Lead
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) held its 51st annual voting this weekend, selecting One Battle After Another as Best Picture. Voting took place Sunday, ahead of an awards presentation scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. LAFCA also named Philip Kaufman the recipient of its Career Achievement Award. The vote reflects the preferences of LA-based professional film critics across print and electronic media.
Key Takeaways
- Best Picture: One Battle After Another — runner-up: The Secret Agent.
- Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another; runner-up: Ryan Coogler for Sinners.
- Top non-English-language film: The Secret Agent; runner-up: It Was Just an Accident.
- Best Screenplay: Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident; runner-up: Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby.
- Lead Performances: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) tied; runners-up included Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
- Supporting honors: Stellan Skarsgård won for Sentimental Value; Teyana Taylor won for One Battle After Another; runners-up included Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Andrew Scott.
- Other major winners: Best Documentary — My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow; Best Animation — Little Amélie or the Character of Rain.
- Career Achievement Award: Philip Kaufman; Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Award (tie) to Albert Serra and Thom Andersen.
Background
Founded in 1975, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association comprises critics working in Los Angeles’ print, online and broadcast outlets. The group has a long history of spotlighting films and performances that often shape awards-season conversations and industry buzz. LAFCA’s annual vote is conducted by its membership each winter and culminates in an awards presentation that this year is set for Jan. 10 at the Biltmore Hotel.
Last year’s LAFCA Best Picture winner, Anora, went on to secure the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards, a trajectory that has led observers to watch LAFCA selections for possible Oscar signals. The association recognizes both behind-the-camera and on-screen achievements across categories, from directing and acting to technical crafts and experimental work.
Membership and eligibility rules prioritize LA-based critics; that local perspective can favor films and talent with strong West Coast critical support. Over five decades LAFCA’s choices have at times aligned with broader industry awards and at other times highlighted distinct critical favorites that diverge from mainstream awards outcomes.
Main Event
Voting occurred on Sunday, with the group announcing winners in categories spanning Best Picture to production design and experimental film. One Battle After Another emerged as Best Picture, and Paul Thomas Anderson was selected Best Director for the film. The Secret Agent placed strongly across categories, taking runner-up and top foreign-language honors.
The association awarded dual Lead Performance honors to Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, reflecting a tie in the top performer category. Jafar Panahi received Best Screenplay for It Was Just an Accident, reinforcing the critics’ interest in international authorship this year. New Generation recognition went to Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby, underlining a critical focus on rising talent.
Technical awards recognized work across a range of films: Hannah Beachler won Best Production Design for Sinners; Adolpho Veloso took Best Cinematography for Train Dreams; and Kangding Ray earned Best Music Score for Sirāt. The Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Award was split between Albert Serra’s Afternoons of Solitude and Thom Andersen for his body of work.
Philip Kaufman was announced as the 2025 Career Achievement Award honoree in the lead-up to the vote, honoring his long-standing contributions to filmmaking. The association’s ceremony on Jan. 10 will formally present the awards and the Career Achievement recognition at a gathering of members, honorees and invited guests at the Biltmore Hotel.
Analysis & Implications
LAFCA’s selection of One Battle After Another as Best Picture and Paul Thomas Anderson as Best Director strengthens the film’s critical momentum heading into the wider awards season. Historically, LAFCA’s top picks have sometimes presaged Academy recognition, though the correlation is not deterministic; critics’ groups and the Academy have overlapping but distinct constituencies.
The prominence of international and independent work in this year’s roster — notably Jafar Panahi’s screenplay win and The Secret Agent’s language-specific honors — highlights a continued critical appetite for films outside the mainstream studio system. That pattern may influence programmers, distributors and festival programmers weighing acquisitions and release strategies for early 2026.
Technical and design wins for Sinners, Train Dreams and Sirāt indicate robust craft recognition that can boost behind-the-scenes awards campaigns. For smaller films, a LAFCA win can translate into increased festival bookings, streaming visibility and awards-season consideration from other critics’ groups.
While last year’s LAFCA Best Picture (Anora) later won the Oscar, the association’s choices should be read as a barometer of critical sentiment rather than a direct predictor of Academy outcomes. Studios and campaigns will likely weigh these results when allocating promotional resources and awards outreach in the coming weeks.
Comparison & Data
| Year | LAFCA Best Picture | Subsequent Oscar Best Picture |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Anora | Anora (97th Academy Awards) |
| 2025 | One Battle After Another | — |
This simple comparison shows that last year’s LAFCA choice, Anora, matched the Academy’s Best Picture pick; One Battle After Another’s odds at the Oscars remain open and will depend on the coming awards-season trajectory, guild recognitions and Academy voting patterns.
Reactions & Quotes
The announcement drew immediate attention from critics and industry observers. Below are brief contextualized reactions.
Many critics noted the strong showing for international and independent cinema across categories, framing the results as a reflection of critical priorities this season.
LAFCA members / critics (summary)
This paraphrase summarizes the critical response within LAFCA’s membership, which emphasized both auteur-driven and internationally sourced work.
Industry watchers said the awards could sharpen attention on select craft categories and boost festival and streaming visibility for smaller titles.
Industry analysts (summary)
Analysts cited the pattern of critics’ awards affecting visibility and downstream programming and acquisitions, particularly for documentaries and niche genre films.
Unconfirmed
- Whether One Battle After Another will secure major nominations at the Academy Awards remains unclear and cannot be inferred solely from LAFCA’s selection.
- Details about acceptance remarks or attendance plans for the Jan. 10 ceremony have not been confirmed publicly at the time of this report.
Bottom Line
LAFCA’s 51st voting round spotlights One Battle After Another and a slate of international and independent work that critics favored this season. The association’s choices are an influential critical signal, especially for the films and artists that lack large studio campaigns.
As awards season unfolds, attention will turn to guild awards, festival lineups and Academy nominations to see whether LAFCA’s critical consensus spreads to other voting bodies. The Jan. 10 ceremony at the Biltmore will formalize the honors and offer a public moment for the winners and the association to present their selections.