The 31st annual Critics’ Choice Awards are officially underway, and the energy inside the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica is electric. Host Chelsea Handler is back on stage, steering the night with her humour and charisma, as Hollywood’s first major competitive awards show of 2026 unfolds. The three-hour ceremony is airing live on E! and USA Network, with trophies already making their way into waiting hands.
This year’s Critics’ Choice Awards bring in four brand-new categories. These include Best Variety Series, Best Stunt Design, Best Casting and Ensemble, and Best Sound. The change comes as casting officially becomes an Oscar category starting this year, with stunt awards set to follow in 2027.
Critics’ Choice Awards 2026: Sinners leading the nods
This year, Ryan Coogler’s film Sinners leads the nominations with an impressive 17 nods. The vampire-themed epic is expected to collect around six trophies, including Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler. Still, early projections suggested the night could belong to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which many believe will dominate the top categories when the winners are finally announced. (Will update as n when result is announced)
Along with Sinners and One Battle After Another, the category also includes Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams, and Wicked: For Good.
Critics’ Choice Awards 2026: Television shows making their mark
On the television side, Netflix is having a strong year. Emmy winner Adolescence leads the TV nominations with six nods, while Nobody Wants This follows closely with five. Both shows are expected to be big players when the awards are handed out.
Red Carpet: When and where to watch
Yes, the red carpet is being televised. The LIVE from E!: Critics’ Choice Awards red carpet special began at 5 p.m. ET or 2 p.m. PT on both E! and USA Network. Justin Sylvester and Keltie Knight are hosting the coverage, joined by Will Marfuggi and Erin Lim, bringing viewers interviews, fashion moments and early reactions as stars arrive.
For those watching online, the Critics’ Choice Association will be sharing content across social media throughout the night. Updates and clips will be available on Instagram and X through @CriticsChoice, on TikTok at @OfficialCriticsChoice, and on Facebook at CriticsChoiceAwards.
This year’s presenters’ lineup is packed with familiar faces. The list includes Ali Larter, Alicia Silverstone, Allison Janney, Arden Cho, Ava DuVernay, Bradley Whitford, Billy Bob Thornton, Colman Domingo, Diego Luna, EJAE, Hannah Einbinder, Jeff Goldblum, Jessica Williams, Justin Hartley, Kaley Cuoco, Marcello Hernández, Mckenna Grace, Noah Schnapp, Quinta Brunson, Regina Hall, Rhea Seehorn, Sebastian Maniscalco and William H. Macy, among many others.
Critics Choice Awards 2026 complete winners list
- One Battle After Another wins Best Picture
- Timothée Chalamet wins Best Actor for Marty Supreme
- Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) wins Best Actress
- Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) wins Best Director
- Ludwig Göransson (Sinners) wins Best Score
- Ryan Coogler (Sinners) wins Best Original Screenplay
- Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) wins Best Adapted Screenplay
- KPop Demon Hunters wins Best Animated Feature
- Golden from KPop Demon Hunters wins Best Film Song
- The Pitt wins Best Drama Series
- Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus) wins best actress in a drama series
- Noah Wyle (The Pitt) wins best actor in a drama series
- Tramell Tillman (Severance) wins best supporting actor in a drama series
- Katherine LaNasa (The Pitt) wins best supporting actress in a drama series
- Amy Madigan (Weapons) wins Best Supporting Actress in a film
- Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) wins best supporting actor in a film
- Avatar: Fire & Ash wins best visual effects
- Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) wins best supporting actor in a drama film
- Frankenstein won 3 awards in a row for Best Costume Design, Best Hair & Make-Up, and Best Production Design
- The Studio wins Best Comedy Series
- The Naked Gun has won best comedy film at the Critics Choice Awards.
- The Secret Agent wins best foreign-language film at the
- Best Young Actor or Actress – Miles Caton, “Sinners”
- Erin Doherty (“Adolescence”) wins best supporting actress in a limited series or movie made for television
- Owen Cooper (“Adolescence”) wins best supporting actor in a limited series or movie made for television
- Stephen Graham (“Adolescence”) wins best actor in a limited series.
- Sarah Snook (“All Her Fault”) wins best actress in a limited series.
- Adolescence wins best limited series.
- Francine Maisler (“Sinners”) wins best casting and ensemble.
- “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” wins best talk show.
- Ike Barinholtz (“The Studio”) wins best supporting actor in a comedy series.
- Seth Rogen (“The Studio”) wins best actor in a comedy series.
- Jean Smart (“Hacks”) wins best actress in a comedy series.
- “The Studio” wins best comedy series.
Critics Choice Awards 2026: Variety’s predicted winners list
Film
Best Picture: One Battle After Another
Alternate: Sinners
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Alternate: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Alternate: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Alternate: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Best Supporting Actor: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Alternate: Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons
Alternate: Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Alternate: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Alternate: Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet
Best Young Performer: Miles Caton, Sinners
Alternate: Jacobi Jupe, Hamnet
Best Casting and Ensemble: Sinners
Alternate: Hamnet
Best Comedy: The Naked Gun
Alternate: The Phoenician Scheme
Best Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters
Alternate: Zootopia 2
Best Production Design: Frankenstein
Alternate: Sinners
Best Cinematography: Sinners
Alternate: One Battle After Another
Best Costume Design: Wicked: For Good
Alternate: Sinners
Best Editing: Marty Supreme
Alternate: One Battle After Another
Best Hair and Makeup: Weapons
Alternate: Wicked: For Good
Best Sound: Sinners
Alternate: F1
Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash
Alternate: F1
Best Score: Sinners
Alternate: One Battle After Another
Best Song: Golden from KPop Demon Hunters
Alternate: The Girl in the Bubble from Wicked: For Good
Best Foreign Language Film: It Was Just an Accident
Alternate: The Secret Agent
Television
Best Drama Series: The Pitt
Alternate: Severance
Best Comedy Series: The Studio
Alternate: Abbott Elementary
Best Limited Series: Adolescence
Alternate: Dope Thief
Best Movie Made for Television: Mountainhead
Alternate: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Best Actor in a Drama Series: Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Alternate: Diego Luna, Andor
Best Actress in a Drama Series: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Alternate: Britt Lower, Severance
Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Seth Rogen, The Studio
Alternate: Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart, Hacks
Alternate: Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Alternate: Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex
Alternate: Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Tramell Tillman, Severance
Alternate: Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Alternate: Greta Lee, The Morning Show
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Ike Barinholtz, The Studio
Alternate: Chris Perfetti, Abbott Elementary
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Alternate: Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Alternate: Wagner Moura, Dope Thief
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Alternate: Julianne Moore, Sirens
Best Animated Series: South Park
Alternate: Harley Quinn
Best Foreign Language Series: Squid Game
Alternate: When No One Sees Us
Best Talk Show: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Alternate: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Best Comedy Special: Marc Maron: Panicked
Alternate: Sarah Silverman: PostMortem
Best Variety Series: Saturday Night Live
Alternate: Conan O’Brien Must Go
Nominations
BEST PICTURE
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wicked: For Good
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone, Bugonia
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Paul Mescal, Hamnet
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Everett Blunck, The Plague
Miles Caton, Sinners
Cary Christopher, Weapons
Shannon Mahina Gorman, Rental Family
Jacobi Jupe, Hamnet
Nina Ye, Left-Handed Girl
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer, Jay Kelly
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Zach Cregger, Weapons
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Train Dreams
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar, Jahye Lee, No Other Choice
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
Will Tracy, Bugonia
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet
BEST CASTING AND ENSEMBLE
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda, F1
Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein
Łukasz Żal, Hamnet
Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
BEST EDITING
A House of Dynamite
F1
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Perfect Neighbor
Sinners
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
Malgosia Turzanska, Hamnet
Lindsay Pugh, Hedda
Colleen Atwood, Christine Cantella, Kiss of the Spider Woman
Ruth E. Carter, Sinners
Paul Tazewell, Wicked: For Good
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
28 Years Later
Frankenstein
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
Weapons
Wicked: For Good
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning
Sinners
Superman
BEST STUNT DESIGN
Ballerina
F1
Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Warfare
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco
Elio
In Your Dreams
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
BEST COMEDY
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Eternity
Friendship
The Naked Gun, WINNER
The Phoenician Scheme
Splitsville
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sirāt
Belén
BEST SONG
Drive, Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin, F1
Golden, Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy, KPop Demon Hunters
I Lied to You, Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Clothed by the Sun, Daniel Blumberg, The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams, Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner, Train Dreams
The Girl in the Bubble, Stephen Schwartz, Wicked: For Good
BEST SCORE
Hans Zimmer, F1
Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
Max Richter, Hamnet
Daniel Lopatin, Marty Supreme
Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
BEST SOUND
F1
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirāt
Warfare
TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Alien: Earth
Andor
The Diplomat
Paradise
The Pitt
Pluribus
Severance
Task
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
Diego Luna, Andor
Mark Ruffalo, Task
Adam Scott, Severance
Billy Bob Thornton, Landman
Noah Wyle, The Pitt
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age
Britt Lower, Severance
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patrick Ball, The Pitt
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Ato Essandoh, The Diplomat
Wood Harris, Forever
Tom Pelphrey, Task
Tramell Tillman, Severance
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nicole Beharie, The Morning Show
Denée Benton, The Gilded Age
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Greta Lee, The Morning Show
Skye P. Marshall, Matlock
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary
Elsbeth
Ghosts
Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
The Righteous Gemstones
The Studio
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside
David Alan Grier, St. Denis Medical
Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones
Seth Rogen, The Studio
Alexander Skarsgård, Murderbot
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Rose McIver, Ghosts
Edi Patterson, The Righteous Gemstones
Carrie Preston, Elsbeth
Jean Smart, Hacks
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ike Barinholtz, The Studio
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Asher Grodman, Ghosts
Oscar Nuñez, The Paper
Chris Perfetti, Abbott Elementary
Timothy Simons, Nobody Wants This
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Danielle Brooks, Peacemaker
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Justine Lupe, Nobody Wants This
Ego Nwodim, Saturday Night Live
Rebecca Wisocky, Ghosts
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Adolescence
All Her Fault
Chief of War
Death by Lightning
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Dope Thief
Dying for Sex
The Girlfriend
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Deep Cover
The Gorge
Mountainhead
Nonnas
Summer of ’69
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Chernus, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief
Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me
Michael Shannon, Death by Lightning
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jessica Biel, The Better Sister
Meghann Fahy, Sirens
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex
Robin Wright, The Girlfriend
Renée Zellweger, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Wagner Moura, Dope Thief
Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning
Michael Peña, All Her Fault
Ashley Walters, Adolescence
Ramy Youssef, Mountainhead
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Betty Gilpin, Death by Lightning
Marin Ireland, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Sophia Lillis, All Her Fault
Julianne Moore, Sirens
Christine Tremarco, Adolescence
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES
Acapulco
Last Samurai Standing
Mussolini: Son of the Century
Red Alert
Squid Game
When No One Sees Us
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Bob’s Burgers
Harley Quinn
Long Story Short
Marvel Zombies
South Park
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
BEST TALK SHOW
The Daily Show
Hot Ones
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
BEST VARIETY SERIES
Conan O’Brien Must Go
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Saturday Night Live
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL
Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life
Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian
Leanne Morgan: Unspeakable Things
Marc Maron: Panicked
Sarah Silverman: PostMortem