The 5th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 1979, were announced on 15 December 1979 and given on 9 January 1980.^[1][2][3]

• Best Picture:
  • Kramer vs. Kramer
  • Runners-up: Apocalypse Now and Breaking Away
• Best Director:
  • Robert Benton – Kramer vs. Kramer
  • Runners-up: Francis Ford Coppola – Apocalypse Now and Bob Fosse – All That Jazz
• Best Actor:
  • Dustin Hoffman – Kramer vs. Kramer
  • Runner-up: Roy Scheider – All That Jazz
• Best Actress:
  • Sally Field – Norma Rae
  • Runners-up: Marsha Mason – Chapter Two and Bette Midler – The Rose
• Best Supporting Actor:
  • Melvyn Douglas – Being There and The Seduction of Joe Tynan
• Best Supporting Actress:
  • Meryl Streep – Kramer vs. Kramer, Manhattan and The Seduction of Joe Tynan
• Best Screenplay:
  • Robert Benton – Kramer vs. Kramer
• Best Cinematography:
  • Caleb Deschanel – The Black Stallion
• Best Music Score:
  • Carmine Coppola – The Black Stallion
• Best Foreign Film:
  • Soldier of Orange (Soldaat van Oranje) • Belgium/Netherlands
  • Runner-up: The Last Wave • Australia
• New Generation Award:
  • John Carpenter
• Career Achievement Award:
  • John Huston

• 5th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards