Screen Actors Guild awards are generally considered one of the most reliable bellwethers of the Academy Awards

Black Panther has won the top film award in at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, putting it in strong contention for an Oscars win this February.

In a nomination pool that largely eschewed heavyweight Oscar contenders, Black Panther beat A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Rich Asians and BlacKkKlansman to receive the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. It also took out the award for best stunt ensemble, announced prior to the awards telecast, which was hosted by Megan Mullally in Los Angeles on Sunday.