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Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director
Annual Movie Awards
Annual Movie Awards
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director |
| image | File:Paul Thomas Anderson - BFI Southbank.jpg |
| caption | 2025 recipient: Paul Thomas Anderson |
| awarded_for | Best Direction of a Motion Picture |
| presenter | Critics Choice Association |
| location | Los Angeles, California |
| year | Mel Gibson for Braveheart (1995) |
| holder | Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another (2025) |
| website | www.criticschoice.com |
The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director is one of the awards given to film directors working in the film industry by the Critics Choice Association at the annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. It was first given out to Mel Gibson for Braveheart in 1996 as a juried award. Until 2001, only the winner was presented; since then, a set of nominees is announced every year.
Only four directors have received the award more than once with two wins each: Alfonso Cuarón, Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. The latter also holds the record of most nominations in the category with eight. Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, and Chloé Zhao are the only female winners of the award.
Winners and nominees
1990s
| Year | Director | Film (s) | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mel Gibson | *Braveheart* | ||||||
| Anthony Minghella | *The English Patient* | ||||||
| James Cameron | *Titanic* | ||||||
| Steven Spielberg | *Saving Private Ryan* | ||||||
| Sam Mendes | *American Beauty* |
2000s
| Year | Director | Film (s) | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Soderbergh | Erin Brockovich / *Traffic* | |||||||||||
| Ridley Scott | Gladiator | |||||||||||
| Ron Howard (TIE) | *A Beautiful Mind* | |||||||||||
| Baz Luhrmann (TIE) | *Moulin Rouge!* | |||||||||||
| Peter Jackson | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | |||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | Catch Me If You Can / *Minority Report* | |||||||||||
| Roman Polanski | The Pianist | |||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | Gangs of New York | |||||||||||
| Peter Jackson | *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* | |||||||||||
| Tim Burton | Big Fish | |||||||||||
| Sofia Coppola | Lost in Translation | |||||||||||
| Clint Eastwood | Mystic River | |||||||||||
| Jim Sheridan | In America | |||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | *The Aviator* | |||||||||||
| Clint Eastwood | Million Dollar Baby | |||||||||||
| Marc Forster | Finding Neverland | |||||||||||
| Taylor Hackford | Ray | |||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | Sideways | |||||||||||
| Ang Lee | *Brokeback Mountain* | |||||||||||
| George Clooney | Good Night, and Good Luck | |||||||||||
| Paul Haggis | Crash | |||||||||||
| Ron Howard | Cinderella Man | |||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | Munich | |||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | *The Departed* | |||||||||||
| Bill Condon | Dreamgirls | |||||||||||
| Clint Eastwood | Letters from Iwo Jima | |||||||||||
| Stephen Frears | The Queen | |||||||||||
| Paul Greengrass | United 93 | |||||||||||
| Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | *No Country for Old Men* | |||||||||||
| Tim Burton | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | |||||||||||
| Sean Penn | Into the Wild | |||||||||||
| Julian Schnabel | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | |||||||||||
| Joe Wright | Atonement | |||||||||||
| Danny Boyle | *Slumdog Millionaire* | |||||||||||
| David Fincher | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | |||||||||||
| Ron Howard | Frost/Nixon | |||||||||||
| Christopher Nolan | The Dark Knight | |||||||||||
| Gus Van Sant | Milk | |||||||||||
| Kathryn Bigelow | *The Hurt Locker* | |||||||||||
| James Cameron | Avatar | |||||||||||
| Lee Daniels | Precious | |||||||||||
| Clint Eastwood | Invictus | |||||||||||
| Jason Reitman | Up in the Air | |||||||||||
| Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds |
2010s
| Year | Director | Film (s) | 2010 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ||||||||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||||||
| 2013 | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||||
| David Fincher | *The Social Network* | |||||||||||
| Darren Aronofsky | Black Swan | |||||||||||
| Danny Boyle | 127 Hours | |||||||||||
| Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | True Grit | |||||||||||
| Tom Hooper | The King's Speech | |||||||||||
| Christopher Nolan | Inception | |||||||||||
| Michel Hazanavicius | *The Artist* | |||||||||||
| Stephen Daldry | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | |||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | The Descendants | |||||||||||
| Nicolas Winding Refn | Drive | |||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | Hugo | |||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | War Horse | |||||||||||
| Ben Affleck | *Argo* | |||||||||||
| Kathryn Bigelow | Zero Dark Thirty | |||||||||||
| Tom Hooper | Les Misérables | |||||||||||
| Ang Lee | Life of Pi | |||||||||||
| David O. Russell | Silver Linings Playbook | |||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | Lincoln | |||||||||||
| Alfonso Cuarón | *Gravity* | |||||||||||
| Paul Greengrass | Captain Phillips | |||||||||||
| Spike Jonze | Her | |||||||||||
| Steve McQueen | 12 Years a Slave | |||||||||||
| David O. Russell | American Hustle | |||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | The Wolf of Wall Street | |||||||||||
| Richard Linklater | *Boyhood* | |||||||||||
| Wes Anderson | The Grand Budapest Hotel | |||||||||||
| Ava DuVernay | Selma | |||||||||||
| David Fincher | Gone Girl | |||||||||||
| Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Birdman | |||||||||||
| Angelina Jolie | Unbroken | |||||||||||
| George Miller | *Mad Max: Fury Road* | |||||||||||
| Todd Haynes | Carol | |||||||||||
| Alejandro G. Iñárritu | The Revenant | |||||||||||
| Tom McCarthy | Spotlight | |||||||||||
| Ridley Scott | The Martian | |||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | Bridge of Spies | |||||||||||
| Damien Chazelle | *La La Land* | |||||||||||
| Mel Gibson | Hacksaw Ridge | |||||||||||
| Barry Jenkins | Moonlight | |||||||||||
| Kenneth Lonergan | Manchester by the Sea | |||||||||||
| David Mackenzie | Hell or High Water | |||||||||||
| Denis Villeneuve | Arrival | |||||||||||
| Denzel Washington | Fences | |||||||||||
| Guillermo del Toro | *The Shape of Water* | |||||||||||
| Greta Gerwig | Lady Bird | |||||||||||
| Luca Guadagnino | Call Me by Your Name | |||||||||||
| Martin McDonagh | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | |||||||||||
| Christopher Nolan | Dunkirk | |||||||||||
| Jordan Peele | Get Out | |||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | The Post | |||||||||||
| Alfonso Cuarón | *Roma* | |||||||||||
| Damien Chazelle | First Man | |||||||||||
| Bradley Cooper | A Star Is Born | |||||||||||
| Peter Farrelly | Green Book | |||||||||||
| Yorgos Lanthimos | The Favourite | |||||||||||
| Spike Lee | BlacKkKlansman | |||||||||||
| Adam McKay | Vice | |||||||||||
| Sam Mendes (TIE) | *1917* | |||||||||||
| Bong Joon-ho (TIE) | *Parasite* | |||||||||||
| Noah Baumbach | Marriage Story | |||||||||||
| Greta Gerwig | Little Women | |||||||||||
| Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie | Uncut Gems | |||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | The Irishman | |||||||||||
| Quentin Tarantino | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood |
2020s
| Year | Director | Film (s) | 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | |||||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||||
| 2023 | |||||||||||
| 2024 | |||||||||||
| 2025 | |||||||||||
| {{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/2026-critics-choice-awards-nominations-full-list-1236443345/ | title=Critics Choice Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads With 17 Nods | |||||||||
| Chloé Zhao | *Nomadland* | ||||||||||
| Lee Isaac Chung | Minari | ||||||||||
| Emerald Fennell | Promising Young Woman | ||||||||||
| David Fincher | Mank | ||||||||||
| Regina King | One Night in Miami... | ||||||||||
| Spike Lee | Da 5 Bloods | ||||||||||
| Aaron Sorkin | The Trial of the Chicago 7 | ||||||||||
| Jane Campion | *The Power of the Dog* | ||||||||||
| Paul Thomas Anderson | Licorice Pizza | ||||||||||
| Kenneth Branagh | Belfast | ||||||||||
| Guillermo del Toro | Nightmare Alley | ||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | West Side Story | ||||||||||
| Denis Villeneuve | Dune | ||||||||||
| Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert | *Everything Everywhere All at Once* | ||||||||||
| James Cameron | Avatar: The Way of Water | ||||||||||
| Damien Chazelle | Babylon | ||||||||||
| Todd Field | Tár | ||||||||||
| Baz Luhrmann | Elvis | ||||||||||
| Martin McDonagh | The Banshees of Inisherin | ||||||||||
| Sarah Polley | Women Talking | ||||||||||
| Gina Prince-Bythewood | The Woman King | ||||||||||
| S. S. Rajamouli | RRR | ||||||||||
| Steven Spielberg | The Fabelmans | ||||||||||
| Christopher Nolan | *Oppenheimer* | ||||||||||
| Bradley Cooper | Maestro | ||||||||||
| Greta Gerwig | Barbie | ||||||||||
| Yorgos Lanthimos | Poor Things | ||||||||||
| Alexander Payne | The Holdovers | ||||||||||
| Martin Scorsese | Killers of the Flower Moon | ||||||||||
| Jon M. Chu | *Wicked* | ||||||||||
| Jacques Audiard | Emilia Pérez | ||||||||||
| Sean Baker | Anora | ||||||||||
| Edward Berger | Conclave | ||||||||||
| Brady Corbet | The Brutalist | ||||||||||
| Coralie Fargeat | The Substance | ||||||||||
| RaMell Ross | Nickel Boys | ||||||||||
| Denis Villeneuve | Dune: Part Two | ||||||||||
| first=Hilary | work=Hollywood Reporter | date=December 5, 2025 | access-date=December 5, 2025}} | Paul Thomas Anderson | *One Battle After Another* | ||||||
| Ryan Coogler | Sinners | ||||||||||
| Guillermo del Toro | Frankenstein | ||||||||||
| Josh Safdie | Marty Supreme | ||||||||||
| Joachim Trier | Sentimental Value | ||||||||||
| Chloé Zhao | Hamnet |
Awards breakdown
Multiple winners
;2 wins
- Alfonso Cuarón
- Sam Mendes
- Martin Scorsese
- Steven Spielberg
Multiple nominees
;2 nominations
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Kathryn Bigelow
- Danny Boyle
- Tim Burton
- Ethan Coen
- Joel Coen
- Bradley Cooper
- Alfonso Cuarón
- Paul Greengrass
- Tom Hooper
- Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Peter Jackson
- Yorgos Lanthimos
- Ang Lee
- Spike Lee
- Baz Luhrmann
- Martin McDonagh
- Sam Mendes
- David O. Russell
- Josh Safdie (one shared with his brother Benny)
- Ridley Scott
- Quentin Tarantino
- Denis Villeneuve
- Chloe Zhao
;3 nominations
- James Cameron
- Damien Chazelle
- Guillermo del Toro
- Greta Gerwig
- Ron Howard
- Alexander Payne
;4 nominations
- Clint Eastwood
- David Fincher
- Christopher Nolan
;7 nominations
- Martin Scorsese
;9 nominations
- Steven Spielberg
References
References
- (January 14, 2011). "Critics' Choice Awards Spread The Gold: 'Social Network', Fincher, Firth, Portman". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (January 12, 2012). "'The Artist' Best Pic, George Clooney, Viola Davis Top Actors At Critics Choice Awards". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (January 10, 2013). "Critics' Choice Movie Awards: 'Argo' Best Picture, Director; Daniel Day-Lewis, Jessica Chastain Take Acting Honors". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (January 16, 2014). "Critics' Choice Movie Awards: '12 Years A Slave' Named Best Picture; 'Gravity' Leads Field With 7 Wins". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- Pedersen, Erik. (January 15, 2015). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Boyhood' Wins Best Picture; 'Birdman' Leads With 7 Nods". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- Hipes, Patrick. (January 17, 2016). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Spotlight' Wins Best Picture; 'Mr. Robot' Best Drama Series". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (December 11, 2016). "2016 Critics' Choice Awards: 'La La Land' Leads With 8 Wins Including Best Picture; Donald Glover Unveils Lando Calrissian 'Stache". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (January 11, 2018). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'The Shape Of Water' Wins Best Picture, 'Big Little Lies' Dominates – Full Winners List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (January 13, 2019). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Roma' Wins Best Picture To Lead Night; 'The Americans' & 'Mrs. Maisel' Top TV – The Complete Winners List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (January 12, 2020). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Wins Best Picture, Netflix And HBO Among Top Honorees – Full Winners List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- Ramos, Dino-Ray. (March 7, 2021). "Critics Choice Awards: 'Nomadland', 'The Crown' Among Top Honorees – Complete Winners List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
- (March 13, 2022). "Critics Choice Awards 2022: ‘The Power of the Dog,’ ‘Ted Lasso,’ ‘Succession’ Win Big (Full Winners List)". [[Variety (magazine).
- (January 15, 2023). "Critics‘ Choice Awards 2023 Full Winners List: ’Everything Everywhere All at Once,‘ ’Abbott Elementary‘ and ‘Better Call Saul’ Take Top Honors". [[Variety (magazine).
- Shanfeld, Ethan. (January 14, 2024). "'Oppenheimer' Leads Critics Choice Awards with 8 wins, 'Barbie' Scores 6 — Full Winners List". [[Variety (magazine).
- Evans, Greg. (December 12, 2024). "''Conclave'' And ''Wicked'' Lead Critics Choice Awards Film Nominations – Full List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
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