 2021 Critics Choice Super Awards? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
