It’s been one award after another for One Battle After Another. Paul Thomas Anderson’s political action caper has run roughshod over the competition this season, and its streak continued Saturday with the National Society of Film Critics agreeing with the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
With this latest win, One Battle After Another joined Schindler’s List, L.A. Confidential, and The Social Network as the only movies to sweep the “Big Four” critics awards. Of those, only Schindler’s List completed went on to win the Best Picture statuette at the Academy Awards.
In addition to One Battle winning the NSFC’s Best Picture prize, Anderson won Best Director, Teyana Taylor received Best Supporting Actress, and Benicio Del Toro earned Best Supporting Actor from the organization, which comprises more than 60 top film critics.
Additionally, Blue Moon’s Ethan Hawke won Best Actor over Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Michael B. Jordan (Sinners). In a surprise win, Familiar Touch star Kathleen Chalfant was named Best Actress for playing an elderly dementia patient transitioning into a long-term care facility, edging past presumptive Oscar contenders Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value). Neither Chalfant nor the film — written and directed by Sarah Friedland — had been on the awards radar until now.
Over the past 25 years, the National Society has only matched the Oscars’ Best Picture seven times, the most recent times being in 2020 with Nomadland and Parasite the year prior. Last year’s National Society winner, Nickel Boys, lost the Academy Award to Anora. One Battle will look to keep on racking up the victories at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday.
Here’s the complete list of winners at the 59th annual National Society of Film Critics Awards:
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 Mendonça 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:
Adolpho 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.