Sunday night saw the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) make their contribution to this year’s Oscar race as one particular film roared its way to victory.

Marvel’s mega-hit Black Panther clinched a crucial win in the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category as it overcame stern competition from Blackkklansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Rich Asians and A Star is Born.

Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed the heroic T’Challa in the blockbuster, delivered a powerful speech about the film’s remarkable success.

“When I think of going to work every day and the passion and the intelligence, the resolve, the discipline that everybody showed, I also think of two questions that we all have received during the course of multiple publicity runs. One is: Did we know that this movie was going to receive this kind of response? Meaning, was it going to make a billion dollars? Was it going to still be around during this awards season?”

The second question is: Has it changed the industry? Has it actually changed the way this industry works and how it sees us? And my answer to that is: ‘To be young, gifted, and black.’”

It is the first time that a superhero flick has won the award which is normally a strong indicator for winning the Best Picture Oscar. However the film still faces a big hurdle in overcoming the likes of Roma and Green Book.

The comic-book blockbuster also scooped the Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble award ahead of Avengers: Infinity War and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Elsewhere, Rami Malek and Glenn Close both bolstered their chances of Oscar glory with key wins in Best Actor and Best Actress.

In the actor category, Malek held off the likes of Christian Bale (Vice) and Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born) to win for his memorable portrayal of legendary singer Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

During his speech, Malek dedicated his award to Freddie saying:

“I get some power from him that is about stepping up and living your best life; being exactly who you want to be and accomplishing everything you so desire. And I feel that, and he allows us all to feel that. So, this is for him.”

Close’s winning performance performance in The Wife was just as crucial as she overcame tough competition in Best Actress from Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and Lady Gaga (A Star is Born). This key victory now leaves her on the verge of finally winning her first Oscar.

Another contender looking dead set on a gold statue is Mahershala Ali as he picked up the Best Supporting Actor gong for his portrayal of Don Shirley in the light-hearted biopic Green Book.

Finally, there was a surprise result in the Best Supporting Actress category as Emily Blunt overcame Amy Adams (Vice) to win for her role in the tense drama A Quiet Place.

This was nice recognition for the British actress after she was completely ignored by the Academy for both this film and Mary Poppins Returns.

It proved to be a bad night for the likes of A Star is Born and Blackkklansman as both films went home empty-handed thus denting their Oscar chances.

The full list of SAG (film) winners are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
BLACK PANTHER

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Rami Malek, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Glenn Close, THE WIFE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, GREEN BOOK

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Emily Blunt, A QUIET PLACE

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
BLACK PANTHER

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On the television side of things, it was a great night for the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as the hit comedy claimed a hat-trick of accolades.

Stars Tony Shalhoub and Rachel Brosnahan both landed wins in the Best Actor / Actress (Comedy) categories with the show also receiving the Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series award.

Elsewhere, NBC’s This is Us triumphed in the Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series category at it overcame stern competition from The Americans, Better Call Saul and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Jason Bateman clinched the Best Actor (Drama) award for his role in Ozark while Sandra Oh repeated her Golden Globe-winning success from earlier this month as she took home Best Actress (Drama) for Killing Eve.

In the Mini-Series lineup, Darren Criss landed another Best Actor gong for his portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in the acclaimed drama The Assassination of Gianni Versace. His win came ahead of British stars Hugh Grant (A Very English Scandal) and Anthony Hopkins (King Lear).

The Best Actress category was won again by Patricia Arquette for her performance in Escape at Dannemora as she beat off the much-fancied Amy Adams for HBO’s Sharp Objects.

Finally, the Netflix comedy GLOW won the Best Stunt Ensemble award ahead of Daredevil, The Walking Dead and Westworld.

The full list of SAG (television) winners are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
THIS IS US

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman, OZARK

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sandra Oh, KILLING EVE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tony Shalhoub, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Darren Criss, THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Patricia Arquette, ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY / DRAMA SERIES
GLOW