Critics Choice Awards 2026 Winners
Critics Choice Awards 2026 winner headlines are all about One Battle After Another taking Best Picture and The Studio leading the comedy charge, with Timothée Chalamet and Jessie Buckley winning top acting honors. It feels like one of those years where critics and buzz finally agreed for once. In this guide, you’ll quickly get the full winners list, where to watch Critics' Choice Awards 2026, and what makes these awards matter.
Here’s a compact, reader‑friendly rundown (focusing on the categories people actually search for and argue about):
Best Picture – One Battle After Another
Best Director – Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Best Actor – Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Best Actress – Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Best Supporting Actor – Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Best Supporting Actress – Amy Madigan, Weapons
Best Comedy (film) – The Naked Gun
Best Foreign Language Film – The Secret Agent
Best Animated Feature – KPop Demon Hunters
Best Production Design – Frankenstein (Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau)
Best Costume Design – Frankenstein (Kate Hawley)
Best Cinematography – Train Dreams (Adolpho Veloso)
Best Score – Sinners (Ludwig Göransson)
Best Stunt Design – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Wade Eastwood)
Best Casting and Ensemble – Sinners (Francine Maisler)
On the TV side, it was one of those nights where a single comedy just kept being called:
Best Limited Series – Adolescence
Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Best Comedy Series – The Studio
Best Actor in a Comedy Series – Seth Rogen, The Studio
Best Actress in a Comedy Series – Jean Smart, Hacks
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Ike Barinholtz, The Studio
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Best Talk Show – Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Best Variety Series – Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Best Comedy Special – SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Best Animated Series – South Park
Best Foreign Language Series – Squid Game
It was the kind of winners list that instantly doubles as a watchlist — especially if you’re into awards‑season “binge everything the critics love” weekends.
Where to Watch Critics Choice Awards 2026?
The 2026 Critics Choice Awards aired live in the US on E! and USA Network, with next‑day streaming on Peacock. That means if you missed the live telecast and just want to skim speeches, outfits, and who hugged who, Peacock is your easiest legal route.
In the US:
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Live on E! and USA Network at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
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Replay / next‑day on Peacock.
Outside the US, the broadcast is typically available via:
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Local carriers that syndicate USA Network or E! (check your regional TV guide).
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Major streamers like HBO Max carried the show in select territories such as Mexico and Brazil this year, with access varying by region.
A practical tip: for highlights, most people now just jump to the official Critics Choice Association clips and major entertainment outlets on YouTube and social in the days after, which is honestly more time‑efficient than sitting through the entire three‑hour show.
About Critics Choice Awards
The Critics Choice Awards are annual honors given by the Critics Choice Association to celebrate standout achievements in film and television, with winners chosen by hundreds of professional critics and entertainment journalists. The ceremony has grown into one of the key early‑year markers in awards season, often lining up closely with later Oscar and Emmy trends, which is why studios care so much about these trophies.
The show itself is a mix of straightforward acceptance speeches and slightly chaotic presenter banter, but underneath the glitter it’s basically a big, very public critics’ consensus. For viewers, it works as a curated recommendation list: if a title like One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, Sinners, or The Studio keeps coming up, that’s a strong signal it’s worth at least a couple of episodes or a movie night.
