The National Society of Film Critics awarded “One Battle After Another” best picture for 2025. The film took home four awards in total, including best director for Paul Thomas Anderson, best supporting actress for Teyana Taylor and best supporting actor for Benicio del Toro.
“One Battle” star Leonardo DiCaprio was noticeably absent from the best actor category. Ethan Hawke took home the honor for his role as Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon.” Runners-up for the award were Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent” and Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners.”
“The Secret Agent” and “Sinners” took home top honors for best film not in the English language and best cinematography, respectively. Other NSFC honorees included “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow,” “It Was Just an Accident” and “Familiar Touch.”
“This was a great year for movies and — as we’re hardly the only critics’ group to acknowledge — an especially resonant one for movies about revolution and solidarity,” said Justin Chang, chair of the NSFC. “Following a difficult year for journalism and filmmaking, it’s thrilling to salute ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘The Secret Agent,’ ‘It Was Just an Accident,’ ’My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow’ and ‘Sinners,’ and all the other brilliant films represented among our winners and runners-up.”
See the full list of winners below.
Best Picture: “One Battle After Another”
Runners-up:
“Sinners”
“The Secret Agent”
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Runners-up:
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”
Richard Linklater, “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague”
Best Actress: Kathleen Chalfant, “Familiar Touch”
Runners-up:
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Best Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Runners-up:
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Runners-up:
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”
Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
Best Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Runners-up:
Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”
Best Screenplay: Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”
Runners-up:
Robert Kaplow, “Blue Moon”
Kleber Mendoça Filho, “The Secret Agent”
Best Film Not in the English Language: “The Secret Agent”
Runners-up:
“It Was Just an Accident”
“Sentimental Value”
Best Nonfiction Film: “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow”
Runners-up:
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“Orwell: 2+2=5”
Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “Sinners”
Runners-up:
Aldolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams”
Michael Bauman, “One Battle After Another”
Best Experimental Film: “Morning Circle” (Basma al-Sharif)
Special Award For a Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution: “Landmarks” (Lucrecia Martel)
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.
Ken and Flo Jacobs, an irreplaceable, gravitational center of the American avant-garde, with a shared artistic sensibility that helped define experimental cinema.
