A Night of Surprises and Statements: The 2025 New York Film Critics Awards Shake Up the Season
In a turn that few predicted, the New York Film Critics Circle honored One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, with its highest accolade — Best Film. The decision came nearly four hours after members locked in to deliberate, marking a big win for Warner Bros., and a further boost for the Leonardo DiCaprio-led drama that had already triumphed at last night’s Gotham Awards. But here’s where it gets intriguing — could this set the stage for Oscar glory, or will history repeat itself with another split between critics and the Academy?
Warner Bros. didn’t just walk away with one trophy they dominated with four. Alongside Best Film, Benicio Del Toro earned Best Supporting Actor for his work in One Battle After Another, while Amy Madigan took Best Supporting Actress for her performance as “Aunt Glady” in Weapons. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw rounded out their victories with Best Cinematography for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners — a moody visual masterpiece that critics say could be a sleeper in technical categories later this season.
The votes began rolling in just after 9:15 a.m. EST, part of the NYFCC’s famously marathon voting session — a nearly century-old ritual where over 50 critics publicly announce winners as soon as they’re chosen. As the oldest critics’ group in the U.S., the NYFCC often serves as an early indicator of Oscar trends. Yet despite their influence, the group hasn’t matched the Academy’s Best Picture choice since 2011’s The Artist. Could One Battle After Another break that streak?
The most emotional moment of the day, however, came with the Best Director win for Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his Palme d’Or-winning film, It Was Just an Accident. Just days before the announcement, Panahi was sentenced in absentia by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban — a shocking development unfolding while he participated in awards events for France’s Oscar submission. Panahi had also just claimed Best Screenplay at The Gothams, dedicating his win to filmmakers who, as he movingly said, are “deprived of the right to see and be seen.” His defiance against censorship continues to make waves worldwide. Should art and politics be separated, or is Panahi’s recognition proof that cinema is inherently political?
The first name to surface at this year’s ceremony was a fresh one — Carson Lund, who claimed Best First Film for Eephus. The film centers on a recreational baseball game between middle-aged men that drifts into extra innings on the last day before their field is demolished. Premiering at the 2024 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Eephus charmed critics with its nostalgic portrayal of community, time, and loss.
International cinema also enjoyed a spotlight. Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent was named Best International Film, while its star Wagner Moura earned Best Actor honors. The same film had already swept several Cannes prizes — including Best Director, the FIPRESCI, and the AFCAE award — making its NYFCC recognition a strong statement for global filmmaking in a season often dominated by Hollywood blockbusters.
Meanwhile, past winner Benicio Del Toro scored his second NYFCC award — the first came in 2000 for Traffic — adding a layer of irony since he won the Oscar for that same role a year later. Could history repeat itself again with his new supporting performance?
Last year, the group’s Best Picture honors went to Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, a film that also brought Adrien Brody a Best Actor win — one that the Academy agreed with. In fact, several NYFCC favorites translated directly into Oscar success: Kieran Culkin’s Real Pain performance, Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein’s Anora screenplay, the animated gem Flow, and the acclaimed documentary No Other Land.
Below is the complete list of this year’s winners — a mix of expected names and bold surprises that prove the critics aren’t afraid to stir debate:
- Best Film: One Battle After Another
- Director: Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
- Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
- Actress: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
- Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
- Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Screenplay: Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein
- Animated Film: KPop Demon Hunters
- Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
- Non-Fiction Film: My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
- International Film: The Secret Agent
- First Film: Carson Lund, Eephus
- Student Prizes: London Xhudo (Undergraduate, NYU) and Tan Zhiyuan (Graduate, The New School)
- Special Prizes: Museum of Moving Image, Screen Slate
The 2025 NYFCC awards may not align perfectly with mainstream tastes, but that’s what makes them compelling — they reward creative risks and independent voices. Still, the big question lingers: will these critics’ choices push the Oscars to follow suit, or will Hollywood’s voting body once again chart its own path? What do you think — should bold artistic statements take precedence over mainstream appeal in award-season conversations?
