At the 91st New York Film Critics Circle Awards, winners including Rose Byrne and Wagner Moura highlighted industry challenges, from complex female roles to potential mergers. The event at Tao Downtown in New York City celebrated 2025 films amid discussions on sequels and streaming's future. Attendees voiced worries about a possible Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros., emphasizing the value of theatrical releases.
The 91st annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards took place on a Tuesday evening at Tao Downtown in New York City, honoring standout films from 2025. Rose Byrne received the best actress award for her role in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, where she portrayed a multifaceted woman navigating difficult choices as a mother, wife, and therapist.
In her acceptance speech, Byrne underscored the risks of centering complex female characters in cinema. “It is still a risk to put a compromising and challenging female character front and center of a movie,” she said. “And I ask you, the audience, to reckon with her. ‘Legs’ forces you to not ignore this woman... who is making some questionable choices to avoid some truly horrible ones.” She thanked director Mary Bronstein and producers for casting her, referencing her breakout in Bridesmaids.
On the red carpet, Byrne praised director Paul Feig's recent thriller The Housemaid, which has earned $75.7 million in North America and $133 million worldwide, with a sequel now greenlit. “Paul is the biggest, sweetest, most darling man in the world, and he knows how to direct women,” she noted.
The best animated film award went to KPop Demon Hunters, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. Producer Michelle Wong addressed sequel rumors, despite reports of a Netflix-Sony deal for a 2029 release. “I don’t know if that’s really confirmed yet,” she said. “We haven’t figured that out yet.”
Industry figures raised alarms over Netflix's potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Kleber Mendonca Filho, director of best foreign language film The Secret Agent, called it “a very bad idea,” arguing for respecting theatrical releases. “It’s too much power concentrated in one place,” he added, while appreciating streaming as a secondary platform.
Amy Madigan, who starred in Weapons, expressed unease about being labeled as 'content' rather than cinema, fearing job losses in a struggling industry. Best actor winner Wagner Moura, also from The Secret Agent, stressed the irreplaceable magic of theater viewing. “Going to the theater with other people is an experience that we have to keep doing,” he said. “It’s a very magical one and a very important one.”
