Although it did not win the top award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" has continued to reinforce the sense that it has become the clear consensus choice of film critics, just as the director's "The Hurt Locker" was three years ago.
The tense, gripping film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden added a new award to its haul on Monday morning, as the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association named it the year's best film, just as the Boston Film Critics Society and the New York Film Critics Online did on Sunday.
Last week, "Zero Dark Thirty" was named the year's best by the New York Film Critics Circle and by the National Board of Review (which is not a critics' group).
The only critics' award the film has not won to came in Los Angeles, where the LAFCA opted for Michael Haneke's "Amour" as best film and Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" as runner up.
Also read: 'Amour' Breaks the 'Zero Dark Thirty' Streak, Wins L.A. Critics Award
The "ZD30" win in Boston was the more surprising of the three recent ones, since that group often gives its top honor to films set in Boston or made by filmmakers from the city. Ben Affleck's "Argo" was considered a likely winner of the top honor – and, in fact, one member of the group tweeted that "half the room seems pissed" that voters had opted for Bigelow's film over Affleck's.
Bigelow was named best director by all three groups, who also agreed on their choices for best actor, Daniel Day-Lewis won for "Lincoln." Emmanuelle Riva was named best actress for "Amour" by the Boston and New York Online groups, while Jessica Chastain won the award from the Washington organization.
Another group, the seven-month-old Boston Online Film Critics Association, announced its winners on Friday and agreed with many of the choices that the larger and more established Boston group would make: "Zero Dark Thirty," Bigelow, Day-Lewis and the documentary "How to Survive a Plague" among them.
The results:
WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best film: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best director: Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Best actress: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best supporting actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Best supporting actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Best acting ensemble: "Les Miserables"
Best adapted screenplay: David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Best original screenplay: Rian Johnson, "Looper"
Best animated feature: "ParaNorman"
Best documentary: "Bully"
Best foreign-language film: "Amour"
Best art direction: Uli Hanish, Hugh Bateup, Peter Walpole, Rebecca Alleway, "Cloud Atlas"
Best cinematography: Claudio Miranda, "Life of Pi"
Best score: Jonny Greenwood, "The Master"
Joe Barber Award for Best Youth Performance: Quvenzhane Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
BOSTON FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best film: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best director: Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Best actress: Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Best supporting actor: Ezra Miller, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Best supporting actress: Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Best ensemble cast: "Seven Psychopaths"
Best animated feature: "Frankenweenie"
Best documentary: "How to Survive a Plague"
Best screenplay: Tony Kushner, "Lincoln"
Best cinematography: Mihai Malaimare, Jr., "The Master"
Best editing: William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best use of music in a film: "Moonrise Kingdom"
Best new filmmaker: David France, "How to Survive a Plague"
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS ONLINE
Best picture: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best director: Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Best actress: Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Best supporting actor: Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Best supporting actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Best ensemble cast: "Argo"
Best animated film: "Chico and Rita"
Best foreign language film: "Amour"
Best documentary: "The Central Park Five"
Best screenplay: Mark Boal, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best cinematography: Claudio Miranda, "Life of Pi"
Best use of music: "Django Unchained"
Best debut director: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Breakthrough performance: Quvenzhane Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
BOSTON ONLINE FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best picture: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best director: Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Best actress: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best supporting actor: Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Best supporting actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Best screenplay: Tony Kushner, "Lincoln"
Best foreign-language film: "Oslo, August 31st"
Best documentary: "How to Survive a Plague"
Best animated film: "ParaNorman"
Best cinematography: Roger Deakins, "Skyfall"
Best editing: Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best original score: Jonny Greenwood, "The Master"
Best ensemble cast: "Moonrise Kingdom"
10 best films of the year:
1. "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
3. "Lincoln"
4. "Moonrise Kingdom"
5. "Django Unchained"
6. "Oslo, August 31st"
7. "Holy Motors"
8. "The Master"
9. "Argo"
10. "Cloud Atlas"