National Society Of Film Critics named One Battle After Another their best picture of 2025 on Saturday (January 3), with The Secret Agent winning best film not in the English language.
One Battle After Another collected four wins in total, with recognition going to director Paul Thomas Anderson, supporting actress Teyana Taylor, and supporting actor Benicio del Toro.
Ethan Hawke was named best actor for Blue Moon and Kathleen Chalfant best actress for Familiar Touch. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent was named best film not in the English language; the Brazilian prevailing on this occasion over Jafar Panahi, although the Iranian won best screenplay for It Was Just An Accident.
My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air In Moscow has been on a tear during the first half of awards season and continued its fine form by claiming the non-fiction award. Lucrecia Martel’s Landmarks collected the Special Award For A Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution.
New York-based Cinema Tropical was one of three recipients of the Film Heritage Awards “for its tireless efforts to distribute, programme and promote Latin American cinema in the U.S.”.
The National Society Of Film Critics’ 60-plus membership voted in-person in Los Angeles and New York, and participated virtually from across the country. Justin Chang was re-elected chair and Joshua Rothkopf was re-elected vice-chair for 2026.
The full list of 2025 National Society Of Film Critics winners appears below.
BEST PICTURE: One Battle After Another (57 points)
Runners-up:
Sinners (29 points)
The Secret Agent (27 points)
BEST DIRECTOR: 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: 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 SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another (56 points)
Runners-up:
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value (47 points)
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners (41 points)
BEST ACTOR: Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon (57 points)
Runners-up:
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent (43 points)
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners (36 points)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another (54 points)
Runners-up:
Delroy Lindo, Sinners (37 points)
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value (30 points)
BEST SCREENPLAY: 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: The Secret Agent (58 points)
Runners-up:
It Was Just an Accident (57 points)
Sentimental Value (38 points)
BEST NONFICTION FILM: 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: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners (50 points)
Runners-up:
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams (36 points)
Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another (29 points)
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.
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