The Critics Choice Association has officially kicked off awards season, unveiling the film nominees for the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards — and it’s already shaping up to be a major night for Sinners. The Ryan Coogler–directed drama leads all film contenders with a towering 17 nominations, coming within one nod of the all-time record. On the television side, Adolescence topped the charts with six nominations, but today the spotlight is strictly on the movies.
The ceremony will air live on E! and USA Network on Sunday, January 4, 2026, from 7:00–10:00 p.m. ET/PT at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Chelsea Handler returns as host for what CCA CEO Joey Berlin proudly calls “the first major awards show of 2026,” adding:
“We are so excited to kick off awards season in the new year, gathering hundreds of TV, film and streaming stars in one glamorous room… We are thrilled to share this incredible group of nominees with audiences around the world today, and can’t wait to celebrate this year’s outstanding performances and projects at the Critics Choice Awards on January 4th.”
Best Picture and Top Film Nominees
The Best Picture race is stacked with heavy hitters from across studios and streamers:
- Bugonia (Focus Features)
- Frankenstein (Netflix)
- Hamnet (Focus Features)
- Jay Kelly (Netflix)
- Marty Supreme (A24)
- One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
- Sentimental Value (Neon)
- Sinners (Warner Bros.)
- Train Dreams (Netflix)
- Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Sinners dominates the ballot with nominations spanning Best Picture, Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Best Young Actor/Actress (Miles Caton), and nearly every major craft category.
Close behind is One Battle After Another with 14 nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Leonardo DiCaprio and multiple acting nominations across its ensemble. Frankenstein and Hamnet each landed 11 nominations, performing strongly in both performance and technical categories. Marty Supreme (8 noms), Sentimental Value (7 noms), F1 (7 noms), and Wicked: For Good (7 noms) round out the year’s biggest award-season contenders.
Acting Categories
Best Actor nominees:
- 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 nominees:
- 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
The supporting categories include nominees from Sentimental Value, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Hamnet, and Frankenstein. Breakthrough performers highlight the Best Young Actor/Actress category, with recognition for talent appearing in The Plague, Sinners, Hamnet, Weapons, Rental Family, and Left-Handed Girl.
Directing and Screenwriting
The Best Director race features:
- 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
Original and Adapted Screenplay categories are dominated by many of the same films, further solidifying this year’s standouts.
New Categories and Craft Highlights
This year sees the introduction of new categories, including Best Stunt Design, Best Casting and Ensemble, and Best Sound — bringing overdue recognition to behind-the-scenes artists who elevate these films.
Best Casting and Ensemble nominees include Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Wicked: For Good.
Best Stunt Design features nominees from Ballerina, F1, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Warfare.
Best Sound includes F1, Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Sirāt, and Warfare.
Additional Categories: Animation, Comedy, International, and Music
In Best Animated Feature, nominees include Arco, Elio, In Your Dreams, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amélie, and Zootopia 2.
Best Comedy nominees: The Ballad of Wallis Island, Eternity, Friendship, The Naked Gun, The Phoenician Scheme, Splitsville.
Best Foreign Language Film nominees: It Was Just an Accident, Left-Handed Girl, No Other Choice, The Secret Agent, Sirāt, Belén.
Music categories feature high-profile contenders including Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner, Stephen Schwartz, Ludwig Göransson, Hans Zimmer, and Max Richter.
Studio Nomination Leaders
Warner Bros. leads all film distributors with 36 nominations, followed by Netflix (27), Focus Features (16), Neon (16), and A24 (15).
How to Watch the Critics Choice Awards
The 31st annual Critics Choice Awards will broadcast live on E! and USA Network on January 4, 2026, from 7:00–10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The gala will be held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, continuing the Critics Choice tradition of blending film and television recognition into a single star-powered evening.
As the CCA notes, these awards have long been “the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations,” making this broadcast essential viewing for awards-season followers.
