Marvel superhero blockbuster Black Panther has achieved an historic victory at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles while Australia's Margot Robbie and Yvonne Strahovski fell short during a ceremony delivering shocks to multiple Oscar races.
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Black Panther won SAG's ensemble prize - the equivalent to best picture at the Oscars - ahead of more traditional candidates A Star Is Born, BlacKkKlansman and Bohemian Rhapsody.
The SAG Awards are voted on by more than 100,000 actors and are considered a bellwether for the Oscars.
With Sunday's SAG win and huge global support after earning more than $US1 billion ($A1.4 billion) at the box office, Black Panther becomes a legitimate contender for best picture at the February 24 Academy Awards.
A superhero film has never been nominated for a best picture Oscar but Black Panther could now win the esteemed award films the calibre of Casablanca, On the Waterfront, Ben-Hur, The Sound of Music, The Godfather, Schindler's List and Titanic have claimed over the decades.
"We knew we had something special that we wanted to give the world," Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman told the audience inside the Shrine Auditorium.
"We could be full human beings in the roles that we were playing."
The best actor Oscar race also suffered a jolt.
Rami Malek, who plays Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, took the SAG best actor prize.
Malek's win, on top of his Golden Globe trophy, creates a tantalising Oscar contest between Christian Bale, who stacked on 20kg to play former US vice president Dick Cheney in Vice, Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born), and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book).
"I just never in my wildest dreams thought I could be in a category with these men and I am so proud to be one of your peers," Malek said.
Glenn Close firmed as lead actress Oscar favourite with her SAG win for The Wife.
The 71-year-old Close has been nominated for Oscars seven times and if she is snubbed next month will hold the unfortunate record of being the actress with the most nods and no wins.
Close's SAG and Golden Globe success has come at the expense of one-time best actress Oscar favourite Lady Gaga who now appears to be a bystander for her performance in A Star Is Born.
Robbie was nominated for SAG supporting actress for Mary Queen of Scots, but in a surprise Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place was the winner.
Oscar supporting actress favourite Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) was snubbed for a nomination at the SAG ceremony, while Robbie and Blunt both missed Oscar nominations.
Mahershala Ali, for Green Book, confirmed as runaway favourite for Oscar supporting actor with his SAG win for Green Book.
Ali won the SAG and Oscar supporting awards just two years ago for Moonlight.
Strahovski and her cast members in The Handmaid's Tale missed out on the SAG for best ensemble in a TV drama series.
The award was won by This Is Us.
Other SAG winners were: Rachel Brosnahan (lead actress in a TV comedy series - The Marvelous Mrs Maisel); The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (TV comedy series ensemble); Jason Bateman (lead actor in a TV drama series - Ozark); Sandra Oh (lead actress in a TV drama - Killing Eve).
Australian Associated Press
