Preparing to vote for the best of the year for the Atlanta Film Critics Circle for the second year has been an ordeal. This year, my screening schedule has been rough, with work taking me out of town a lot, resulting in limiting my possibilities of getting to movies early, so this year’s ballot was not nearly as complete as I normally hope to have it. That meant trying to prioritize some bigger stuff, and leaving other things for later critic’s ballots.
Here are this year’s winners. And if you haven’t checked out the new site, be sure to do so at the link above.
Thanks for listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
The Atlanta Film Critics Circle Announces 2025 Award Winners
Now in its ninth year, the Atlanta Film Critics Circle has announced its awards for top cinematic achievements in 2025.
The 39 voting members of the AFCC chose director Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” as its top film of the year. The big-budget thriller swept seven major categories, also winning Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Ensemble, Best Supporting Actor (Benicio del Toro), and Best Breakthrough Performance for Chase Infiniti.
Leonardo DiCaprio earned Best Actor honors for his performance in the film, narrowly edging out Michael B. Jordan in Ryan Coogler’s horror sensation “Sinners”, which captured Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score. Amy Madigan took Best Supporting Actress for “Weapons” in another close race. Other top winners included Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby” for Best First Feature, “The Perfect Neighbor” for Best Documentary, and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” for Best Stunt
Work.
This year’s voting was notably competitive, with several races coming down to just a few points. Best International Feature Film saw the closest margin in AFCC history, with only four points separating the top three films. Four of the group’s top 10 films hail from international filmmakers, underscoring the strength of global cinema in 2025.
“2025 was another stellar year for film, including two horror sensations in “Sinners” and “Weapons”, Chloé Zhao’s heartbreaking excavation of the grief process in “Hamnet”, and one of the strongest crops of international films in recent memory,” said AFCC advisory board member Kyle Pinion. “But it was Paul Thomas Anderson’s crafting of a generational masterpiece in “One Battle After Another” that ruled the day in AFCC voters’ ballots, and rightfully so. It’s the kind of film that will last.”
Best Film
“One Battle After Another”
Top 10 Films (Ranked from First to Tenth):
1. “One Battle After Another”
2. “Sinners”
3. “Weapons”
4. “Hamnet”
5. “Marty Supreme”
6. “It Was Just an Accident”
7. “No Other Choice”
8. “Sentimental Value”
9. “Train Dreams”
10. “The Secret Agent”
Best Lead Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Runner-Up: Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
Best Lead Actress
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Runner-Up: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Runner-Up: Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
Runner-Up: Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Best Ensemble Cast
“One Battle After Another”
Runner-Up: “Sinners”
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Runner-Up: Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Best Original Screenplay
“Sinners”
Runner-Up: “Weapons”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“One Battle After Another”
Runner-Up: “Hamnet”
Best Documentary
“The Perfect Neighbor”
Runner-Up: “The Alabama Solution”
Best International Feature
“It Was Just an Accident”
Runner-Up: “No Other Choice”
Best Animated Film
“KPop Demon Hunters”
Runner-Up: “Arco”
Best Cinematography
“One Battle After Another”
Runner-Up: “Sinners”
Best Original Score
“Sinners”
Runner-Up: “One Battle After Another”
Best Stunt Work
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
Runner-Up: “F1”
Best Voice Performance
Arden Cho, “KPop Demon Hunters”
Runner-Up: Jason Bateman, “Zootopia 2”
Best Breakthrough Performance
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Best First Feature
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
About the AFCC
Founded in 2017, the Atlanta Film Critics Circle is a dynamic mix of 39 Atlanta-based critics working in newspaper, magazine, and online journalism. The AFCC’s mission establishes a national presence for a film critics group in Atlanta and fosters a vibrant film culture in Atlanta, already home to a robust film industry production presence.
