Critics Choice Awards: The BIG Winners

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January 05, 2026 13:46 IST

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The Critics Choice Awards was held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and saw Hollywood's A-listers get honoured at the first awards ceremony of the year.

Michael B Jordan's Sinners led the nominations with 17 nods, followed by Leonardo DiCaprio's One Battle After Another with 14 nominations.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Jean Smart won the award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks and used her acceptance speech to deliver a humorous reflection on the complicated relationship between artists and critics.

'What I'll just say about the relationship between critics and artists has obviously been sort of a love, hate thing over the years,' she said.

'George Bernard Shaw said famously, 'A critic is a man who leaves no turn unstoned.''

She went on to reference influential film critic Pauline Kael: 'And Pauline Kael, of course, the fabulous, late Pauline Kael, was famous for her reviews, scathing and glowing, but I think people got more fun out of her scathing reviews.

'She gave a particularly bad one to the great David Lean, who said after that he would never make another movie -- and he waited 14 years, he finally made another movie, and it was his last.

'And George Roy Hill, who received a similar treatment from Miss Kael, wrote her a personal letter that started out, 'You miserable...'

'Ultimately, as critics, our responsibility is not to the emotional well-being of a specific artist. Our responsibility is to the reader, the art form and our work. In so doing, I believe we pay the artist respect. Our honesty and standards are an argument that the art they make matters.

'So I thank the Critics Association for your appreciation of our little show, Hacks.'

Smart also acknowledged her fellow nominees, Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This), Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face), Rose McIver (Ghosts), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Carrie Preston (Elsbeth).

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Popular late-night host Jimmy Kimmel won the award for Best Talk Show, his second win in the category.

After receiving the award, Kimmel spoke to reporters in the winner's room and opened up about the difficult months his show went through.

'It was almost a near-death experience for me. Of course, not literally, but I did feel a little bit like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn watching their own funeral when all this stuff happened,' he told reporters, as per PEOPLE.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken off the air for six days last September after comments made by Kimmel led to heavy backlash. The show returned on September 23.

Kimmel has continued to face attacks from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called for the show to be cancelled.

After his show won the award, Kimmel spoke about how strongly people reacted when the show faced trouble. He said the support reminded him of how important comedy and free speech are.

'To be here and to see that people reacted to it in not just a positive way, but in almost a desperate way -- we're like, 'Oh boy, when they come after the comedians, that's when we draw the line. We're very grateful that they drew the line at us.'

During his acceptance speech, Kimmel said, 'Thanks to all the writers and actors and producers and union members, many of you who are in this room, who supported us, who really stepped forward us and reminded us that we do not take free speech for granted in this city or in this country. Your actions were important, and we appreciate them.

'And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom, we would be going home empty-handed tonight. So thank you, Mr President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It's been a banner couple of weeks, and we can't get wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them.'

Kimmel also teased other nominees not attending the ceremony, like The Daily Show, Hot Ones, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

According to media reports, Kimmel recently signed an agreement with Disney extending Jimmy Kimmel Live through 2027.

IMAGE: Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the award alongside Benicio del Toro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Cassandra Kulukundis and Chase Infiniti. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Actor-singer Teyana Taylor reacted with excitement after One Battle After Another won the Best Picture award.

Taylor, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, joined the cast on stage, and cheered enthusiastically.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson accepted the Best Picture honour and credited the cast and crew for the film's success.

'Does anybody have anything that they want to say, to save me?' he asked the cast at one point.

'Because okay, I'd say this is the best time I ever had making a movie. And I feel like it shows it's just a testament to being with people that you love. Because, as somebody said earlier, this is fine, and this is fun, but it really is about the people that you work with it that's all that there is at the end of the day.'

One Battle After Another is loosely based and inspired by the 1990 novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti.

 

IMAGE: Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Netflix's animated film KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Golden.

Songwriter EJAE, who also served as the singing voice of the lead character Rumi, accepted the award alongside co-writer Mark Sonnenblick. Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the other singing voices behind the fictional K-pop girl group Huntrix, joined them on stage.

'When writing this song, I found myself living vicariously through my character Rumi,' EJAE said.

'The song needed to be an expression of hope -- to convince herself that she could reach for her dreams.'

Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans accepted the award for Best Animated Feature along with members of the voice and singing cast.

KPop Demon Hunters, a collaboration between Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, follows the adventures of Huntrix, a K-pop girl group that secretly battles monsters from the underworld.

The film has emerged as Netflix's most popular title to date. Its soundtrack spent several weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart, while Golden reached the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

IMAGE: Timothee Chalamet receives the award from Kate Hudson. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Timothee Chalamet won the Critics Choice Award for Best Actor for his titular role in Marty Supreme, a talented table tennis player in the 1950s.

While accepting the award, Chalamet first thanked his fellow nominees, his team and Director Josh Safdie.

He then surprised many by speaking about his partner, Kylie Jenner, who was present at the event.

'And lastly, I'll just say, thank you to my partner of three years. Thank you for our foundation,' he said, and pointed towards Jenner, who was seen smiling and mouthing 'I love you' from the audience.

The moment became even more special when the two shared a kiss after his name was announced as the winner.

In the Best Actor category, Chalamet competed against Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, Michael B Jordan for Sinners, and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.

 

Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Host Chelsea Handler used her outfit to pay tribute to the late Diane Keaton.

During the ceremony, Handler made several outfit changes. For one of her stage appearances, she wore a tailored suit, revealing that the look was a tribute to Diane Keaton.

Keaton passed away on October 11 at the age of 79.

Handler also paid tribute to the late filmmaker Rob Reiner, who was posthumously honoured at the Critics Choice Awards, held three weeks after he and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were tragically murdered.

Handler remembered Reiner as 'the nicest guy in Hollywood' during her opening monologue at the awards ceremony.

'When you were in a conversation with him, he was present, he was focused and he was funny. And he would ask you tons of questions,' she said.

Rob Reiner, 78 and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14. They were reportedly dead for several hours before they were found by their daughter, Romy, 28.

 

IMAGE: Seth Rogen, Chase Sui Wonders and Ike Barinholtz. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Seth Rogen won the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in The Studio.

'This is so nice as someone who deeply, deeply, deeply cares what critics think of them and their work,' Seth joked from the stage while accepting the award.

'This is what I'm looking for. I can cancel therapy this week, this is like -- I'm good. I'm fixed. I'm fine, I think.'

The 43-year-old actor edged out fellow nominees Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This), Ted Danson (A Man on the Inside), David Alan Grier (St Denis Medical), Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones) and Alexander Skarsgard (Murderbot).

The Studio also won Best Comedy Series, beating Abbott Elementary, Hacks, Only Murders in the Building, Ghosts, The Studio, Elsbeth, Nobody Wants This and The Righteous Gemstones.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Sarah Snook, 38, won the award for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for All Her Fault.

In her speech, Snook admitted that she 'regrets' not preparing a speech in advance.

She shared that she had nearly forgotten about the event while travelling to the ceremony.

Recalling a conversation with her husband on the way to the awards, Snook said, 'My husband was like, 'You seem a bit distant,' in the car on the way here, and I was like, 'Yeah, I just forgot what we were doing, and I didn't write a speech or anything, and I'm just trying to go through some things now'.

'And then I forgot when we got here again, 'cause it was so nice to see everybody, and now I've gotten up here, and I'm regretting all of it.'

In All Her Fault, Snook plays Marissa Irvine, a mother who goes to pick up her five-year-old son from a playdate, only to learn that he was never there.

The series follows the frantic search for the missing child and explores how fear, suspicion and blame gradually begin to consume everyone involved.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Jacob Elordi won his first major acting award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro's film, Frankenstein.

He began his speech by saying, 'I really didn't plan for this.'

The other nominees included Benicio del Toro for One Battle After Another, Paul Mescal for Hamnet, Sean Penn for One Battle After Another, Adam Sandler for Jay Kelly, and Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value.

In Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's famous novel, Elordi plays the Creature created by Victor Frankenstein, portrayed by Oscar Isaac.

In the film, the Creature is abandoned after failing to meet his creator's hopes. As the story progresses, the character begins to admire the world around him, but turns violent after being rejected by people.

 

Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Adolescence emerged as one of the biggest winners of the night.

Writer-producer and actor Stephen Graham accepted the Best Limited Series honour along with co-stars Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty.

'When I was a kid, my mom told me, 'You're never above anyone and you're never below anyone.' So we're all equal. And I think the ethos that we carried into this piece, that paid off in this production,' he said in his speech.

Adolescence also dominated the acting categories: Stephen Graham won Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for his portrayal of Eddie Miller, Owen Cooper received the award for Best Supporting Actor, while Erin Doherty won Best Supporting Actress in the same category.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Owen Cooper, 16, who plays a pivotal role in Adolescence, spoke about the life-changing impact the past year has had on him and his family.

'This past year has been a complete whirlwind for me and my family, honestly. It's changed our lives forever, and we're forever grateful. We've cherished every single moment of it. To the directors, the producers, the cast, and the crew -- you took me on an emotional journey I never imagined I could go on,' he said.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Rhea Seehorn was named Best Actress in a Drama for Pluribus,

 

 

Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

Tramell Tillman won the Best Supporting Actor award in a Drama for Severance.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/Reuters

Janelle James with the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award for Abbott Elementary.

 

Photograph: Caroline Brehman/ Reuters

Jessie Buckley won the Best Actress for Hamnet.

Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff

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