Big Four (American film critics awards)

Awards from the four most prestigious American film critics associations, the so-called "Big Four":

• National Board of Review (NBR)
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA)
• National Society of Film Critics (NSFC)
• New York Film Critics' Circle (NYFCC)

These achievements serve as an important role that can offer to films per chance of getting a frontrunner to the major awards, most notably the Academy Awards. For example, Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List won all four critics awards of Best Film category, securing its wins to the immediate frontrunner of Academy Award for Best Picture.

Films with all wins from "Big Four"

Best Film

Year	Film	Producer(s)	Ref/s
1993	Schindler's List ≈	Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, and Branko Lustig	[1][2][3][4]
1997	L.A. Confidential ≠	Arnon Milchan, Curtis Hanson, and Michael Nathanson	[5][6][3][7]
2010	The Social Network ≠	Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Ceán Chaffin	[8][9][3][10]

Best Director

Year	Director	Film	Ref/s
1994	Quentin Tarantino	Pulp Fiction ≠	[11][12][3][13]
1997	Curtis Hanson	L.A. Confidential ≠	[5][6][3][7]
2000	Steven Soderbergh	Erin Brockovich ≠	[14][15][16][17]
		Traffic ≈
2010	David Fincher	The Social Network ≠	[18][19][3][20]
2016	Barry Jenkins	Moonlight ≠	[21][22][23][24]

Best Actor

Year	Actor	Film	Ref/s
1995	Nicolas Cage	Leaving Las Vegas ≈	[25][26][3][27]
2006	Forest Whitaker	The Last King of Scotland ≈	[28][29][3][30]

Best Actress

Year	Actress	Film	Ref/s
1979	Sally Field	Norma Rae ≈	[31][32][3][33]
1980	Sissy Spacek	Coal Miner's Daughter ≈	[34][35][3][36]
1982	Meryl Streep	Sophie's Choice ≈	[37][38][3][39]
1989	Michelle Pfeiffer	The Fabulous Baker Boys ≠	[40][41][3][42]
1992	Emma Thompson	Howards End ≈	[43][44][3][45]
1993	Holly Hunter	The Piano ≈ [46][47][3][48]	[46][47][3][48]
2006	Helen Mirren	The Queen ≈	[49][50][3][51]

Best Supporting Actor

Year	Actor	Film	Ref/s
1983	Jack Nicholson	Terms of Endearment ≈	[52][53][3][54]
2017	Willem Dafoe	The Florida Project ≠	[55][56][57][58]
2024	Kieran Culkin	A Real Pain ≈	[59][60][61][62]

Best Supporting Actress

Year	Actress	Film	Refs
1979	Meryl Streep	Kramer vs. Kramer ≈	[63][64][3][65]
		The Seduction of Joe Tynan	[66][67][3][68]
1985	Anjelica Huston	Prizzi's Honor ≈	[69][70][3][71]
1986	Dianne Wiest	Hannah and Her Sisters ≈	[a]
2018	Regina King	If Beale Street Could Talk ≈
2023	Da'Vine Joy Randolph	The Holdovers ≈	[72][73][74][75]

Best Screenplay

National Board of Review for Best Screenplay began in 1998.

Year	Writers	Film	Ref/s
2004	Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor	Sideways ≈
2005	Noah Baumbach	The Squid and the Whale ≠

Best Documentary or Non-fiction Film

Year	Film	Director	Ref/s
1989	Roger & Me	Michael Moore
1994	Hoop Dreams	Steve James
1995	Crumb	Terry Zwigoff
1999	Buena Vista Social Club ≠	Wim Wenders
2008	Man on Wire ≈	James Marsh
2020	Time ≠	Garrett Bradley

Other films with three wins from "Big Four"

These films won three out of four awards from the "Big Four" American film critics.

Best Film

Year	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
1975	Nashville ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
1976	All the President's Men ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
1983	Terms of Endearment ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1990	Goodfellas ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1994	Pulp Fiction ≠	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
2009	The Hurt Locker ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	[76]
2021	Drive My Car ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	[77]
2022	Tár ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	[76]

Best Director

Year	Director	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
2005	Ang Lee	Brokeback Mountain ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1990	Martin Scorsese	Goodfellas ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2009	Kathryn Bigelow	The Hurt Locker ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2014	Richard Linklater	Boyhood ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2020	Chloé Zhao	Nomadland ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1975	Robert Altman	Nashville ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Actor

Year	Actor	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
2000	Russell Crowe	The Insider ≠	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
2006	Philip Seymour Hoffman	Capote ≈	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
1978	Jon Voight	Coming Home ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1980	Robert De Niro	Raging Bull ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1982	Ben Kingsley	Gandhi ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1976	Robert De Niro	Taxi Driver ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1979	Dustin Hoffman	Kramer vs. Kramer ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1981	Burt Lancaster	Atlantic City ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1986	Bob Hoskins	Mona Lisa ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1989	Daniel Day-Lewis	My Left Foot ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2003	Bill Murray	Lost in Translation ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2007	Daniel Day-Lewis	There Will Be Blood ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2008	Sean Penn	Milk ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2018	Ethan Hawke	First Reformed	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2019	Antonio Banderas	Pain and Glory ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1975	Jack Nicholson	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ≈	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2016	Casey Affleck	Manchester by the Sea ≈	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2022	Colin Farrell	The Banshees of Inisherin ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Actress

Year	Actress	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
1976	Liv Ullmann	Face to Face ≠	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1983	Shirley MacLaine	Terms of Endearment ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1987	Holly Hunter	Broadcast News ≠	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2004	Imelda Staunton	Vera Drake ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2008	Sally Hawkins	Happy-Go-Lucky	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2013	Cate Blanchett	Blue Jasmine ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2016	Isabelle Huppert	Elle ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2022	Cate Blanchett	Tár ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	[76]
2024	Marianne Jean-Baptiste	Hard Truths	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1975	Isabelle Adjani	The Story of Adele H. ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
1978	Ingrid Bergman	Autumn Sonata ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2007	Julie Christie	Away from Her ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Supporting Actor

Year	Actor	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref(s)
2004	Thomas Haden Church	Sideways ≠	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
1987	Morgan Freeman	Street Smart ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1992	Gene Hackman	Unforgiven ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1994	Martin Landau	Ed Wood ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1998	Bill Murray	Rushmore	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2009	Christoph Waltz	Inglourious Basterds ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2014	J.K. Simmons	Whiplash ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2016	Mahershala Ali	Moonlight ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2022	Ke Huy Quan	Everything Everywhere All at Once ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	[76]
1980	Joe Pesci	Raging Bull ≠	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Supporting Actress

Year	Actress	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
1980	Mary Steenburgen	Melvin and Howard ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1983	Linda Hunt	The Year of Living Dangerously ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1992	Judy Davis	Husbands and Wives ≠	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
1994	Dianne Wiest	Bullets Over Broadway ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2004	Virginia Madsen	Sideways ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2007	Amy Ryan	Gone Baby Gone ≠	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2008	Penélope Cruz	Vicky Cristina Barcelona ≈	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2009	Mo'Nique	Precious ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2011	Jessica Chastain	Take Shelter	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		The Help ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		The Tree of Life	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2017	Laurie Metcalf	Lady Bird ≠	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Best Screenplay

Year	Writers	Film	LAFCA	NBR (Original and Adapted)	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
2010	Aaron Sorkin	The Social Network ≈	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
2006	Peter Morgan	The Queen ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2014	Wes Anderson	The Grand Budapest Hotel ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2016	Kenneth Lonergan	Manchester by the Sea ≈	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Foreign Language Film

Year	Film	Director(s)	Country	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Oscar winner?	Ref/s
1999	All About My Mother	Pedro Almodóvar		Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1993	Farewell My Concubine	Chen Kaige	/	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
2023	Anatomy of a Fall	Justine Triet		Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Not nominated
2024	All We Imagine as Light	Payal Kapadia	////	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
1994	Wild Reeds	André Téchiné		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
1994	Three Colours: Red	Krzysztof Kieślowski	//	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
2007	4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days	Cristian Mungiu		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
2008	Summer Hours	Olivier Assayas		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
2010	Carlos		/	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
2013	Blue Is the Warmest Colour	Abdellatif Kechiche		Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Not nominated
2011	A Separation	Asghar Farhadi		No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Documentary / Non-fiction Film

Year	Film	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
2006	An Inconvenient Truth ≈	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
2015	Amy ≈	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
2013	Stories We Tell	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1990	Paris Is Burning	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1996	When We Were Kings ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1998	The Farm: Angola, USA ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2001	The Gleaners and I	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2005	Grizzly Man	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2007	No End in Sight	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2011	Cave of Forgotten Dreams	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2014	Citizenfour ≈	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2017	Faces Places ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2022	All the Beauty and the Bloodshed ≠	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2023	Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2024	No Other Land	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
1988	The Thin Blue Line	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
1997	Fast, Cheap & Out of Control	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2000	The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2016	O.J.: Made in America ≈	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Best Cinematography

The National Board of Review Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography was introduced in 2019, won by Roger Deakins for 1917.

Year	Film	D.O.P	LAFCA	NBR	NSFC	NYFCC	Ref/s
2019	Portrait of a Lady on Fire	Claire Mathon	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2024	Nickel Boys	Jomo Fray	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

Three critics' awards

Awards in the categories of Best Animated Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay are each only awarded by three of the four groups.

Best Animated Film

This lists the winners of all three of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film, National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film. In 2000, the National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film was announced, won that year by Chicken Run from Aardman Animations.^[78] National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Animated Film has yet to be introduced.

Spirited Away (2002), The Incredibles (2004) and Flow (2024) are the only three animated films to have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Year	Film	Director	Ref/s
2000	Chicken Run	Peter Lord and Nick Park
2002	Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) ≈	Hayao Miyazaki
2004	The Incredibles ≈	Brad Bird
2024	Flow ≈	Gints Zilbalodis

Best Cinematography (formerly)

This lists the winners of all three of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography from 1980 to 2018. The National Board of Review Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography was introduced in 2019.

Year	Film	D.O.P	Ref/s
1984	The Killing Fields ≈	Chris Menges
1988	Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin)	Henri Alekan
1991	Barton Fink	Roger Deakins
1993	Schindler's List ≈	Janusz Kamiński
1994	Ed Wood	Stefan Czapsky
2002	Far from Heaven ≠	Edward Lachman
2009	The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) ≠	Christian Berger
2011	The Tree of Life ≠	Emmanuel Lubezki
2016	Moonlight ≠	James Laxton
2018	Roma ≈	Alfonso Cuarón

Best Screenplay (formerly)

This lists the winners of all three of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay from 1980 to 2018. The National Board of Review Award for Best Original and Adapted Screenplays were introduced in 2000 and 2002, respectively.

Year	Film	Type	Writers	Ref/s
1977	Annie Hall ≈	Original	Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
1978	An Unmarried Woman ≠	Original	Paul Mazursky
1981	Atlantic City ≠	Original	John Guare
1982	Tootsie ≠	Original	Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal
1988	Bull Durham ≠	Original	Ron Shelton
1989	Drugstore Cowboy	Original	Gus Van Sant and Daniel Yost
1993	The Piano ≈	Original	Jane Campion
1994	Pulp Fiction ≈	Original	Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
1997	L.A. Confidential ≈	Adapted	Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson
2000	You Can Count on Me ≠	Original	Kenneth Lonergan

Milestone

Whitaker, Mirren (top), Culkin, Randolph, Payne (bottom), and Taylor (off-pictured).

Only three films have won all four, all based on novels: Schindler's List, L.A. Confidential, and The Social Network.^[79] Schindler's List is the only film also to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, in addition of Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Producers Guild of America Award; all those for Best Picture category except the Critics' Choice.

Only nine people have won all four and of the three most prestigious annual awards (Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA) for a single film: Emma Thompson (1992's Howards End), Holly Hunter (1993's The Piano), Quentin Tarantino (1994's Pulp Fiction),^[b] Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (2004's Sideways), Forest Whitaker (2006's The Last King of Scotland), Helen Mirren (2006's The Queen), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (2023's The Holdovers), and Kieran Culkin (2024's A Real Pain); Whitaker, Mirren, Culkin, Randolph, Payne and Taylor are the only people in respective categories to swept all major award ceremonies in each, including Critic's Choice and Guild Awards.

Steven Soderbergh is the only director to have won all four while receiving the Academy Award for Best Director nominations in two films, Erin Brockovich and Traffic, which the latter won.

Man on Wire, for those one of six films have swept the critics' awards, is the only documentary film to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.^[80]

Goodfellas, Schindler's List, L. A. Confidential, The Hurt Locker, The Social Network, Drive My Car, and Tár are the seven films in history selected the Best Film by the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics, named as such from the nation's top critics' groups, the so-called "trifecta".^[81] Schindler's List and The Hurt Locker are also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Drive My Car became the first Japanese and non-English-language film to be also selected.^[77]

See also

• Big Four (American film guilds awards)
• List of Big Five Academy Award winners and nominees

Notes

• ≈ Oscar winner
• ≠ Oscar nominee

1. Tied with Cathy Tyson from the 1986 film Mona Lisa at Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress.
2. Quentin Tarantino also swept in two different categories in his work of Pulp Fiction; the "Big Four" in Best Director while winning Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for Best Screenplay.