Tom McCarthy’s journalism drama “Spotlight” is the clear leader in critics awards for films released in 2015, while “Mad Max: Fury Road” director George Miller has an even more dominant lead in critics-group best-director awards.
With 26 regional and national film critics groups chiming in with their best-of-the-year picks as of Dec. 31, “Spotlight” has topped the list 14 times, with “Mad Max” second with eight citations.
But Miller has been named the year’s best director 16 times for his post-apocalyptic action movie, giving him a commanding lead over McCarthy and “Carol” director Todd Haynes, each of whom has won three awards, and “The Revenant” director Alejandro G. Inarritu, who has won two.
This critics awards count does not include honors from the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, which are not made up of critics, and only includes groups who have announced winners. Some regional critics groups have announced nominees, but will reveal winners in the coming weeks.
Besides “Spotlight” and “Mad Max,” the only other film to win more than one best-picture citation is “Carol,” which has won two. “Straight Outta Compton” and “Creed” received one each.
In other categories, Best Actress is something of a runaway, with
In the best-actor category,
Dano also won one critics’ award in the supporting-actor category, where
In the screenwriting categories, “Spotlight” has been named far more often than any other film, with “Room,” “The Big Short,” “The Martian” and “Inside Out” also landing multiple awards.
And three films hold sizable leads in the foreign, documentary and animation categories. “Son of Saul” has a dozen foreign wins to four for “The Assassin”; “Amy” is beating “The Look of Silence” among docs 15 to 3, and Pixar’s “Inside Out” has won 17 animation awards to four for
As the makers of “Boyhood” and “The Social Network” can testify in recent years, winning the bulk of the critics awards can make a film a favorite in early Oscar predicting, but it won’t necessarily translate to success once the Academy and the Hollywood guilds start voting instead of reviewers and journalists.
Here’s the complete list of 2015 critics awards so far:
AFRICAN-AMERICAN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Straight Outta Compton”
Best Director: Ryan Coogler, “Creed”
Best Ensemble: “Straight Outta Compton”
Best Actor: Will Smith, “Concussion”
Best Actress: Teyonah Parris, “Chi-Raq”
Best Supporting Actor: Jason Mitchell, “Straight Outta Compton”
Best Supporting Actress: Tessa Thompson, “Creed”
Best Independent Film: “Chi-Raq”
Best Screenplay: Rick Famuyiwa, “Dope”
Breakout Performance: Michael B. Jordan, “Creed”
Best Animation: “The Peanuts Movie”
Best Documentary: “A Ballerina’s Tale”
Best Song: “See You Again”, “Furious 7”
AAFCA Top Ten Films of 2015 in order of distinction:
1. “Straight Outta Compton”
2. “Creed”
3. “Mad Max: Fury Road”
4. “Beasts of No Nation”
5. “The Martian”
6. “3-1/2 Minutes”/”Dope”
7. “Chi-Raq”
8. “Carol”
9. “The Big Short”
10. “The Danish Girl”
AUSTIN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Lead Actor: Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Best Lead Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Original Screenplay: “Inside Out,” Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Room,” Emma Donoghue
Best Cinematography: “Carol,” Ed Lachman
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “The Look of Silence”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best First Film: “Ex Machina”
BLACK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Picture: “Creed”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Lead Actor: Michael B. Jordan, “Creed”
Best Lead Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Tessa Thompson, “Creed”
Best Ensemble: “Straight Outta Compton”
Best Original Screenplay: “Straight Outta Compton,” Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Martian,” Drew Goddard
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
BOSTON ONLINE CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, “Creed”
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Todd Haynes, “Carol”
Best Actor: (tie) Paul Dano, “Love & Mercy”; Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Cinematography: “Carol,” Edward Lachman
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Look of Silence”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: (tie) “Anomalisa” and “Inside Out”
Best New Filmmaker: Marielle Heller, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”
CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, “Sicario”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short,” Adam McKay & Charles Randolph
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “The Revenant”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Dano, “Love and Mercy”
Best Supporting Actress: Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Best Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Josh Singer, Thomas McCarthy
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “The Revenant”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best Musical Score: “The Revenant,” Bryce Dessner, Carsten Nicolai and Ryûichi Sakamoto
Russell Smith Award (named for the late Dallas Morning News film critic, given annually to the best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film): “Tangerine”
DETROIT FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Film: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Michael Caine, “Youth”
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Best Supporting Actor: Liev Schreiber, “Spotlight”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Breakthrough: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina,” “The Danish Girl”
Best Screenplay: Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Paul Dano, “Love & Mercy”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Oscar Isaac, “Ex Machina”
Best Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short,” Adam McKay & Charles Randolph
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Assassin”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
INDIANA FILM JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
Best Film: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Actor: Jacob Tremblay, “Room”
Best Supporting Actress: Greta Gerwig, “Mistress America”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”
Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, “Spotlight”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Emma Donoghue, “Room”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Anomalisa”
Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance: Phyllis Smith, “Inside Out”
Best Musical Score: Junkie XL, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Original Vision Award: “Anomalisa”
The Hoosier Award: Angelo Pizzo, writer/director/producer
KANSAS CITY FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Charlize Theron, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon, “99 Homes”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short,” Adam McKay & Charles Randolph
Best Foreign Language Film: “Phoenix”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Elizabeth Banks, “Love & Mercy”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Martian,” Drew Goddard
Best Cinematography: “The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Foreign Language Film: “Goodnight Mommy”
Best Documentary: “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actress: Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon, “99 Homes”
Best Screenplay: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Best Cinematography: John Seale, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Editing: Hank Corwin, “The Big Short”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Animation: “Anomalisa”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Music Score: Carter Burwell, “Anomalisa” and “Carol”
Best Production Design: Colin Gibson, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Career Achievement: Editor Anne V. Coates
NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu, “The Revenant”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay: (tie) “Room,” Emma Donoghue, and “The Martian,” Drew Goddard
Best Cinematography: “The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Assassin”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Picture: “Carol”
Best Director: Todd Haynes, “Carol”
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, “Spotlight”
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria”
Best Screenplay: “Carol,” Phyllis Nagy
Best Cinematography: “Carol,” Edward Lachman
Best Foreign Language Film: “Timbuktu”
Best Documentary: “In Jackson Heights”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best First Film: Laszlo Nemes, “Son of Saul”
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS ONLINE
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Best Actor: Paul Dano, “Love & Mercy”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Supporting Actress: Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Breakthrough Performance: Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”/”Ex Machina”
Best Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Carol”
Best Supporting Actor: Oscar Isaac, “Ex Machina”
Best Supporting Actress: Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best Film Not in the English Language: “The Assassin”
Best Documentary: “The Look of Silence”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Carol,” Phyllis Nagy
Best Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Margaret Sixel
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Non-U.S. Films (Alphabetical Order): “Aferim!,” “Cemetery of Splendor,” “The Club,” “Dheepan,” “The Lobster,” “Mountains May Depart,” “Mia Madre,” “Rams,” “Right Now, Wrong Then,” “The Sunset Song”
PHOENIX FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Ridley Scott, “The Martian”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Original Screenplay: “Inside Out,” Pete Docter, Meg LaFauve, Josh Cooley
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short,” Adam McKay & Charles Randolph
Best Cinematography: “The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “He Named Me Malala”
Best Animated Film: “Inside Out”
Best Film Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Costume Design: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Visual Effects: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Score: “Bridge of Spies”
Best Original Song: “See You Again” from “Furious 7”
Overlooked Film of the Year: “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”
Best Breakthrough Performance: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Performance by a Youth: Jacob Tremblay, “Room”
SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Noonan, “Anomalisa”
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”
Best Ensemble: “What We Do in the Shadows”
Best Original Screenplay: “What We Do in the Shadows,” Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Room,” Emma Donoghue
Best Cinematography: “Sicario,” Roger Deakins
Best Foreign Language Film: “Taxi”
Best Documentary: “Cartel Land”
Best Animated Feature: “Anomalisa”
SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Paul Dano, “Love & Mercy”
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon, “99 Homes”
Best Supporting Actress: Mya Taylor, “Tangerine”
Best Original Screenplay: Oren Moverman; Michael Alan Lerner, “Love & Mercy”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Nick Hornby, “Brooklyn”
Best Cinematography: John Seale, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Documentary: “Listen to Me Marlon”
Best Animated Feature: “Anomalisa”
Best Production Design: Judy Becker; Heather Loeffler, “Carol”
Best Film Editing: Margaret Sixel, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Special Citation for underappreciated independent cinema: “The Forbidden Room,” Guy Maddin
Marlon Riggs Award for courage & innovation in the Bay Area film community: Frank Lee
SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Top 10
1. “Spotlight”
2. “Mad Max: Fury Road”
3. “Room”
4. “Brooklyn”
5. “Carol”
6. “The Big Short”
7. “The Martian”
8. “Inside Out”
9. “Bridge of Spies”
10. “Trumbo”
Best Actor: Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer for “Spotlight”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Emma Donoghue for “Room”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Foreign Language: “Son of Saul”
Best Animated Film: “Inside Out”
Best Cinematography: John Seale for “Mad Max: Fury Road”
The Gene Wyatt Award for the Film that Best Evokes the Spirit of the South: “Finders Keepers”
ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Original Screenplay: “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Martian,” Drew Goddard
Best Cinematography: “The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Foreign Language Film: “Goodnight Mommy”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Carol”
Best Director: Todd Haynes, “Carol”
Best Actress: Nina Hoss, “Phoenix”
Best Actor: Tom Hardy, “Legend”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Screenplay: “The Big Short”
Best First Film: “Ex Machina”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Phoenix”
Best Documentary: “The Look of Silence”
Best Animated Feature: “Shaun the Sheep Movie”
UTAH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture: “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”
Best Supporting Actress: Rose Byrne, “Spy”
Best Original Screenplay: “Inside Out,” Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Martian,” Drew Goddard
Best Cinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
Best First Film: “Ex Machina”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Timbuktu”
Best Documentary: “The Hunting Ground”
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
VANCOUVER FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
Best Picture: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Screenplay: “Anomalisa,” Charlie Kaufman
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Assassin”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
WASHINGTON D.C. AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Film: “Spotlight”
Best Director: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Best Actress: Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Best Supporting Actor: Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Best Acting Ensemble: “Spotlight”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Room,” Emma Donoghue
Best Original Screenplay: “inside Out,” Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley
Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”
Best Documentary: “Amy”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul”
Best Youth Performance: Jacob Tremblay, “Room”
Best Production Design: Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “The Revenant”
Best Editing: Margaret Sixel, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Best Original Score: Jóhann Jóhannsson, “Sicario”