‘One Battle After Another’ Named Year’s Best Film By National Board Of Review
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another continued its roll through the early awards season gauntlet Wednesday, when it was selected the Best Film by the National Board of Review.
The group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals and academics bestowed a leading five honors overall for the Warner Bros crime thriller, including Best Director for Anderson and Best Actor for star Leonardo DiCaprio. It also named Benicio Del Toro its Best Supporting Actor and gave Chase Infiniti its Breakthrough Performer Award.
The wins come on the heels of the Gotham Film Awards anointing One Battle After Another its Best Feature on Monday, and the New York Film Critics Circle doing the same Tuesday.
Other big NBR winners today included Rose Byrne taking Best Actress for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, also repeating her feat from yesterday’s NYFCC vote. Cannes Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident was named Best International Film, Arco the Best Animated Film, and the Seymour Hersh doc Cover-Up the Best Documentary.
Ryan Coogler won Best Original Screenplay for Sinners, another Warner Bros pic, while Adapted Screenplay went to Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar for Netflix’s Train Dreams. Sinners was the only other film to receive more than one individual award from NBR, with the vampire thriller also picking up the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography prize for DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw.
The 2025 winners will be celebrated at the NBR’s annual gala set for January 13, 2026 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, hosted by NBC’s Willie Geist.
Last year, the longtime organization voted Universal’s Wicked its Best Film, also bestowing its Best Director prize to that film’s Jon M. Chu and the NBR Spotlight Award to stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
The last time NBR selected the eventual Oscar Best Picture winner was 2018, when it named Green Book as its Best Picture.
Here’s this year’s winners list.
Best Film: One Battle After Another
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
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: Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Best Directorial Debut: Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Breakthrough Performance: Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay: Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, Train Dreams
Best Animated Feature: Arco
Best International Film: It Was Just an Accident
Best Documentary: Cover-Up
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
TOP FILMS (in alphabetical order)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
Rental Family
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Wicked: For Good
TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL FILMS (in alphabetical order)
Left-Handed Girl
The Love That Remains
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt
TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES (in alphabetical order)
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Come See Me in the Good Light
My Mom Jayne
Natchez
Orwell: 2+2=5
TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS (in alphabetical order)
The Baltimorons
Bring Her Back
Father Mother Sister Brother
Friendship
Good Boy
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
The Mastermind
Rebuilding
Sorry, Baby
Urchin
