New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Overview

The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is the oldest film critics organization in the United States, founded in 1935. The 91st NYFCC Awards were announced on December 2, 2025, with One Battle After Another (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) winning Best Film. Jafar Panahi won Best Director for It Was Just an Accident. Wagner Moura won Best Actor for The Secret Agent, and Rose Byrne won Best Actress for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.

The annual awards gala dinner took place on January 6, 2026, at Tao Downtown in New York City. The NYFCC consists of over 30 professional film critics from New York-based daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, magazines, and qualifying online publications. The group's small membership and rigorous deliberation process give its selections a specificity and critical authority that larger organizations cannot replicate.

The NYFCC is the oldest critics group in the country and one of the earliest awards announcements each season. The timing and reputation of the group mean its choices carry outsized influence on the awards conversation, often surfacing films and performances that subsequently gain traction with the Academy.

Eligibility and Submission Rules

The NYFCC does not operate a formal submission process. Films eligible for consideration are those released theatrically in the United States during the calendar year. The organization's membership views films throughout the year through press screenings, festival screenings, and industry screenings. There are no entry forms, fees, or formal submission requirements.

The group meets in person in December to vote on awards for the previous calendar year's films. Only active members who write regular film criticism throughout the year for a commercial publication based in the greater New York area, published with a minimum frequency of once a month, are eligible to vote.

Voting Process

The NYFCC voting process is unique among critics groups and is defined in the organization's bylaws. The group meets in person in December for a dedicated voting meeting. A quorum consisting of a majority of the total membership is required for binding decisions.

Voting follows a multi-ballot system with a maximum of four rounds:

First ballot: Each member casts one vote per category. A nominee receiving at least 50% of votes wins. If no majority is reached, voting continues to a second ballot.

Second ballot: Each member lists three choices in descending order (first choice gets 3 points, second gets 2, third gets 1). A nominee with the most points appearing on more than half the ballots wins. New names or titles not on the first ballot may be submitted. Proxies are permitted.

Third ballot: Conducted identically to the second ballot, with two exceptions: no new names or titles may be submitted, and proxies are no longer counted. A nominee with the most points on more than half the ballots wins.

Fourth ballot: Conducted as in the third ballot, but a simple plurality of points determines the winner. A tie is resolved by a run-off between the two tied nominees. If the run-off also ties, the award is shared.

Only the final vote from the final ballot is revealed to the public. This deliberative model means the NYFCC result represents a negotiated consensus rather than a simple plurality, giving the outcome a different character from most other critics awards that use single-round email or online voting.

The bylaws also specify that the ballots shall reference achievement in a single film. If the question of multiple achievements within a calendar year arises, a majority of members present decides whether one or more achievements are recognized.

Key Categories

• Best Film
• Best Director
• Best Actor and Best Actress
• Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress
• Best Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Animated Film
• Best Non-Fiction Film (documentary)
• Best First Film
• Best International Film
• Special Awards - presented at the discretion of the membership for individuals or organizations contributing to the art of cinema
• Student Prizes - awarded to undergraduate and graduate film students

History

The NYFCC was founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale of the New York Daily News, partly in response to the perceived influence of the Academy Awards and the desire for an independent critical voice. The founding members included some of the most respected film critics of the era, and the group has maintained a reputation for intellectual rigor and independence throughout its history.

The NYFCC has frequently made bold choices that diverged from the Oscar frontrunner. The group championed Goodfellas (1990) over Dances with Wolves, The Social Network (2010) over The King's Speech, and First Reformed (2018), which received limited Academy attention. In 2024, the NYFCC selected The Brutalist as Best Film, with Best Director going to RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys and Best Actress going to Marianne Jean-Baptiste, none of which aligned with the eventual Oscar winners in those categories.

The 2025 results showed unusual alignment with other early awards bodies. One Battle After Another also won Best Feature at the Gotham Awards and Best Film from the National Board of Review, creating a rare three-body consensus in early December. Wagner Moura's Best Actor win for The Secret Agent was noted as a historic result, as the NYFCC recognized a Portuguese-language performance in a Brazilian film.

Business Impact for Filmmakers

A NYFCC award carries critical weight that translates into cultural credibility. The group's independence from industry influence means its choices are widely perceived as reflecting genuine critical judgment rather than campaign dynamics. For independent and international films, a NYFCC win can be the single most important early-season endorsement.

The early December timing makes the NYFCC announcement a defining moment in awards season. A NYFCC Best Film win can shift the trajectory of a campaign, providing the critical endorsement that complements guild and industry recognition. In 2025, the consecutive wins at the Gothams, NYFCC, and NBR for One Battle After Another created immediate frontrunner status that shaped the remaining campaign cycle.

The group's multi-ballot, in-person deliberation process produces results that sometimes diverge significantly from other critics groups. When the NYFCC selects a film or performance that no other body recognized, that choice alone can generate enough media coverage to sustain an awards campaign. Amy Madigan's 2025 Best Supporting Actress win for Weapons is an example: the NYFCC was the first major body to recognize her performance, generating coverage that elevated her profile in the supporting actress conversation.

The Special Awards category allows the NYFCC to recognize contributions beyond individual films. In 2025, Special Awards went to Screen Slate (for film calendar and criticism) and the Museum of the Moving Image. Student Prizes were awarded to London Xhudo (NYU undergraduate) and Tan Zhiyuan (The New School graduate), providing early career recognition to emerging critics.

Recent Results (91st NYFCC Awards, announced December 2025)

• Best Film: One Battle After Another
• Best Director: Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
• Best Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
• Best Actress: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
• Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
• Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons
• Best Screenplay: Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, Marty Supreme
• Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
• Best Animated Film: KPop Demon Hunters
• Best Non-Fiction Film: My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow
• Best First Film: Carson Lund, Eephus
• Best International Film: The Secret Agent
• Special Awards: Screen Slate; Museum of the Moving Image
• Student Prizes: London Xhudo (NYU); Tan Zhiyuan (The New School)

Watch

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

• No submission process or fees: The NYFCC does not operate a formal submission process. Films eligible for consideration are those released theatrically in the United States during the calendar year. There are no entry forms, fees, or formal submission requirements. Filmmakers must rely on NYFCC members seeing their film through press screenings, festival screenings, and industry screenings.
• In-person multi-ballot voting: Unlike most critics groups that use single-round email or online voting, the NYFCC meets in person in December for a dedicated voting meeting. The process follows a maximum of four rounds of balloting, with a quorum of the majority of total membership required. This deliberative model produces a negotiated consensus rather than a simple plurality.
• Only the final vote is public: The NYFCC reveals only the final vote from the final ballot. The multi-round deliberation process, including earlier ballots and eliminated candidates, is not made public. This means the public never sees which films came close but did not win.
• Membership is restricted to New York-based critics: Only active members who write regular film criticism for a commercial publication based in the greater New York area, published at least monthly, are eligible to vote. This geographic restriction means the NYFCC's perspective is specifically New York-based.
• Ballots reference a single film: The bylaws specify that ballots shall reference achievement in a single film. If a performer has multiple achievements in a calendar year, a majority of members present must decide whether one or more achievements are recognized. This prevents split-vote situations but can disadvantage performers with strong work across multiple films.

Prestige Tier

The NYFCC Awards are the oldest film critics' awards in the United States, founded in 1935, and are considered one of the two most influential US critics' awards alongside the LAFCA. Among critics groups, the NYFCC is widely regarded as the top tier, with its early December announcement making it one of the earliest high-impact endorsements of the awards season. The group's multi-ballot, in-person deliberation process gives its selections a specificity and critical authority that larger organizations cannot replicate. The NYFCC has frequently made bold choices that diverged from the Oscar frontrunner, championing films like Goodfellas over Dances with Wolves and The Social Network over The King's Speech. A NYFCC Best Film win can shift the trajectory of a campaign, providing the critical endorsement that complements guild and industry recognition. In 2025, the consecutive wins at the Gothams, NYFCC, and NBR for One Battle After Another created immediate frontrunner status that shaped the remaining campaign cycle. For independent and international films, a NYFCC win can be the single most important early-season endorsement.

See Also

For understanding how critics awards fit into the broader awards season calendar, see Festival Strategy for Independent Films. To model how critical recognition affects revenue, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For evaluating the cost of an awards-season campaign against projected returns, use the Ad Spend Break-Even Calculator.