Trifecta (film awards)
Term in film awards season for sweeping the three major U.S. critics' groups
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The Trifecta (also known as the American film critics' awards trifecta or NYFCC-LAFCA-NSFC trifecta) is a term used in Hollywood awards commentary to describe when a film, director, actor, actress, or other eligible recipient wins the same category at all three major film critics' organizations[1] in a single season: the New York Film Critics Circle Awards (NYFCC), the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (LAFCA), and the National Society of Film Critics Awards (NSFC).[2]
| TRIFECTA The Trifecta of American Film Critics' Awards | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Film critics awards |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location | United States |
| Participants | New York Film Critics Circle Los Angeles Film Critics Association National Society of Film Critics |
These three groups, collectively known as the Trifecta of critics' awards, are considered the most prestigious film critics awards and early indicators in the awards season prior to the Golden Globes Awards ceremony. Trifecta awards are often announced in December and January. Winning the Trifecta in a major category, in all those three associations, is considered a significant achievement and a strong predictor of success at later broadcast awards ceremonies in the path to the Academy Awards.[3][4]
History and usage
The term Trifecta emerged in awards prognosticating circles during the end of 1990s as these critics' groups gained prominence for their influence on Oscar races. The NYFCC (founded 1935)[5] announces first, typically in early December, followed by LAFCA (founded 1975)[6] in mid-December, and NSFC (founded 1966) in early January.[7] Unlike guild awards, these three major critics groups emphasize critical acclaim over commercial success, often favoring artistic merit[8] over box office performance or bias towards American productions.[9]
The Trifecta is tracked primarily in unified categories (no drama/musical split), and its winners frequently overlap with Oscar nominees or victors. For instance, seven films have achieved the Best Picture Trifecta, all earning Oscar nominations for Best Picture.[10]
Predictive power
- Since 2000, approximately 70% of Best Picture winners chosen by Trifecta critics groups have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, with several (e.g., Schindler's List, The Hurt Locker) winning.[11]
- Acting Trifectas are rarer but highly predictive; winners like Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, Tár) have gone on to Oscar victories.[12]
- The NSFC win, as the final leg, often cements frontrunner status due to its reputation for artistic rigor.[13]
Complete Trifecta winners
Best Picture
Only eight films have swept Best Picture across NYFCC, LAFCA, and NSFC.
| Year | Film | Director | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Goodfellas | Martin Scorsese | Won | Won | Won |
| 1993 | Schindler's List | Steven Spielberg | Won | Won | Won |
| 1997 | L.A. Confidential | Curtis Hanson | Won | Won | Won |
| 2009 | The Hurt Locker | Kathryn Bigelow | Won | Won | Won |
| 2010 | The Social Network | David Fincher | Won | Won | Won |
| 2021 | Drive My Car | Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Won | Won | Won |
| 2022 | Tár | Todd Field | Won | Won | Won |
| 2025 | One Battle After Another | Paul Thomas Anderson | Won | Won | Won |
Best Director
| Year | Director | Film | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | David Fincher | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Won | Won | Won |
| 2010 | David Fincher | The Social Network | Won | Won | Won |
| 2016 | Barry Jenkins | Moonlight | Won | Won | Won |
| 2020 | Chloe Zhao | Nomadland | Won | Won | Won |
Best Actor
| Year | Actor | Film | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | John Hurt | The Elephant Man | Won | Won | Won |
| 1982 | Jack Lemmon | Missing | Won | Won | Won |
| 2007 | Daniel Day-Lewis | There Will Be Blood | Won | Won | Won |
| 2008 | Sean Penn | Milk | Won[14] | Won[15] | Won[16] |
| 2013 | Bruce Dern | Nebraska | Won | Won | Won |
| 2018 | Ethan Hawke | First Reformed | Won | Won | Won |
| 2019 | Antonio Banderas | Pain and Glory | Won[17] | Won[18] | Won[19] |
Best Actress
| Year | Actress | Film | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Sally Field | Norma Rae | Won | Won | Won |
| 1980 | Sissy Spacek | Coal Miner's Daughter | Won | Won | Won |
| 1982 | Meryl Streep | Sophie's Choice | Won | Won | Won |
| 1992 | Emma Thompson | Howards End | Won | Won | Won |
| 1993 | Holly Hunter | The Piano | Won | Won | Won |
| 2006 | Helen Mirren | The Queen | Won | Won | Won |
| 2008 | Sally Hawkins | Happy-Go-Lucky | Won[20] | Won[21] | Won[22] |
| 2013 | Cate Blanchett | Blue Jasmine | Won | Won | Won |
| 2016 | Isabelle Huppert | Elle and Things to Come | Won | Won | Won |
| 2022 | Cate Blanchett | Tár | Won | Won | Won |
| 2024 | Marianne Jean-Baptiste | Hard Truths | Won[23] | Won[24] | Won[25] |
Best Supporting Actor
| Year | Actor | Film | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Jack Nicholson | Terms of Endearment | Won | Won | Won |
| 1987 | Morgan Freeman | Street Smart | Won | Won | Won |
| 1992 | Gene Hackman | Unforgiven | Won | Won | Won |
| 1994 | Martin Landau | Ed Wood | Won | Won | Won |
| 1996 | Bill Murray | Rushmore | Won | Won | Won |
| 2009 | Christoph Waltz | Inglourious Basterds | Won | Won | Won |
| 2014 | J. K. Simmons | Whiplash | Won | Won | Won |
| 2016 | Mahershala Ali | Moonlight | Won | Won | Won |
| 2017 | Willem Dafoe | The Florida Project | Won | Won | Won |
| 2022 | Ke Huy Quan | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Won | Won | Won |
| 2024 | Kieran Culkin | A Real Pain | Won | Won | Won |
Best Supporting Actress
| Year | Actress | Film | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Meryl Streep | Kramer vs. Kramer | Won | Won | Won |
| 1986 | Dianne Wiest | Hannah and Her Sisters | Won | Won | Won |
| 1994 | Dianne Wiest | Bullets Over Broadway | Won | Won | Won |
| 2004 | Virginia Madsen | Sideways | Won[26] | Won[27] | Won[28] |
| 2013 | Lupita Nyong'o | 12 Years a Slave | Won | Won | Won |
| 2018 | Regina King | If Beale Street Could Talk | Won | Won | Won |
| 2023 | Da'Vine Joy Randolph | The Holdovers | Won | Won | Won |
Best Documentary Feature
| Year | Film | NYFCC | LAFCA | NSFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Roger & Me | Won | Won | Won |
| 1991 | Paris Is Burning | Won | Won | Won |
| 1994 | Hoop Dreams | Won | Won | Won |
| 1995 | Crumb | Won | Won | Won |
| 1996 | When We Were Kings | Won | Won | Won |
| 1998 | The Farm: Angola, USA | Won | Won | Won |
| 1999 | Buena Vista Social Club | Won | Won | Won |
| 2001 | The Gleaners and I | Won | Won | Won |
| 2005 | Grizzly Man | Won | Won | Won |
| 2008 | Man on Wire | Won | Won | Won |
| 2011 | Cave of Forgotten Dreams | Won | Won | Won |
| 2012 | The Gatekeepers | Won | Won | Won |
| 2014 | Citizenfour | Won | Won | Won |
| 2017 | Faces Places | Won | Won | Won |
| 2020 | Time | Won | Won | Won |
| 2021 | Flee | Won | Won | Won |
| 2022 | All the Beauty and the Bloodshed | Won | Won | Won |
| 2023 | Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros | Won | Won | Won |
| 2024 | No Other Land | Won | Won | Won |
| 2025 | My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow | Won | Won | Won |