Michigan Movie Critics Guild Announces Winners for the Best of 2023

DETROIT – The Michigan Movie Critics Guild has announced its winners for the best films and performances of 2023. Barbie – also the highest-grossing film of 2023 – was the year’s big winner, taking home prizes for best picture, best director and best supporting actor. Other winners included Emma Stone for her performance in Poor Things and a tie for best actor between Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction. American Fiction writer-director Cord Jefferson was named the guild’s breakthrough of the year for his directorial debut. Comedian Keegan-Michael Key, a Detroit native, received the group’s MMCG Award for Film Excellence. 

This year’s full list of winners and nominees is (winners in bold)

  • Best Picture
    • American Fiction
    • Anatomy of a Fall
    • Barbie
    • The Holdovers
    • Past Lives
    • Poor Things
  • Best Director
    • Greta Gerwig – Barbie
    • Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
    • Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
    • Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
    • Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
  • Best Actress
    • Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
    • Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
    • Greta Lee – Past Lives
    • Carey Mulligan – Maestro
    • Emma Stone – Poor Things
  • Best Actor
    • Bradley Cooper – Maestro
    • Zac Efron – The Iron Claw
    • Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers (tie)
    • Cillian Murphy –  Oppenheimer 
    • Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction (tie)
  • Best Supporting Actress
    • America Ferrera – Barbie
    • Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
    • Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
    • Julianne Moore – May December
    • Rosamund Pike – Saltburn
  • Best Supporting Actor
    • Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
    • Robert DeNiro – Killers of the Flower Moon
    • Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer 
    • Ryan Gosling – Barbie 
    • Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things 
  • Best Animated Film
    • The Boy and The Heron
    • Nimona
    • Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
    • The Super Mario Bros. Movie
    • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
  • Best Documentary
    • Beyond Utopia
    • Sly
    • Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
  • Best Ensemble
    • Air
    • Barbie
    • The Holdovers
    • Killers of the Flower Moon
    • Oppenheimer
  • Best Screenplay (Adapted or Original)
    • American Fiction 
    • Anatomy of a Fall 
    • Barbie 
    • The Holdovers 
    • Past Lives 
  • Breakthrough Award
    • Sandra Hüller – Actress, Anatomy of a Fall
    • Cord Jefferson – Director, American Fiction
    • Greta Lee – Actress, Past Lives
    • Dominic Sessa – Actor, The Holdovers
    • Celine Song – Director/Writer Past Lives
  • Stunts
    • John Wick: Chapter 4 (tie)
    • The Killer
    • Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (tie) 
    • Polite Society
    • Silent Night
  • The MMCG Award for Film Excellence (presented to a filmmaker, writer, actor, crew member etc. who has Michigan ties or to a film made or set in Michigan)
    • Keegan-Michael Key – Actor Wonka/The Super Mario Bros. Movie /Migration 
    • Ashley Park – Actress, Joy Ride
    • Paul Schrader –  Director, Master Gardener
    • Lily Tomlin – Actress, 80 For Brady
    • J.K. Simmons – Actor, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse 
    • Bruce Campbell – Producer, Evil Dead Rise 

The MMCG is a collective of film critics who are committed to enhancing the conversation about cinema and further establishing the state’s reputation as a film-loving community. This year’s MMCG – its first – is composed of 11 critics, who cover films for a variety of outlets across the state. From websites to newspapers and podcasts to YouTube, they capture the diversity of the field and bring a range of expertise, outlooks, and tastes. 

This year’s lineup includes: 

* = leadership board member. 

Information about the MMCG and its members is available at its website. For further information, email michiganmoviecritics@gmail.com

You can find them on Facebook, Blue Sky, Instagram and X

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