‘The Brutalist’ named Best Film

The New York Film Critics Circle announced its winners on Tuesday, with “The Brutalist” winning Best Film and acting awards going to Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), and Carol Kane (“Between the Temples”). 

Other winners included RaMell Ross (Best Director for “Nickel Boys”), Sean Baker (Best Screenplay for “Anora”), Jomo Fray (Best Cinematography for “Nickel Boys), “Flow” (Best Animated Film), and “All We Imagine as Light” (Best International Film).

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Brody won Best Actor for his performance in Brady Corbet‘s epic drama, which A24 will release later this month. A former Oscar winner for “The Pianist,” Brody is widely predicted to earn his second Oscar nomination next year and is considered a front-runner to win as well.

Jean-Baptiste won Best Actress from the New York group, an outcome that many observers predicted in the days before Tuesday’s voting. The actress has received rave reviews for her performance in Mike Leigh’s contemporary drama, and she could land among the Best Actress nominees at the Oscars next year thanks to the strong passion around her work from those who have seen the film. Bleecker Street will release “Hard Truths” in December for its qualifying run before expanding it further in early January.

Culkin was another expected winner. The “Succession” Emmy Award winner is the front-runner to win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars next year and has the potential to become one of the year’s acting sweepers due to the near-universal acclaim for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s film.

Kane was an upset choice by the group, though also not fully unexpected. The legendary actress scored strong reviews for her performance in “Between the Temples,” and she emerged victorious in a category that had many potential options for the New York critics – including Natasha Lyonne for “His Three Daughters,” a popular choice among those who tried to predict the whims of the New York Film Critics Circle members.

In terms of studios, the group spread the wealth this year: A24, Neon, Searchlight Pictures, Bleecker Street, Amazon/MGM, and Sony Pictures Classics all won significant awards.

This is the 90th anniversary of the group, which counts several top critical minds – including Indiewire’s David Ehlrich (this year’s vice chair) and Kate Erbland, New York Magazine’s duo of Alison Wilmore and Bilge Ebiri, The Atlantic’s David Sims (this year’s chair), and Time’s Stephanie Zacharek  – among its members. Typically, the New York critics lean a bit more highbrow than members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, as evidenced by past Best Picture winners “Tar,” “Drive My Car,” “First Cow,” and “Roma.” But the group has made room for some mainstream winner picks in recent years, usually in the acting categories. Surprising winners since 2018 have included Regina Hall (“Support the Girls,” 2018), Lupita Nyong’o (“Us,” 2019), and Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci,” 2021) in the Best Actress category, and Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” 2020) and Keke Palmer (“Nope,” 2022) in the Best Supporting Actress field.

Last year, the New York Film Critics Circle selected “Killers of the Flower Moon” as Best Picture, Christopher Nolan as Best Director for “Oppenheimer,” Franz Rogowski as Best Actor for “Passages,” Lily Gladstone as Best Actress for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Charles Melton as Best Supporting Actor for “May December,” and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Best Supporting Actress for “The Holdovers.” Nolan and Randolph later became Oscar winners, while “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Gladstone landed Oscar nominations.

Since 2003, only three New York Film Critics Circle winners for Best Film failed to garner an Oscar nomination for Best Picture: “United 93,” “Carol,” and “First Cow.” In that same stretch, four New York Film Critics Circle winners for Best Film also won Best Picture: “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “No Country for Old Men,” “The Hurt Locker,” and “The Artist.” The group hasn’t matched the Best Picture winner in 12 years but arguably picked the runner-up film a couple of times (“La La Land,” “Roma”).

Check out the winners list below. The New York Film Critics Circle will celebrate its winners at a dinner on January 8, 2025.

BEST PICTURE

“The Brutalist”

BEST DIRECTOR

RaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys”

BEST ACTRESS

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Hard Truths”

BEST ACTOR

Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Carol Kane, “Between the Temples”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sean Baker, “Anora”

BEST ANIMATED FILM

“Flow”

BEST NONFICTION FILM

“No Other Land”

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

“All We Imagine as Light”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Jomo Fray, “Nickel Boys”

BEST FIRST FILM

“Janet Planet” (dir. Annie Baker)

Below is the full list of New York Film Critics Circle members as of December.

David Sims (CHAIR)
The Atlantic

David Ehrlich (VICE CHAIR)
IndieWire

Stephen Garrett (GENERAL MANAGER)
Freelance

MEMBERS:

Sam Adams
Slate

Siddhant Adlakha
Freelance

Melissa Anderson
4Columns

Michael Atkinson
Freelance

Jason Bailey
The Playlist

Richard Brody
The New Yorker

Dwight Brown
NNPA Syndication

Monica Castillo
Freelance

Kameron Austin Collins
Rolling Stone

Bilge Ebiri
New York Magazine

Kate Erbland 
IndieWire

David Fear
Rolling Stone

Graham Fuller
Freelance

Owen Gleiberman
Variety

Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Leah Greenblatt
Freelance

Steven D. Greydanus
The National Catholic Register

Rafer Guzman
Newsday

Lovia Gyarkye
The Hollywood Reporter

Jordan Hoffman
Freelance

Caryn James
BBC

Tomris Laffly 
Freelance

Richard Lawson
Vanity Fair

Violet Lucca
Freelance

Soraya Nadia McDonald
Andscape

Farran Nehme
Freelance

Sheila O’Malley
Rogerebert.com

Rex Reed
New York Observer

David Rooney
The Hollywood Reporter

Nick Schager
The Daily Beast

Matt Singer
ScreenCrush

Kyle Smith
The Wall Street Journal

Dana Stevens
Slate

Amy Taubin
Artforum

Peter Travers
ABC

Keith Uhlich
Freelance

Elizabeth Weitzman
The Wrap

Kelli Weston
Freelance

Stephen Whitty
Freelance

Alison Willmore
New York Magazine

Stephanie Zacharek
Time Magazine

Esther Zuckerman
Freelance

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