One Battle After Another won four prizes at the 46th annual London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday evening (2/1), including the marquee honor as Film of the Year. The darkly comedic thriller also earned Paul Thomas Anderson Director of the Year and Screenwriter of the Year distinction while Sean Penn was named Best Supporting Actor.
Jessie Buckley won Actress of the Year for her role in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, while Timothée Chalamet took Actor of the Year for Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners earned the Technical Achievement Award for Ludwig Göransson’s music, and Amy Madigan won Supporting Actress of the Year for her performance in Weapons.
In categories dedicated to British and Irish talent, newcomer Harry Lighton’s queer biker drama Pillion won two awards for British/Irish Film of the Year and Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker. Other winners included Josh O’Connor, who was awarded British/Irish Performer of the Year for his roles in The Mastermind, The History of Sound and Wake Up Dead Man, and Alfie Williams, named Young British/Irish Performer of the Year for 28 Years Later. Neil Armstrong and the Langholmites, directed by Duncan Cowles, took home British/Irish Short Film of the Year.
Another British star, Robert Aramayo, won the prize for Breakthrough Performer of the Year, for his roles in both I Swear and Palestine 36. Joachim Trier’s father-daughter drama Sentimental Value won the award for Foreign Language Film of the Year, Documentary of the Year went to Geeta Gandbhir’s The Perfect Neighbor, and musical sensation KPop Demon Hunters took Animated Film of the Year.
British performer Cynthia Erivo received the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation, in honor of a career spanning roles in Widows, Harriet, Bad Times at the El Royale and the Wicked films.
The night’s second honorary award, the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, went to Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who most recently helmed a reimagining of Frankenstein, and whose numerous acclaimed works include The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone.
The 46th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards were voted for by the 207 members of the Film Section of the Critics’ Circle, the U.K.’s longest-standing critics’ organization. Films were automatically eligible if they were released in U.K. cinemas or on premiere streaming services between mid-February 2025 and mid-February 2026.
The awards have been presented annually since 1980. The film section is chaired by Jane Crowther, editor of Hollywood Authentic.
Here’s a full rundown of winners:
Film of the Year
One Battle After Another
Director of the Year
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Screenwriter of the Year
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
British/Irish Film of the Year
Pillion
Animated Film of the Year
KPop Demon Hunters
Documentary of the Year
The Perfect Neighbor
Foreign-Language Film of the Year
Sentimental Value
Actor of the Year
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Actress of the Year
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Supporting Actor of the Year
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Supporting Actress of the Year
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker
Harry Lighton – Pillion
British/Irish Performer of the Year
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind/The History of Sound/Wake Up Dead Man
Breakthrough Performer of the Year
Robert Aramayo – I Swear/Palestine 36
Young British/Irish Performer of the Year
Alfie Williams – 28 Years Later
Technical Achievement Award
Sinners – Music, Ludwig Göransson
British/Irish Short Film of the Year
Neil Armstrong and the Langholmites – Directed by Duncan Cowles
Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film
Guillermo del Toro
Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation
Cynthia Erivo
