North Carolina Film Critics Association Announces Nominees for Best of 2023; Oppenheimer leads with 15 nominations and Barbie earns 14

The North Carolina Film Critics Association is pleased to announce its nominations for the 12th annual
awards for achievements in film. Oppenheimer and Barbie lead with 29 combined nominations. Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things garnered 11 nominations each while Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse recorded nine NCFCA nominations.

The NCFCA consists of 72 film critics living and/or working in North Carolina. The range of nominations reflects the diversity of its membership, with multiple nominations going toward a range of movies, including the blockbuster comedy Barbie, indie drama Past Lives, and Japanese kaiju science fiction Godzilla Minus One. Go here to hear three members discuss the nominations. 

Winners will be announced on January 3, 2024. Recognition is given to nominees in the following
categories:

JaNae Collins as RETA, Lily Gladstone as MOLLIE, Cara Jade Myers as ANNA, Jillian Dion as MINNIE in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

BEST NARRATIVE FILM

American Fiction
Barbie
Godzilla Minus One
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

American Symphony
May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story
The Mission
Silver Dollar Road
Still: A Michael J Fox Movie

A still from ELEMENTAL

BEST ANIMATED FILM

The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Anatomy of a Fall
Godzilla Minus One
Past Lives
Perfect Days
The Zone of Interest

Cillian Murphy in OPPENHEIMER

BEST DIRECTOR

Celine Song – Past Lives
Christopher Nolan –Oppenheimer
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Barbie
John Wick: Chapter 4
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott in ALL OF US STRANGERS

BEST ACTOR

Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie

BEST ACTRESS

Emma Stone – Poor Things
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall

Danielle Brooks in THE COLOR PURPLE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

America Ferrera – Barbie
Da'Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Julianne Moore – May December

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN ANIMATION OR MIXED MEDIA

Bradley Cooper – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Chloë Grace Moretz – Nimona
Daniel Kaluuya – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Shameik Moore – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Asteroid City
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer

Sandra Huller in ANATOMY OF A FALL

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
Past Lives

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST EDITING

Barbie
John Wick: Chapter 4
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Rebecca Ferguson in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer

BEST STUNT COORDINATION

Extraction II
The Iron Claw
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Sisu

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BRADLEY COOPER and CAREY MULLIGAN in MAESTRO

BEST HAIR & MAKE-UP

Barbie
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Priscilla

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Asteroid City
Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Michael Fassbender in THE KILLER

BEST SCORE

The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Am I Dreaming – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Can't Catch Me Now – The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
I'm Just Ken – Barbie
Peaches – The Super Mario Brothers Movie
What Was I Made For – Barbie

BEST SOUND DESIGN

John Wick: Chapter 4
The Killer
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest

Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass in BIOSPHERE

BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

Celine Song – Past Lives
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou – Talk to Me
Mel Eslyn – Biosphere
Michael B. Jordan – Creed III

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret
Charles Melton – May December
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy Of A Fall

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Make-Up Artist

Greg Cannom
Rick Baker
Stan Winston
Tom Savini
Ve Neill

A still from MAY THE LORD WATCH

KEN HANKE MEMORIAL TAR HEEL AWARD

Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
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


NCFCA Notes (by the numbers)

• Noah Baumbach was previously nominated for Marriage Story.
• Greta Gerwig is a four-time NCFCA nominee. Her first win was for adapted screenplay for Little Women. She was previously nominated for 20th Century Women and Lady Bird.
• Ludwig Göransson is a three-time nominee for music (Black Panther, Tenet, Oppenheimer).
• 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.
• 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 won the NCFCA for Best Cinematography 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.