Sunday evening was a busy one for awards fans as the race for Oscar (and BAFTA) intensified.

Ironically, the three major American critics groups all selected the same feature for Best Film as the journalism drama Spotlight triumphed in Boston, New York and Los Angeles.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the film stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber and Rachel McAdams as a team of Boston Globe journalists who investigate allegations of child abuse within the Catholic Church.

Writer and director Tom McCarthy celebrated a hat trick of wins in different categories for his work on the Oscar frontrunner. However he lost out on Best Director in LA with the award going to veteran George Miller for unlikely critics favourite Mad Max: Fury Road.

British veteran Charlotte Rampling scooped the Best Actress awards in Boston and Los Angeles for her performance in 45 Years while Michael Fassbender landed Best Actor in LA for his role as the late Apple pioneer Steve Jobs. Another Brit to do well was Mark Rylance who nabbed wins in Boston and New York for the Cold War drama Bridge of Spies.

Paul Dano celebrated Best Actor success with the New York Film Critics Online and Boston for his role as the young Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson in the musical biopic Love & Mercy. The latter award was shared with Leonardo DiCaprio’s upcoming performance in the violent western The Revenant.

One surprise acting winner came in LA as Michael Shannon secured Best Supporting Actor for his role as a sinister estate agent broker in the crime drama 99 Homes.

Kristen Stewart added another Best Supporting Actress accolade to her resume in Boston for Clouds of Sils Maria while Rooney Mara (Carol) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) won the same awards in New York and LA.

On the subject of Ex Machina, the sci-fi drama celebrated success with the British Independent Film Awards last night with victories in Best Film, Best Director (Alex Garland), Best Screenplay and Outstanding Achievement in Craft.

In the acting categories, Tom Hardy’s dual role as the Kray twins led to him nabbing Best Actor for Legend while Irish starlet Saoirse Ronan clinched Best Actress for the romantic drama Brooklyn.

Brendan Gleeson won Best Supporting Actor for the historical biopic Suffragette while the evergreen Olivia Colman was named Best Supporting Actress for The Lobster. A surprise result came in Best Newcomer as Abigail Hardingham beat off Agyness Deyn (Sunset Song) and Bel Powley (A Royal Night Out) to win the award for the horror comedy Nina Forever.

Last year’s full list of winners are below:

BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS

BEST FILM
SPOTLIGHT

BEST DIRECTOR
Tom McCarthy, SPOTLIGHT

BEST ACTOR
Paul Dano, LOVE & MERCY & Leonardo Di-Caprio, THE REVENANT

BEST ACTRESS
Charlotte Rampling, 45 YEARS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Rylance, BRIDGE OF SPIES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kristen Stewart, CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA

BEST ENSEMBLE
SPOTLIGHT

BEST SCREENPLAY
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, SPOTLIGHT

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CAROL

BEST EDITING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atticus Ross, LOVE & MERCY

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ANOMALISA & INSIDE OUT

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE LOOK OF SILENCE

BEST DOCUMENTARY
AMY

NEW FILMMAKER AWARD
Marielle Heller, DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL

---

LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS

BEST FILM
SPOTLIGHT

BEST DIRECTOR
George Miller, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender, STEVE JOBS

BEST ACTRESS
Charlotte Rampling, 45 YEARS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Shannon, 99 HOMES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Alicia Vikander, EX MACHINA

BEST SCREENPLAY
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, SPOTLIGHT

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
John Searle, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Colin Gibson, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST EDITING
Hank Corwin, THE BIG SHORT

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Carter Burwell, ANOMALISA & CAROL

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ANOMALISA

BEST DOCUMENTARY
AMY

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
SON OF SAUL

NEW GENERATION
Ryan Coogler, CREED

---

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS ONLINE

BEST FILM
SPOTLIGHT

BEST DIRECTOR
Tom McCarthy, SPOTLIGHT

BEST ACTOR
Paul Dano, LOVE & MERCY

BEST ACTRESS
Brie Larson, ROOM

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Rylance, BRIDGE OF SPIES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rooney Mara, CAROL

BEST ENSEMBLE
SPOTLIGHT

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Alicia Vikander, THE DANISH GIRL & EX MACHINA

BEST SCREENPLAY
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, SPOTLIGHT

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
John Searle, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

BEST USE OF MUSIC
Atticus Ross & Brian Wilson, LOVE & MERCY

BEST ANIMATED FILM
INSIDE OUT

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
SON OF SAUL

BEST DOCUMENTARY
AMY

BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Alex Garland, EX MACHINA

---

BIFA (BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS)

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
EX MACHINA

BEST DIRECTOR
Alex Garland, EX MACHINA

BEST ACTOR
Tom Hardy, LEGEND

BEST ACTRESS
Saoirse Ronan, BROOKLYN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, SUFFRAGETTE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, THE LOBSTER

BEST SCREENPLAY
Alex Garland, EX MACHINA

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFT
Andrew Whitehurst (Visual Effects), EX MACHINA

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Abigail Hardingham, NINA FOREVER

BEST DOCUMENTARY
DARK HORSE: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF DREAM ALLIANCE

BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Steven Fingleton, THE SURVIVALIST

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Andrew De Lotbiniere & Paul Katis, KAJAKI

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
EDMOND

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
ROOM

DISCOVERY AWARD
ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING