New York Film Critics 2025: ‘One Battle After Another’ Wins Best Film, Rose Byrne and Wagner Moura Take Top Acting Prizes

It seems like it’s going to be one award after another this season for Paul Thomas Anderson.

Warner Bros’ action epic “One Battle After Another” was named the best film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle, who gathered in Manhattan on Tuesday to deliberate on the best films and performances of 2025. In addition to the top prize, Benicio Del Toro walked away with supporting actor for his work as Sensei Sergio St. Carlos. This marks the 58-year-old’s second career NYFCC prize after winning for “Traffic” (2000), for which he later won the Oscar.

The group also showed love to the Brazilian Oscar entry “The Secret Agent” from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho, which won international feature and best actor for Wagner Moura, the first Latino actor ever to win the category.

Rose Byrne received her first major prize of the season, winning best actress for her work as a therapist and mother stretched to her limits in Mary Bronstein’s black comedy “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”

Supporting actress went to veteran performer Amy Madigan for her wicked turn as Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s blockbuster hit “Weapons.”

After winning three prizes at Gothams on Monday for “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi was named best director by the group while Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie’s pulse-pounding “Marty Supreme” triumphed in best screenplay.

As Autumn Arkapaw Durald angles to make history as the first woman to win the Oscar for cinematography, she took one step closer by her win at NYFCC for her work on “Sinners.”

Other victors of the day include Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” taking animated film and the self-distributed “My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow” winning non-fiction film.

The esteemed membership of more than 50 journalists — including Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman — has never been shy about going against the grain. As the oldest critics’ group in the United States, the NYFCC is viewed as an early bellwether for awards season, with its best film winner often correlating with an Academy Award nomination for best picture. Since the Oscars expanded to 10 best picture nominees in 2009, only two NYFCC winners — “Carol” (2015) and “First Cow” (2020) — have failed to secure nominations in the top category.

The NYFCC remains one of the industry’s most prestigious critics’ groups, even if its choices rarely mirror the Academy’s ultimate victors. The membership gravitates toward deep, textural narratives — think Todd Haynes’ “Far from Heaven” (2002) and Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” (2021) — and often sidesteps the presumed Oscar frontrunner. The group has aligned with the Academy’s best picture winner only once in the past decade, with Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist.”

The list of winners is below.

Best Film: “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)

Director: Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (Neon)

Actor: Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

Actress: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)

Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.)

Screenplay: “Marty Supreme” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Animated Film: “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix)

Cinematography: “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Autumn Arkapaw Durald

Non-Fiction Film: “My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow” (Self-Distributed)

International Film: “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

First Film: “Eephus” (Music Box Films) — Carson Lund

View this article at Variety.