Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another has won best picture at the National Society of Film Critics' 60th annual awards for 2025. The film also secured best director, supporting actress and supporting actor honors. Voting took place on January 3, 2026, among more than 60 prominent critics.
The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), founded in 1966, announced its winners for the best films of 2025 on January 3, 2026. Critics voted during in-person meetings in Los Angeles and New York, with additional participation virtually from across the country. Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling adventure drama One Battle After Another emerged as the top winner, taking home four awards: best picture, best director for Anderson, best supporting actress for Teyana Taylor, and best supporting actor for Benicio del Toro.
The film, which has grossed over $205 million worldwide and is considered an Oscars frontrunner, beat out runners-up Sinners and The Secret Agent for best picture. Leonardo DiCaprio, a star in One Battle After Another, did not receive a best actor nomination; that award went to Ethan Hawke for his role in Richard Linklater's Blue Moon, with runners-up Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent and Michael B. Jordan in Sinners.
Other key winners include Kathleen Chalfant for best actress in Familiar Touch, Jafar Panahi for best screenplay in It Was Just an Accident, and The Secret Agent for best film not in the English language. Sinners earned best cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw, while My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow won best nonfiction film.
NSFC chair Justin Chang highlighted the year's themes, stating, “This was a great year for movies and — as we’re hardly the only critics’ group to acknowledge — an especially resonant one for movies about revolution and solidarity.” He praised films like One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, It Was Just an Accident, My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow, and Sinners. Special awards went to Morning Circle as best experimental film and Landmarks for a film awaiting U.S. distribution. Film heritage honors recognized Cinema Tropical, The Film Desk, and Ken and Flo Jacobs.
