Black Reel Award for Outstanding Film

The Black Reel Award for Outstanding Film is one of the Black Reel Awards presented annually. This award goes to the producers of the film. Outstanding Film is the final award of the night at each ceremony. There have been 120 films nominated for Outstanding Film and 24 winners.

Outstanding Film and Outstanding Director
The Black Reel Award for Outstanding Picture and Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director have been closely linked throughout their history. Of the 22 films that have won Outstanding Film, 10 have also been awarded for Outstanding Director. Only six films have been awarded Outstanding Film without receiving an Outstanding Director nomination: The Hurricane directed by Norman Jewison, Ray directed by Taylor Hackford (2005), Crash directed by Paul Haggis (2006), Dreamgirls directed by Bill Condon (2017), The Help directed by Tate Taylor (2012) and Dolemite Is My Name directed by Craig Brewer (2020). Note: These film directors were deemed ineligible for an Outstanding Director nomination due to not being of African-American of African descent.

Language and country of origin
Only one non-English language film has been nominated in the category: The Intouchables (French, 2013). Five films wholly financed outside of the United States has been nominated for Outstanding Film: Attack the Block (2011), Shame (2011), The Intouchables (2013), Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) and Belle (2014).

Genres
The Princess and the Frog, Soul, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse are the only animated films to be nominated for Outstanding Film. Black Panther remains as the only comic book film to win Outstanding Film; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse are the only other comic book films to be nominated. Get Out became the first horror film to win Outstanding Film and one of three films along with From Hell and Us to be nominated in this category.

Lightning in a Bottle is the only documentary film to win. It won in the first and only winner in the Outstanding Comedy/Musical film at the 5th Annual Black Reel Awards. Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Tupac: Resurrection, Fade to Black and 13th were the other documentaries to be nominated in this category.

Dreamgirls is the only musical to win this category. To date, The Book of Eli and Attack the Block are the only two science fiction films to be nominated for Outstanding Film.

Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

Multiple wins

 * 3 wins
 * Dede Gardner
 * Jeremy Kleiner


 * 2 wins
 * Cathy Schulman

Multiple nominations

 * 8 nominations
 * Spike Lee


 * 6 nominations
 * James Lassiter


 * 5 nominations
 * Todd Black
 * Will Smith


 * 4 nominations
 * Dede Gardner
 * Jeremy Kleiner
 * Jordan Peele
 * Denzel Washington


 * 3 nominations
 * Stephanie Allain
 * Jason Blum
 * Ava DuVernay
 * David Gale
 * Jon Kilik
 * Sean McKittrick
 * Robert Teitel


 * 2 nominations
 * Howard Barish
 * Nina Yang Bongiovi
 * Jason Blumenthal
 * Iain Canning
 * Don Cheadle
 * Ian Cooper
 * Lee Daniels
 * John Davis
 * Megan Ellison
 * Kevin Feige
 * Paul Garnes
 * Brian Grazer
 * Reginald Hudlin
 * Broderick Johnson
 * Charles D. King
 * Andrew A. Kosove
 * Laurence Mark
 * Steve McQueen
 * Arnon Milchan
 * Neal H. Moritz
 * Eddie Murphy
 * Gil Netter
 * Adele Romanski
 * Scott Rudin
 * Cathy Schulman
 * Emile Sherman
 * John Singleton
 * Jeffrey Silver
 * Steven Spielberg
 * George Tillman Jr.
 * Steve Tisch
 * Lena Waithe
 * Forest Whitaker
 * James Wilson
 * Oprah Winfrey