Sinners Leads with Record 19 Nominations; One Battle After Another Follows with 16
The North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) announces its nominees for the Best of Cinema 2025, recognizing outstanding achievements in filmmaking across narrative, documentary, animated, and technical categories.
Sinners emerges as this year’s most nominated film with 19 nods. The total exceeds the previous NCFCA record of 17 nominations, held by Everything Everywhere All at Once. One Battle After Another follows closely with 16 nominations, while Marty Supreme comes in with 11 nominations and Frankenstein earns 10. Additional multiple nominees include KPop Demon Hunters and No Other Choice (six each); Hamnet, Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams (five each).
The NCFCA is composed of film critics living and/or working in North Carolina, representing a wide range of voices across print, broadcast, and digital media. This year’s nominees reflect the breadth of that membership, honoring ambitious studio releases alongside independent and international cinema.
Winners are scheduled to be announced January 26, 2026. Recognition is given to nominees in the following categories:
_______________________
BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Cover-Up
Orwell: 2+2=5
Predators
The Alabama Solution
The Perfect Neighbor
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Sentimental Value
The Secret Agent
The Voice of Hind Rajab
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Park Chan-wook — No Other Choice
Ryan Coogler — Sinners
Guillermo del Toro — Frankenstein
Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Jesse Plemons — Bugonia
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Chase Infiniti — One Battle After Another
Jennifer Lawrence — Die My Love
Emma Stone — Bugonia
*(Stone earns her fifth NCFCA nomination following prior recognition for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), La La Land, The Favourite, and Poor Things.)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Benicio del Toro — One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo — Sinners
Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Odessa A’zion — Marty Supreme
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan — Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
One Battle After Another
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Sentimental Value
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN ANIMATION OR MIXED MEDIA
Jason Bateman — Zootopia 2
Arden Cho — KPop Demon Hunters
May Hong — KPop Demon Hunters
Ke Huy Quan — Zootopia 2
Ji-young Yoo — KPop Demon Hunters
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Weapons
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Bugonia
Frankenstein
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frankenstein
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
BEST EDITING
F1
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sinners
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
28 Years Later
Frankenstein
Sinners
Weapons
Wicked: For Good
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Sinners
Superman
BEST SOUND DESIGN
F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirât
Warfare
BEST SCORE
Bugonia
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Golden” — KPop Demon Hunters
“Highest 2 Lowest” — Highest 2 Lowest
“I Lied to You” — Sinners
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” — Sinners
“Train Dreams” — Train Dreams
“What It Sounds Like,” — KPop Demon Hunters
DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Andrew DeYoung — Friendship
Lawrence Lamont — One of Them Days
Ben Leonberg — Good Boy
Charlie Polinger — The Plague
Eva Victor — Sorry, Baby
BEST STUNT COORDINATION
F1
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Superman
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Odessa A’zion — Marty Supreme
Miles Caton — Sinners
Chase Infiniti — One Battle After Another
Jacobi Jupe — Hamnet
Eva Victor — Sorry, Baby
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: COSTUME DESIGN
Colleen Atwood
Jenny Beavan
Ruth E. Carter
Edith Head
Sandy Powell
KEN HANKE MEMORIAL TAR HEEL AWARD
A Little Prayer / Angus MacLachlan (NC native; filmed in NC)
Christy (filmed in NC)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (set and filmed in NC)
Roofman (set and filmed in NC)
The Problem of the Hero (celebrating North Carolina’s literary and artistic heritage)
______________________
For a full list of previous award winners, information on NCFCA members, or additional details about the organization, visit ncfilmcritics.org.
####
