Oppenheimer Earns Best Narrative Film, Director, Acting and Multiple Technical Categories
The North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) is pleased to announce its winners for the 12th annual awards for achievements in film with a record-breaking year. Four films were recognized in multiple categories; Oppenheimer was honored with 10 awards, Barbie earned five honors, and The Holdovers and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse each gained two wins from the NCFCA.
Oppenheimer garnered accolades for narrative film, director, cinematography, actor, supporting actor, acting ensemble, adapted screenplay, editing, score, and sound design. Ten wins is the most for any film in the history of the North Carolina Film Critics Association Best of Cinema annual honors, preceded only by last year’s Everything Everywhere All at Once earning nine.
The cultural phenomenon and box-office champ of 2023 (with $1.4 billion worldwide) Barbie received awards in original screenplay, costume design, production design, hair and makeup, and original song.
The NCFCA consists of 72 film critics living and/or working in North Carolina.
The full list of winners is below in the following categories:
BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Oppenheimer (winner)
American Fiction
Godzilla Minus One
The Holdovers
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (winner)
American Symphony
May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story
The Mission
Silver Dollar Road
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (winner)
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Anatomy of a Fall (winner)
Godzilla Minus One
Past Lives
Perfect Days
The Zone of Interest
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (winner)
Celine Song – Past Lives
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hoyte Van Hoytema – Oppenheimer (winner)
Barbie
John Wick: Chapter 4
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
BEST ACTOR
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer (winner)
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer (winner)
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
BEST ACTRESS
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon (winner)
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (winner)
America Ferrera – Barbie
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Julianne Moore – May December
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN ANIMATION OR MIXED MEDIA
Daniel Kaluuya – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (winner)
Bradley Cooper – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Chloë Grace Moretz – Nimona
Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Shameik Moore – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Oppenheimer (winner)
Asteroid City
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie (winner)
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
May December
Past Lives
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (winner)
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
BEST EDITING
Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer (winner)
Barbie
John Wick: Chapter 4
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Kiyoko Shibuya – Godzilla Minus One (winner)
The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
BEST STUNT COORDINATION
Scott Rogers and Stephen Dunlevy, stunt coordinators – John Wick: Chapter 4 (winner)
Extraction II
The Iron Claw
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Sisu
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran – Barbie (winner)
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
BEST HAIR & MAKE-UP
Ivana Primorac – Barbie (winner)
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Priscilla
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Sarah Greenwood – Barbie (winner)
Asteroid City
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
BEST SCORE
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer (winner)
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt – “I’m Just Ken” – Barbie (winner)
Am I Dreaming – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Can’t Catch Me Now – The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Peaches – The Super Mario Brothers Movie
What Was I Made For – Barbie
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Richard King, Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor – Oppenheimer (winner)
John Wick: Chapter 4
The Killer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest
BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Celine Song – Past Lives (winner)
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou – Talk to Me
Mel Eslyn – Biosphere
Michael B. Jordan – Creed III
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers (winner)
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Charles Melton – May December
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of A Fall
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Make-Up Artist
Rick Baker (winner)
Greg Cannom
Stan Winston
Tom Savini
Ve Neill
KEN HANKE MEMORIAL TAR HEEL AWARD
Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple (winner)
Hunter Schafer – The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Julianne Moore – May December
May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story
Silver Dollar Road
Films with Multiple Wins:
Oppenheimer – 10
Barbie – 5
The Holdovers – 2
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – 2
Films with Multiple Nominations:
Oppenheimer – 15
Barbie -14
Killers of the Flower Moon – 11
Poor Things – 11
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – 9
Past Lives – 7
The Holdovers – 6
American Fiction – 4
Anatomy of a Fall – 4
John Wick: Chapter 4 – 4
May December – 4
Godzilla Minus One – 3
The Color Purple – 3
The Zone of Interest – 3
All of Us Strangers – 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – 2
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – 2
Asteroid City – 2
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – 2
The Killer – 2
May the Lord Watch:The Little Brother Story – 2
Nimona – 2
NCFCA Historical Notes (by the numbers)
- This year marked Noah Baumbach’s second nomination and first win; Baumbach was previously nominated for Marriage Story.
- Greta Gerwig is a two-time winner and a four-time NCFCA nominee. Her first win was for adapted screenplay for Little Woman. She was previously nominated for 20th Century Women and Lady Bird.
- Ludwig Göransson is a three-time nominee for music (Black Panther, Tenet, Oppenheimer). This was his first win.
- Ryan Gosling was previously nominated for La La Land.
- Julianne Moore is a four-time NCFCA nominee.
- Christopher Nolan was previously nominated for directing Dunkirk; this year he gained two wins, for writing and directing.
- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have earned three total NCFCA nominations for score (Mank, Soul, The Killer) and gained a win for Soul.
- Margot Robbie is a previous NCFCA nominee for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
- Mark Ruffalo has gained his third NCFCA nomination; he has one win for Best Supporting Actor for Spotlight.
- This year marks Emma Stone’s fourth nomination. She was previously recognized for her performances in Birdman, La La Land, and The Favourite.
- Hoyte Van Hoytema is a two-time NCFCA winner. He won the NCFCA for Best Cinematography last year for Nope and is a five-time nominee (Dunkirk, Ad Astra, Tenet, Nope, Oppenheimer).
- Jeffrey Wright was previously nominated in 2021 for Best Supporting Actor (The French Dispatch).
For a full list of previous award winners, list of members, official links to social media accounts, or general information about the North Carolina Film Critics Association, check out ncfilmcritics.org.
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