“One Battle After Another” dominated at the National Society of Film Critics Awards on Saturday, winning picture, director and both supporting acting categories. The action-drama-comedy written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson beat its closest runner-up, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” by a significant margin of 28 points, to take home the day’s top prize. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent” came in third place and also won best film not in English.
“Blue Moon” star Ethan Hawke won best actor over runners-up Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) and Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”), while Kathleen Chalfant beat Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”) and Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) to take home best actress for her subtle performance as a woman slipping into dementia in “Familiar Touch.”
Supporting acting victors Benicio del Toro and Teyana Taylor prevailed over runners-up from the same two films, “Sentimental Value” and “Sinners”: Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”); and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (“Sentimental Value”) and Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”).
Autumn Durald Arkapaw was awarded best cinematography for “Sinners,” the only win for Coogler’s film out of four runner-up recognitions. Jafar Panahi won for his “It Was Just an Accident” screenplay, and “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air In Moscow” won best non-fiction film.
Notably, Chloé Zhao’s acclaimed “Hamnet” went entirely unrecognized, with no love even for stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. Other best picture contenders that did not win or make the cut for runners-up: “Marty Supreme,” “Frankenstein,” “Bugonia” and “Wicked: For Good.”
The National Society of Film Critics is made up of more than 60 critics from the United States. Since it began giving out awards in 1966, its choice for the year’s best movie has gone on to win the Best Picture Oscar only nine times, most recently with “Nomadland” in 2020. Last year’s big Oscar victor, “Anora,” did not take home any prizes from the NSFC. Across the critics group’s 10 2025 categories, two NSFC winners won the Oscar (Kieran Culkin and “No Other Land”), three others were nominated for an Academy Award and their 20 runners-up included six winners (among them, “Anora”) and five other nominees.
Below is the full list of winners and runners-up, with point totals.
BEST PICTURE Winner” “One Battle After Another” (57 points) Runners-up: “Sinners” (29 points) “The Secret Agent” (27 points)
BEST DIRECTOR Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (54 Points) Runners-Up: Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (48 points) Richard Linklater, “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague” (39 points)
BEST ACTRESS Winner: Kathleen Chalfant, “Familiar Touch” (45 points) Runners-up: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (39 points) Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value” (37 points)
BEST ACTOR Winner: Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (57 points) Runners-up: Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (43 points) Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” (36 points)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Winner: Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (56 points) Runners-up: Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value” (47 points) Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners” (41 points)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Winner: Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (54 points) Runners-up: Delroy Lindo, “Sinners” (37) Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value” (30 points)
BEST SCREENPLAY Winner: Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (53 points) Runners-up: Robert Kaplow, “Blue Moon” (50 points) Kleber Mendonça Filho, “The Secret Agent” (40 points)
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Winner: “The Secret Agent” (58 points) Runners-up: “It Was Just an Accident” (57 points) “Sentimental Value” (38 points)
BEST NONFICTION FILM Winner: “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air In Moscow” (56 points) Runners-up: “The Perfect Neighbor” (22 points) “Orwell: 2+2=5” (18 points)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Winner: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “Sinners” (50 points) Runners-up: Adolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams” (36 points) Michael Bauman, “One Battle After Another” (29 points)
SPECIAL AWARD FOR A FILM AWAITING U.S. DISTRIBUTION “Landmarks” (Lucrecia Martel)
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM “Morning Circle” (Basma al-Sharif)
FILM HERITAGE AWARDS Cinema Tropical, for its tireless efforts to distribute, program and promote Latin American cinema in the U.S.
The Film Desk, for releasing key movies from all over the world, in 35mm prints and on home video, and publishing books that have enriched the public’s knowledge of cinema.
The late Ken and Flo Jacobs, an irreplaceable, gravitational center of the American avant-garde, with a shared artistic sensibility that helped define experimental cinema.
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