My biggest question here is: Is The Master still in the hunt or do we have a group that saw the drubbing the film received from critics and other groups thus far and decided to rectify it with votes. There are a handful of new and eclectic choices in the bunch, but nothing particularly earth shattering or Oscar influencing.

Nomination Tallies

(10) The Master
(9) Beasts of the Southern Wild
(8) Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty
(5) Argo
(4) Moonrise Kingdom
(3) Les Misérables, Skyfall

The Nominations

Best Picture

Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Lincoln
The Master
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Animated Film

Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Secret World of Arrietty
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Director

Ben Affleck – Argo
Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Denis Lavant – Holy Motors
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor

Jason Clarke – Zero Dark Thirty
Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained
Dwight Henry – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Phillip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams – The Master
Emily Blunt – Looper
Judi Dench – Skyfall
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

Best Original Screenplay

Django Unchained
Looper
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Lincoln
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Score

Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Editing

Argo
Cloud Atlas
The Master
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Cinematography

Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Art Direction

Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom

Best Foreign Film

Amour
Holy Motors
The Intouchables
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Rust & Bone

Best Documentary

The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Queen of Versailles
Searching For Sugar Man
West of Memphis

Most Promising Performer

Samantha Barks – Les Miserables
Kara Hayward – Moonrise Kingdom
Dwight Henry – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tom Holland – The Impossible
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Most Promising Filmmaker

Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Drew Goddard – The Cabin in the Woods
Nicholas Jarecki – Arbitrage
Colin Trevorrow – Safety Not Guaranteed
Benz Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Chicago Film Critics Data

Year Founded: 1990
First Awards: 1988 (25)