The award winning The Shape of Water ties with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri for Best Picture; Shape takes home seven awards.

December 16, 2017 – Phoenix, AZ

The Phoenix Critic’s Circle Awards have announced their 2017 award winners along with several Lifetime Achievement Awards, a first for this year. Indicative of the tough choices in front of Academy voters and the recent spate of nominations from the HFPA (Golden Globes), SAG, and various other groups, Fox Searchlight films’ The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri tied for this groups’ Best Picture winner.  Disney – Pixar’s Coco took home Best Animated Film, while the French Horror – Drama, Raw took home the Best Foreign Language Film. The polarizing Get Out took home awards for Best Horror Film and Best Mystery or Thriller Film.

In the acting arena, Timothée Chalamet won Best Actor for the upcoming Call Me by Your Name. In the Best Actress category, there was a tie between Sally Hawkins for The Shape of Water and Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Sam Rockwell took home the Supporting Actor award for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Laurie Metcalf’s turn as a struggling mom in Lady Bird won for Supporting Actress.

Jonny Greenwood’s score for Phantom Thread took home the award for Best Score while there was a three – way tie for Best Screenplay between Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird, Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Jordan Peele for Get Out.

Finally, Christopher Nolan took home the Best Director award for Dunkirk. Now available on streaming services and on Blu-ray and UHD BD in two weeks, you might consider checking out this stellar film.

Don’t worry Andy Serkis fans. We’ve awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award for his portrayal of Caesar in the Planet of the Apes trilogy. See the list of winners below. Did your favorite 2017 film win? If not, we’d love to hear what your choice would have been and why.

Look for our Top 10 of 2017 in between Christmas and New Years and Happy Movie Watching!

On December 15th, 2017, the Phoenix Critics Circle gathered to announce their winners. Below you’ll find their list of winners for the best films and performances of 2017.

 

Best Picture – TIE

Winner – The Shape of Water 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winner – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 

Other Nominees:

  • Dunkirk
  • The Florida Project
  • Lady Bird

 

Best Comedy Film

Winner: The Big Sick

 

Other Nominees:

  • The Disaster Artist
  • I, Tonya
  • Lady Bird
  • Logan Lucky

 

Best Science Fiction Film

Winner – Blade Runner, 2049

 

Other Nominees:

  • Okja
  • The Shape of Water
  • War for the Planet of the Apes

 

Best Horror Film

Winner – Get Out

 

Other Nominees:

  • Hounds of Love
  • It
  • It Comes at Night
  • Raw

 

Best Mystery Or Thriller Film

Winner – Get Out

 

Other Nominees:

  • The Beguiled
  • The Killing of a Sacred Deer
  • mother!
  • Murder on the Orient Express
  • The Post
  • Split
  • Wind River

 

Best Animated Film

Winner – Coco

Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Other Nominees:

  • The Breadwinner
  • Cars 3
  • The Lego Batman Movie
  • Loving Vincent

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner – Raw

Other Nominees:

  • BPM (Beats per Minute)
  • In the Fade
  • The Square
  • Thelma

 

Best Documentary

Winner – City Of Ghosts

Other Nominees:

  • Jane
  • Step
  • Whose Streets

 

Best Actor

Winner – Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name

Other Nominees:

  • Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
  • James Franco, The Disaster Artist
  • Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
  • Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
  • Harry Dean Stanton, Lucky

 

Best Actress – TIE

Winner – Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

Winner – Frances Mcdormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight.

Other Nominees:

  • Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
  • Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
  • Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

 

Best Supporting Actor

Winner – Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Other Nominees:

  • Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
  • Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name
  • Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
  • Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me by Your Name

 

Best Supporting Actress

Winner – Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Other Nominees:

  • Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
  • Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
  • Allison Janney, I Tonya
  • Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

 

Best Director

Winner – Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

 

Other Nominees:

  • Sean Baker, The Florida Project
  • Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
  • Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
  • Jordan Peele, Get Out
  • Edgar Wright, Baby Driver

 

Best Screenplay – TIE

Winner – Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Winner – Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Winner – Jordan Peele, Get Out

Other Nominees:

  • Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post
  • Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game

 

Best Score

Winner – Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread

 

Other Nominees:

  • Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
  • Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, Blade Runner 2049
  • Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk

 

Special Achievement in Cinematography

Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049

 

Special Achievement Award

Andy Serkis for his work in The Planet Of The Apes series

 

Special Achievement Award: Best Debut

Brooklyn Prince, The Florida Project

 

Lifetime Achievement Award

Harry Dean Stanton

 

Special Achievement Award

John Williams for his work in scoring the Star Wars film series

 

The Phoenix Critics Circle is established as an association for professional film critique and analysis. Administered by the 501c3 non-profit Phoenix Film Foundation, the Phoenix Critics Circle is committed to the progression and preservation of film and is composed of print, television, radio and online film critics from Arizona.