‘One Battle After Another’ Dominates 2025 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards

Writer Joseph J. Airdo // Phoenix Film Critics Society

Paul Thomas Anderson’s audacious political action thriller “One Battle After Another” emerged as the clear winner at the Phoenix Film Critics Society’s 2025 awards, capturing Best Picture along with seven other honors in a decisive victory that reflected the film’s widespread critical acclaim.

The ambitious Warner Bros. production, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland,” swept major categories including Best Director for Anderson, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn, and Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor. The film also earned recognition for Chase Infiniti’s Breakthrough Performance, as well as wins for Adapted Screenplay and Editing.

“One battle that film certainly won was for the hearts of minds of the PFCS membership,” said PFCS President Gayle Bass. “Between audacious filmmaking and unforgettable acting, ‘One Battle’ stood out even among this year’s very good crop of films.”

Shot using VistaVision cameras — making it one of the first films to employ this format for principal photography since the 1960s — “One Battle After Another” tells the story of an ex-revolutionary forced back into his former combative lifestyle when he and his daughter are pursued by a corrupt military officer. The film follows Bob Ferguson, a washed-up revolutionary living off-grid with his spirited daughter Willa, who must reconnect with his former radical allies when danger resurfaces.

DiCaprio, earning widespread praise for what critics have called a career-best performance, plays the disheveled protagonist with both comedic flair and emotional depth. Critics particularly noted that DiCaprio has never been this funny in a film, while his dramatic work anchors the film’s exploration of political idealism and family bonds.

The film’s technical achievements were equally celebrated. Anderson shot the film in California with a reported budget reaching $175 million, making it the most expensive production of his career. Despite becoming a box office disappointment with $204 million worldwide against its substantial costs, the film dominated critical year-end lists, appearing on more critics’ annual “best-of” rankings than any other 2025 release.

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” finished as the ceremony’s second-most honored film with six awards. The musical vampire epic set in 1932 Mississippi Delta took home Best Ensemble Acting, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design, while sweeping the musical categories with wins for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (“I Lied to You”).

The film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers Stack and Smoke, who return to their hometown to open a juke joint, only to be confronted by a supernatural evil. Featuring an ensemble cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, and Delroy Lindo, the film earned particular praise for composer Ludwig Göransson’s score, which critics described as seamlessly blending blues performances with contemporary musical elements.

Shot on 65mm with IMAX cameras, the film received critical acclaim with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score and became the first original film to cross $200 million domestically since “Coco” in 2017. The film represents Coogler’s first original blockbuster following his work on the “Black Panther” and “Creed” franchises.

In the acting categories outside of “One Battle After Another,” Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for her emotionally devastating performance in “Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about William Shakespeare’s marriage to Agnes Hathaway and the tragic death of their son. The film dramatizes how the loss of their 11-year-old son Hamnet inspired Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, with Buckley and co-star Paul Mescal earning widespread acclaim for their raw, intimate portrayals of grief and love.

Jacobi Jupe, who plays the young Hamnet, won Best Performance by a Youth for his work in the film. Reviewers particularly praised the child actors’ performances, noting they were as brilliant as the adults.

In documentary categories, Geeta Gandbhir’s “The Perfect Neighbor” was honored as Best Documentary, while Park Chan-wook’s South Korean thriller “No Other Choice” claimed Best Foreign Language Film. Disney’s “Zootopia 2” took the Best Animated Film award.

Guillermo del Toro’s reimagining of “Frankenstein” won for Best Production Design, showcasing the acclaimed director’s visual artistry in bringing Mary Shelley’s classic tale to life. Meanwhile, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” earned the Best Visual Effects prize, continuing James Cameron’s franchise’s reputation for groundbreaking digital artistry.

The society’s annual “Overlooked Film of the Year” award — recognizing a film that deserved wider audiences — went to Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck,” a Stephen King adaptation. The fantasy drama starring Tom Hiddleston follows the life of Charles Krantz in reverse chronological order, from his death at age 39 to his childhood.

Despite winning the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and earning generally positive reviews with an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score, the film grossed only $19 million worldwide after its June 2025 release. The film marks a departure from Flanagan’s typical horror work, with critics praising its life-affirming message and emotional depth, particularly in its exploration of grief, memory, and the small moments that define a life.

Joining “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “The Life of Chuck,” “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” on the society’s top ten films of 2025, reflecting the year’s diverse cinematic offerings, were acclaimed sports drama “Marty Supreme,” musical drama “Song Sung Blue,” indie relationship drama “Sorry, Baby,” Stephen King adaptation “The Long Walk” and historical western drama “Train Dreams.”