The Critics’ Choice Awards offered its own slate of winners, parceling out momentum for prestige film work and buzzy limited series: One Battle After Another took the night’s top film prizes while Netflix’s Adolescence did a clean sweep in television. Held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and hosted by Chelsea Handler and broadcast on E! and USA Network, the show managed a mix of star power and below-the-line craft kudos that often sets the tone for the rest of the season, according to trend trackers at the Critics Choice Association.
Film winners led by One Battle After Another’s big night
One Battle After Another won Best Picture and Best Director, a potent one-two punch that historically foreshadows Oscar heat. Critics’ Choice Best Picture has matched the Academy’s top prize about 60% of the time in the last decade, according to aggregated awards-season tallies frequently consulted by industry prognosticators. The film, which entered the night with 14 nominations, didn’t convert at its most crucial point.
Sinners, which led the field with 17 nods on the night, ended up taking an impressive craft haul: Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Best Casting and Ensemble (Francine Maisler), and Best Score (Ludwig Göransson). Emerging talent Miles Caton won Best Young Actor/Actress for his breakout turn, serving as an example of how the Critics’ Choice can sometimes pioneer new blood who become mainstays on ballots in future years.
The wins were spread across picture, direction, writing, music, and casting in an echo of a season where several titles have staked out different lanes. “Film Twitter and industry pundits track the screenwriting and casting winners, as both have proven to be canaries in the coal mine for ensemble strength and narrative clarity — those will influence where some guild voters land later on the calendar.”
Television awards consolidate around Netflix’s Adolescence
On the television side, Netflix’s bet paid off, as it had led all other outlets with 31 nominations among platforms and genres. Adolescence swept all its competitive categories, including Best Limited Series, Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television (Stephen Graham), Best Supporting Actor (Owen Cooper), and Best Supporting Actress (Erin Doherty). That sort of sweep is uncommon and usually reverberates over guild longlists — SAG-AFTRA’s (which votes next Monday) in the U.S., BAFTA’s (whose nominations are announced on Jan. 8) on the other side of the pond.
The platform race was tight, from top to bottom. HBO Max followed with 27 nominations going into the show, spurred by titles including Hacks and The Pitt. And while the Critics’ Choice Awards is a critics-driven vote, network and streamer dominance in these categories can also often reflect content investments tracked by measurement companies such as Ampere Analysis and Parrot Analytics, where share-of-attention measurements frequently align with awards-season paths.
Complete Critics Choice Awards 2026 winners list
- Best Picture: One Battle After Another
- Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
- Best Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler — Sinners
- Best Casting and Ensemble: Francine Maisler — Sinners
- Best Score: Ludwig Göransson — Sinners
- Best Young Performer: Miles Caton — Sinners
- Best Limited Series: Adolescence
- Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Stephen Graham — Adolescence
- Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Owen Cooper — Adolescence
- Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television: Erin Doherty — Adolescence
Why these Critics Choice Awards 2026 wins matter
The Critics’ Choice is still an early indication in a long season, but it can signal support among guilds for writing, music, and casting. Dual picture and direction triumphs for One Battle After Another prop up its awards runway, while Sinners’ rule over craft puts it back in league with composers, casting directors, and writers — blocs that can powerfully determine future fates. On TV, Adolescence’s sweep solidifies Netflix’s ongoing strength in the limited series category that has propelled a disproportionate amount of streamer buzz in recent cycles.
The Critics Choice Association tallies and broadcast partners presented a slate of mainstream contenders alongside auteur-driven projects, but the field is one in which audience interest and critical consensus seem to be increasingly overlapping. And now, as voters move to guild balloting, be prepared for these results to shape everyone’s campaign stories and FYC screenings.
