The New York Film Critics Circle has announced its annual list of winners, with the prize for Best Film going to Warmer Bros. for One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Warner Bros. also captured prizes in four other categories: Benicio Del Toro for Best Supporting Actof; Ann Madigan for Best Supporting Actress; and Cinematography for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners.

Another winner was Iranian director Jafar Pznahi who took the Best Director prize for It Was Just an Accident. Panahi had just been sentenced to one year in prison by the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court for “propaganda activities against the system.”
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Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, by Neon, was named Best International Film by the NYFCC, with Wagner Moura cited as Best Actor.

Founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale of The New York Daily News, The New York Film Critics Circle is the oldest such group in the country. Its awards, which tend to be given to more serious films, are regarded as a significant bellweather for the upcoming Academy Awards. This year’s winners will be presented at the group’s 91st annual dinner on january 6, 2026.

Here is the complete list of this year’s winners:.

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) — Curtis Lund

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