After becoming the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow’s follow up is hot on the Oscar trail picking up three prizes from today’s atypically concentrated New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Taking three prizes including Best Cinematography and Best Picture along with Bigelow’s prize, Zero Dark Thirty was always a contender for the Oscars, but proved it may be a formidable one. Also strong in its three wins for Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Supporting Actress for Sally Field and Best Screenplay for Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg historical epic Lincoln proves that it has far more muscle than many of Spielberg’s recent offerings and should do well with the Oscars.

Every choice on this year’s list is a potential Oscar nominee with Rachel Weisz being second-most surprising for her win as Best Actress in The Deep Blue Sea; and Matthew McConaguhey’s supporting performances in Bernie and Magic Mike as the most surprising of the night, both can use these wins in tumultuous fields to get name recognition into the race as Oscar voters fill out their ballots in the coming weeks.

Award Tallies

(3) Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty
(1) Amour, Bernie, The Central Park Five, The Deep Blue Sea, Frankenweenie, How to Survive a Plague, Magic Mike

The Awards

Best Picture

Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

Best Actress

Rachel Weisz – The Deep Blue Sea

Best Supporting Actor

Matthew McConaughey – Bernie, Magic Mike

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Field – Lincoln

Best Screenplay

Tony Kushner – Lincoln

Best Cinematography

Greig Fraser – Zero Dark Thirty

Best Foreign Film

Amour

Best Animated Film

Frankenweenie

Best Non-Fiction Film

The Central Park Five

Best First Film

David France – How to Survive a Plague

Special Award

New York Film Critics Circle Data

Year Founded: 1935
First Awards: 1935 (78)