The National Society of Film Critics has named There Will Be Blood Best Picture of the Year and awarded the film with Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, and Best Cinematography for Robert Elswit. The society comprises more than 60 critics from major publications throughout the country.

With the Oscar polls set to close at the end of the week, the New York Times film critics have weighed in on the list of nominees they'd like to see. A.O. Scott, Manohla Dargis, and Stephen Holden all agree that There Will Be Blood should be nominated for Best Director, Paul Thomas Anderson; Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis; and Best Adapted Screenplay. Holden and Dargis also think it should be on the list for Best Picture. Holden is joined by Scott in suggesting the film's Paul Dano for Best Supporting Actor. Scott also hopes Sweeney Todd will be recognized by Academy voters. He thinks it should be on the list both for Best Picture and for Johnny Depp as Best Actor.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dan DeLuca says that Jonny Greenwood's There Will Be Blood score is a must-have for die-hard Radiohead fans. DeLuca writes that with the score, Greenwood "extends Radiohead's art rock into the classical realm." The reviewer calls the music "a natural extension of the Radiohead aesthetic as well as a harbinger of a busy-as-he-wants-to-be movie-music-making career for Greenwood."