The Year in Film

How the Film Poll Works

This year, 96 critics from across the country voted for their favorite films, performances, and filmmakers in 13 categories. Films were awarded five points each. A film is eligible only in the year that it was first distributed in the U.S. For six of those categories (Best Film of the Year, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Undistributed Film), critics had the option to either "rank" or "unrank" their votes. For example, in the Best Film category, where ten votes are possible, a ranked ballot's #1 choice was awarded 10 points, the #2 choice nine points, etc. On ballots designated as "unranked," films were awarded five points each, and performances two points. Ties of any kind were not allowed.

Update: A correction — and an upset! We originally listed Oscar Isaac of Inside Llewyn Davis as the winner in our film poll's best actor category. According to our first round of poll math, he had just barely edged out Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave. After publishing the results, we discovered that we had missed three misspellings of Ejiofor's name in critics' ballots, which meant three Ejiofor votes weren't added to the actor's official total.

After a few more rounds of bug-stomping -- you wouldn't believe how many ways critics can spell names like "Scarlett Johansson" or "Adèle Exarchopoulos" -- we're pleased to announce that Ejiofor has edged out Isaac by two votes, proving once again that poor Llewyn Davis just can't win. Thanks again to everyone who voted. The Voice regrets the error.