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Stone’s frontrunner status lasted all of a day or two, as apparently Jessie Buckley is now widely tipped after Hamnet massively overperformed into being the new overall frontrunner (and it has the best notices of the year so far)

DarkImbecile's resurgence cast a spell!

Gotham Awards are out, One Battle After Another gets a record six nods.

Best Feature

Bugonia

Ari Aster, Ed Guiney, Lars Knudsen, Jerry Kyoungboum Ko, Yorgos Lanthimos, Miky Lee, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone, producers (Focus Features)

East of Wall

Kate Beecroft, Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Familiar Touch

Alexandra Byer, Sarah Friedland, Matthew Thurm, producers (Music Box Films)

Hamnet

Nicolas Gonda, Pippa Harris, Liza Marshall, Sam Mendes, Steven Spielberg, producers (Focus Features)

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Richie Doyle, Conor Hannon, Sara Murphy, Josh Safdie, Ryan Zacarias, producers (A24)

Lurker

Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby, producers (MUBI)

One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson, Sara Murphy, Adam Somner, producers (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Sorry, Baby

Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, producers (A24)

The Testament of Ann Lee

Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, Joshua Horsfield, Gregory Jankilevitsch, Mark Lampert, Lillian LaSalle, Andrew Morrison, Viktória Petrányi, Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska, producers (Searchlight Pictures)

Train Dreams

Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman (producers) (Netflix)

Best International Feature

It Was Just an Accident

Philippe Martin, Jafar Panahi, producers (NEON)

No Other Choice

Park Chan-Wook, Alexandre Gavras, Michèle Ray Gavras, Back Jisun, producers (NEON)

Nouvelle Vague

Laurent Pétin, Michèle Pétin, producers (Netflix)

Resurrection

Charles Gillibert, Yang Lele, Shan Zuolong, producers (Janus Films)

Sound of Falling

Lucas Schmidt, Maren Schmitt, producers (MUBI)

Best Documentary Feature

2000 Meters to Andriivka

Mstyslav Chernov, director; Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, producers (PBS)

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

Kahlil Joseph, director; Onye Anyanwu, Kahlil Joseph, David Linde, Anikah McLaren, James Shani, Steven Soderbergh, producers (Rich Spirit)

My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow

Julia Loktev, director; Julia Loktev, producer (self-distributed)

The Perfect Neighbor

Geeta Gandbhir, director; Sam Bisbee, Geeta Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, producers (Netflix)

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Sepideh Farsi, director; Javad Djavahery, Sepideh Farsi, producers (Kino Lorber)

Best Director

Mary Bronstein, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)

Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident (NEON)

Kelly Reichardt, The Mastermind (MUBI)

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Oliver Laxe, Sirât (NEON)

Breakthrough Director

Constance Tsang, Blue Sun Palace (Dekanalog)

Carson Lund, Eephus (Music Box Films)

Sarah Friedland, Familiar Touch (Music Box Films)

Akinola Davies Jr., My Father’s Shadow (MUBI)

Harris Dickinson, Urchin (1-2 Special)

Best Original Screenplay

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Mary Bronstein (A24)

It Was Just an Accident, Jafar Panahi (NEON)

The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho (NEON)

Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor (A24)

Sound of Falling, Louise Peter, Mascha Schilinski (MUBI)

Best Adapted Screenplay

No Other Choice, Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-Mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar (NEON)

One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Pillion, Harry Lighton (A24)

Preparation for the Next Life, Martyna Majok (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar (Netflix)

Outstanding Lead Performance

Jessie Buckley, Hamnet (Focus Features)

Lee Byung-hun, No Other Choice (NEON)

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)

Sopé Dìrísù, My Father’s Shadow (MUBI)

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love (MUBI)

Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent (NEON)

Josh O’Connor, The Mastermind (MUBI)

Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)

Tessa Thompson, Hedda (Orion Pictures/Amazon/MGM Studios)

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein (Netflix)

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value (NEON)

Indya Moore, Father Mother Sister Brother (MUBI)

Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly (Netflix)

Andrew Scott, Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Alexander Skarsgård, Pillion (A24)

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value (NEON)

Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Breakthrough Performer

A$AP Rocky, Highest 2 Lowest (A24)

Sebiye Behtiyar, Preparation for the Next Life (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Abou Sangaré, Souleymane’s Story (Kino Lorber)

Tonatiuh, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, LD Entertainment)

OBAA has to be the highest budgeted film to be nominated by the Gotham committee. The line between indie and studio has blurred overtime, but a film that is reported to be budgeted around $130-175 released by a major studio should be disqualified for a ceremony dedicated to independent film. You could say the streamer distributed titles should not be nominated unless they were acquired through film festival, the same goes for the boutique distributors.

Make the Gothams truly independent!

Mr Sausage wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 4:57 pm So I’m reading The Naked and the Dead

Will be interested to hear your thoughts on Walsh’s film adaptation once you finish. I suspect you won’t need any positive superlatives

Cahiers du Cinema top 10:

1) Afternoons of Solitude (Albert Serra)
2) One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3) Yes! (Nadav Lapid)
4) The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
5) I Only Rest in the Storm (Pedro Pinho)
6) L’Aventura (Sophie Letourneur)
7) Sept Promenades Avec Marc Brown (Pierre Creton and Vincent Barre)
8) Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
9) Laurent Dans le Vent (Anton Balekdjian, Léo Couture, and Mattéo Eustachon)
10) Miroirs No. 3 (Christian Petzold)

I was curious whether One Battle After Another was the most expensive film to ever have made one of their lists, but The Irishman was no. 10 in 2019

I figured War of the Worlds would have cost more, but $250 mil for the Irishman is crazy

EDIT They listed Titanic, pack it up that’s the winner

domino harvey wrote: Fri Nov 28, 2025 5:12 pm $250 mil for the Irishman is crazy

They spent $160M on de-aging alone

Second year in a row where I’m pretty much in agreement with the ed. board’s top pick. What’s next, Bruno Dumont fandom?

FilmMania wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 4:24 pm OBAA has to be the highest budgeted film to be nominated by the Gotham committee. The line between indie and studio has blurred overtime, but a film that is reported to be budgeted around $130-175 released by a major studio should be disqualified for a ceremony dedicated to independent film. You could say the streamer distributed titles should not be nominated unless they were acquired through film festival, the same goes for the boutique distributors.

Make the Gothams truly independent!

One Battle After Another won Best Picture at the Gothams

NYFCC

2025 WINNERS
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:
Marty Supreme

Best International Film:
The Secret Agent

Best Animated Film:
KPop Demon Hunters

Best Cinematography:
Sinners

Best Non-Fiction Film:
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow

Best First Film:
Eephus

John Waters' Top 10 in Vulture

01 Eddington (Aster)
02 Final Destination: Bloodlines (Stein & Lipovsky)
03 Oslo Trilogy (Haugerud)
04 Sirāt (Laxe)
05 Sauna (Broe)
06 Room Temperature (Cooper & Farley)
07 Misericordia (Guiraudie)
08 When Fall Is Coming (Ozon)
09 My Mom Jayne (Hargitay)
10 The Empire (Dumont)

He’s honestly right about Final Destination. It might not be profound, but it’s A+ filmmaking. Thanks to my husband, I keep up with current horror films more than anything else, and this is FAR better than more acclaimed, “elevated” horror films like Weapons and Bring Her Back, both of which are weak riffs on Hereditary.

AFI Top Ten

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
BUGONIA
FRANKENSTEIN
HAMNET
JAY KELLY
MARTY SUPREME
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
SINNERS
TRAIN DREAMS
WICKED: FOR GOOD

I really don’t think Wicked or Avatar makes it with the Academy this time, so presumably replace them with It Was Just an Accident and the Secret Agent. Not sure I buy Train Dreams just yet, but it’s not crazy either and not sure what would replace it (maybe one of the Byrne or Seyfried movies if they get in). At this point I find it hard to believe anyone actually cares enough about Sentimental Value for it to even get nommed

Avatar, Jay Kelly, and Train Dreams out; Secret Agent, It Was Just an Accident, and Sentimental Value in. I definitely think Wicked and Sentimental Value are gonna get nommed

I think Jay Kelly is a movie that will appeal to older/“traditional” voters, I’m not sure what other title they would rally behind beyond Hamnet

The Academy at large has never really cottoned to Paul Thomas Anderson, but maybe they will this year since Battle is a studio prestige picture with stars and not one of his "cute little indie pictures?"

Lots of celebs have mentioned it in interviews. I think it’s going to over perform

Yeah I think OBAA is gonna sweep

Paramount fired their entire awards team and will no longer focus on campaigning for any of their films and will focus solely on blockbusters. And these are the guys who want to buy WB

The Ellisons seem like such losers. Even more so than CEOs usually are. They have an enormous amount of money now, but given how much of it is invested in AI, not sure how long for this world they are

Never Cursed wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 12:41 am The Ellisons seem like such losers. Even more so than CEOs usually are. They have an enormous amount of money now, but given how much of it is invested in AI, not sure how long for this world they are

Where is Meghan in all of this? I don’t hear about her much anymore

beamish14 wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 1:03 am

Never Cursed wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 12:41 am The Ellisons seem like such losers. Even more so than CEOs usually are. They have an enormous amount of money now, but given how much of it is invested in AI, not sure how long for this world they are

Where is Meghan in all of this? I don’t hear about her much anymore

Her run of luck went dry and by 2019 her father had to intervene, using his clout with the bank to bail out her company. In the wake of that, it’s no surprise he wouldn’t give her a role in all this.

More catastrophic would be the Ellisons controlling CBS News AND CNN, which too many articles leave out. Someone really needs to give James Cameron a good hard slap and tell him it's not worth throwing the whole fucking world under a bus just because he wants more people to watch crap in a movie theater rather than the comfort of their own home.

FILM NOMINATIONS FOR THE 31ST ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS

BEST PICTURE
Bugonia (Focus Features)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Marty Supreme (A24)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Sentimental Value (Neon)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Train Dreams (Netflix)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent (Neon)

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Emma Stone – Bugonia (Focus Features)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Paul Mescal – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value (Neon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Amy Madigan – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Everett Blunck – The Plague (Independent Film Company)
Miles Caton – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Cary Christopher – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family (Searchlight Pictures)
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (Focus Features)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Zach Cregger – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (A24)
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don Mckellar, Jahye Lee – No Other Choice (Neon)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Will Tracy – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet (Focus Features)

BEST CASTING AND ENSEMBLE
Nina Gold – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme (A24)
Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Francine Maisler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Łukasz Żal – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams (Netflix)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Kasra Farahani, Jille Azis – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Marty Supreme (A24)
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST EDITING
Kirk Baxter – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Stephen Mirrione – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners (Warner Bros.)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Malgosia Turzanska – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)
Colleen Atwood, Christine Cantella – Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Flora Moody, John Nolan – 28 Years Later (Sony Pictures)
Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Siân Richards, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal – The Smashing Machine (A24)
Leo Satkovich, Melizah Wheat, Jason Collins – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier, Laura Blount – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett – Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th Century Studios)
Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Eric Leven, Edward Price, Keith Dawson –F1 (Apple Original Films)
Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Alex Wuttke, Ian Lowe, Jeff Sutherland, Kirstin Hall – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé, Guy Williams – Superman (Warner Bros.)

BEST STUNT DESIGN
Stephen Dunlevy, Kyle Gardiner, Jackson Spidell, Jeremy Marinas, Jan Petřina, Domonkos Párdányi, Kinga Kósa-Gavalda – Ballerina (Lionsgate)
Gary Powell, Luciano Bacheta, Craig Dolby – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Wade Eastwood – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Brian Machleit – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Andy Gill – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Giedrius Nagys – Warfare (A24)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco (Neon)
Elio (Pixar Animation Studios)
In Your Dreams (Netflix)
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

BEST COMEDY
The Ballad of Wallis Island (Focus Features)
Eternity (A24)
Friendship (A24)
The Naked Gun (Paramount)
The Phoenician Scheme (Focus Features)
Splitsville (Neon)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)
No Other Choice (Neon)
The Secret Agent (Neon)
Sirāt (Neon)
Belén (Amazon MGM Studios)

BEST SONG
“Drive” – Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin – F1 (Apple Original Films)
“Golden” – Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
“I Lied to You” – Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Clothed by the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams (Netflix)
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST SCORE
Hans Zimmer – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Max Richter – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme (A24)
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)

BEST SOUND
Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern, Greg Chapman – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco, David V. Butler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Laia Casanovas – Sirāt (Neon)
Mitch Low, Glenn Freemantle, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner – Warfare (A24)

Completely flabbergasted by the Frankenstein support. I know that Del Toro has that kind of pull, but it's not even the most visible or well-received of the what, five movies Netflix is/was trying to push? I would rather be forced to see it than either Avatar or Wicked, though. My guess is the Oscars acting noms will look exactly like these minus Hawke, Byrne, Elordi, and Mosaku, though I am begging for something to knock Weapons out of the Supporting Actress contention so I don't have to see it. You cannot convince me that The Ballad of Wallis Island is a real movie.