The final of the three women-only film critics organizations went in for Promising Young Woman and Never Rarely Sometimes Always more so than most other groups and even managed to give some love to the otherwise critically maligned Antebellum.

Nominations Tallies

(6) Promising Young Woman
(4) Antebellum, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
(3) Ammonite, The Invisible Man, Nomadland
The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Award Tallies

(4) Promising Young Woman
(2) Antebellum, The Invisible Man, Never Rarely Sometimes Always

The Nominations & Awards

Best Movie About Women

Winner:
Promising Young Woman

Runner-Up:
Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Other Nominees:
Ammonite
Antebellum

Best Movie by a Woman

Winner:
Nomadland – Chloé Zhao

Runner-Up:
Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell

Other Nominees:
Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman
One Night in Miami – Regina King

Best Animated Females

Winner:
Fei Fei – Over the Moon

Runner-Up:
Mebh Og MacTire – Wolfwalkers

Other Nominees:
Libba – Soul
Robyn Goodfellowe – Wolfwalkers

Best Actor

Winner:
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Runner-Up:
Anthony Hopkins – The Father

Other Nominees:
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Tahar Rahim – The Mauritanian

Best Actress

Winner:
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Runner-Up:
TIE:
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman

Other Nominees:
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Best Woman Storyteller (Screenwriting)

Winner:
Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Runner-Up:
Promising Young Woman

Other Nominees:
Nomadland
The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Best Foreign Film by or About Women

Winner:
La Llorona

Runner-Up:
True Mothers

Other Nominees:
The Truth
Two of Us

Best Documentary by or About Women

Winner:
Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story

Runner-Up:
Time

Other Nominees:
All In: The Fight for Democracy
I Am Greta

Adrienne Shelly Award (for a film that most passionately opposes violence against women)

Winner:
Promising Young Woman

Runner-Up:
The Invisible Man

Other Nominees:
I’m Your Woman
The Assistant

Josephine Baker Award (for best expressing the woman of color experience in America)

Winner:
Miss Juneteenth

Runner-Up:
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Other Nominees:
Antebellum
The Forty-Year-Old Version

Karen Morley Award (for best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity)

Winner:
The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Runner-Up:
Shirley

Other Nominees:
Radium Girls
The Glorias

The Invisible Woman Award (performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored)

Cicely Tyson – A Fall from Grace
Dianne Wiest – I Care a Lot

Best Screen Couple

Winner:
Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan – Ammonite

Runner-Up:
Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel – News of the World

Other Nominees:
Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti – Palm Springs
Barbara Sukowa, Martine Chevallier – Two of Us

Courage in Filmmaking

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Courage in Acting

Janelle Monae – Antebellum
Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man

Women’s Work – Best Ensemble Cast

Radium Girls
The Glorias

Best Female Action Heroes

Janelle Monae – Antebellum
Jodie Foster – The Mauritanian

Best Kept Secret – Overlooked Challenging Gems

Ammonite
Swallow

Women Saving Themselves Award

Claire Dunne – Herself
Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man

Mommie Dearest Worst Screen Mom of the Year Award

Sarah Paulson – Run

Best Equality of the Sexes

Winner:
Emma.

Runner-Up:
I Care a Lot

Other Nominees:
Malcolm & Marie
Radioactive

WFCC Hall of Shame

Rudy Giuliani – For removing any doubt about the kind of creepy predator he is, in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Of course there were no consequences for his behavior, even though it was captured on film and broadcast worldwide.
Dennis Harvey – In his Variety review for Promising Young Woman, stating Carey Mulligan is not ‘hot enough’ for the role. Not to mention perpetuating the lie that rape is about sex and not violence against women. And, why we need women film critics more than ever…
The Prom – For casting straight actors in queer roles in the most anticipated lesbian movie of the year, and making it seem like overcoming homophobia is as simple as singing a song.
Dallas Sonnier and Adam Donaghey – For sexual harassment and abuse at Cineaste Magazine, and the cover-up.

Acting and Activism

Regina King

Lifetime Achievement

Julie Andrews

Women Film Critics Circle Data

First Awards: 2004 (17)