LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Existential outer-space thriller "Gravity," corruption tale "American Hustle" and independent drama "Fruitvale Station" are among the 10 best films of the year announced by the American Film Institute (AFI) on Monday, kicking off a key week in Hollywood's awards season.
The annual AFI list also picked Somali piracy thriller "Captain Phillips," slavery drama "12 Years a Slave," comedy-drama "Nebraska," futuristic romance "Her," Disney-history drama "Saving Mr. Banks," folk music comedy-drama "Inside Llewyn David" and Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" as the year's top films.
"American Hustle," "Her," and "Gravity" have been chosen as best picture by three top critics' groups in the last week, while "12 Years a Slave" won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
AFI's top film picks, selected by critics, scholars, TV and film artists and AFI trustees, come ahead of the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations on Wednesday and Thursday.
All three sets of picks are likely to suggest films that will be in the running for the Academy Awards' best picture Oscar in March.
Oscar nominations will be announced on January 16.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mary Milliken and Eric Beech)