Killers of the Flower Moon blossomed into a winner in Phoenix Film Critic’s Society 2023 awards, earning Best Picture honors as well as awards for Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material and Best Breakthrough Performance for actor Lily Gladstone. The Scorsese epic was one of several films to win multiple honors, making this a diverse year for PFCS winners.
PFCS President Gayle Bass hailed this variety. “2023 was a particularly competitive year with strong films across many genres,” said Bass. “The fact that you have Past Lives, Killers of the Flower Moon, Barbie, Oppenheimer and Spider-Man in a top 10 list is proof of that. It’s a good thing when you have that much good content.”
Cillian Murphy won Best Actor for his performance in “Oppenheimer,” and Christopher Nolan took Best Director for the epic about the famed physicist. The film also took awards for Best Ensemble Acting, Original Score, Cinematography and Film Editing, giving it the most wins.
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” came in second with four wins, including Ryan Gosling for Best Supporting Actor. The film also claimed the awards for Costume Design, Production Design and Best Song, for “I’m Just Ken.”
Best Actress went to Emma Stone for “Poor Things.” Da’Vine Joy Randolph took the award for Best Supporting Actress for Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” which also won for Best Original Screenplay. The award for Best Performance by a Youth went to Abby Ryder-Fortson for “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” was awarded Best Animated Film. “Anatomy of a Fall” won for Best Foreign Language Film, and “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” won Best Documentary. Best Visual Effects went to “The Creator.” Overlooked Film of the Year went to the upcoming “The Boys in the Boat.”
A complete list of winners is provided below.
The Phoenix Film Critics Society presents an entire slate of awards each year. Only critic members of the Society may vote. To qualify for the 2023 awards, films had to be screened for members by Friday, December 15, 2023. The films must open prior to the end of the year to be eligible for awards consideration.
The Phoenix Film Critics Society is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, self-funded, independent organization consisting of professional film critics and film journalists in Arizona.
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PFCS 2023 TOP TEN (in alphabetical order)
American Fiction
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon (Winner: Best Picture)
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Saltburn
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Holdovers
BEST PICTURE
Killers of the Flower Moon
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Emma Stone – Poor Things
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Da’Vine Joy Randoplh – The Holdovers
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Oppenheimer
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Holdovers
BEST SCREENPLAY ADAPTED FROM OTHER MATERIAL
Killers of the Flower Moon
THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
The Boys in the Boat
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Anatomy of a Fall
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
I’m Just Ken – Barbie
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Oppenheimer
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Oppenheimer
BEST FILM EDITING
Oppenheimer
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH
Abby Ryder-Fortson – Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret