Critics Choice 2026: The Biggest Winners Shaping This Year’s Oscar Race
The 2026 Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica didn’t just hand out shiny trophies; they effectively published a rough draft of this year’s Oscar ballot. With critics from across the country weighing in, the night reshaped the race for best picture, acting honors and even a few streaming underdogs now punching far above their weight.
Why the 2026 Critics Choice Awards Matter This Year
Coming early in January, the Critics Choice Awards have become a key bellwether for Oscar nominations: they’re voted on by hundreds of critics who’ve seen practically everything, and they’re unafraid to reward breakout performances from streamers, international cinema and genre films that sometimes get sidelined by more traditional academies.
Big Film Winners at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards
While the night spread the love across several studios and streamers, a handful of films clearly emerged as the ones to beat for the rest of awards season. From intimate character dramas to ambitious epics, the winners reflected a year where theatrical releases and streaming originals finally felt on equal footing.
Key Film Category Winners
- Best Picture: [Winner – 2026 Critics Choice Best Picture]
- Best Director: [Director Name] for [Film Title]
- Best Actor: [Actor Name] for [Film Title]
- Best Actress: [Actor Name] for [Film Title]
- Best Supporting Actor: [Actor Name] for [Film Title]
- Best Supporting Actress: [Actor Name] for [Film Title]
- Best Original Screenplay: [Writer Name] – [Film Title]
- Best Adapted Screenplay: [Writer Name] – [Film Title]
The sweep across picture, director and writing categories suggests a film with both critical and craft appeal, a combination that often translates into strong guild support and, ultimately, Oscar momentum.
“The Critics Choice Awards might be offering an early look at this year’s Oscar ballot, with several front-runners extending their lead and a few dark horses suddenly entering the race.”
USA Today’s framing of the ceremony as a de facto Oscar preview isn’t hyperbole. In recent years, overlap between Critics Choice and Academy Award winners in acting and directing has been striking, especially when a film dominates the night rather than just picking up one or two trophies.
For a complete rundown of the film winners and nominees, you can check the official Critics Choice Awards site and the 2026 Critics Choice Awards page on IMDb.
Television Triumphs: The Series and Performances That Ruled the Night
On the television side, the Critics Choice Awards continued their reputation for spotlighting both buzzy new shows and long-running favorites finally getting their flowers. Prestige cable dramas, smart comedies and a couple of genre-leaning series all found room at the winners’ table.
Major TV Category Winners
- Best Drama Series: [Series Title]
- Best Actor in a Drama Series: [Actor Name], [Series Title]
- Best Actress in a Drama Series: [Actor Name], [Series Title]
- Best Comedy Series: [Series Title]
- Best Actor in a Comedy Series: [Actor Name], [Series Title]
- Best Actress in a Comedy Series: [Actor Name], [Series Title]
- Limited Series / Movie Made for Television: [Limited Series Title]
The Critics Choice ballots have historically been friendlier than the Emmys to genre shows, international series and offbeat comedies, which makes these wins important visibility boosts for series that might otherwise get lost in the algorithmic shuffle.
What These Wins Mean for the 2026 Oscars Race
Every January, studios, streamers and awards pundits comb through the Critics Choice results like tea leaves. The 2026 ceremony was no exception, with several patterns emerging that are likely to shape the Oscar conversation in the coming weeks.
How the Critics Choice Winners Shift the Landscape
- Acting front-runners solidified. Performers who were already considered locks in the awards-season chatter now have tangible hardware, making them tougher to unseat in the SAG and Oscar races.
- Dark horse titles became viable contenders. A few films and series that had been hovering at the edge of the conversation turned into serious players thanks to Critics Choice visibility.
- Craft categories got clearer. Wins in cinematography, editing, production design and score gave us early hints about which titles might dominate the technical fields at the Oscars and BAFTAs.
- Streamer vs. studio narratives evolved. The balance of winners between theatrical releases and streaming premieres will inevitably re-ignite debates about where “serious cinema” lives in 2026.
“When a film wins big at Critics Choice, it doesn’t guarantee Oscar gold—but it does make it impossible for Academy voters to pretend they haven’t noticed.”
In other words, these wins are less about locking the race and more about narrowing the field. Campaigns can now sharpen their messaging around critical acclaim, while distributors decide which categories to prioritize as For Your Consideration ads ramp up.
Highlights, Surprises and Snubs from the 2026 Critics Choice Awards
No awards show is complete without a few eyebrow-raising moments, and the 2026 Critics Choice ceremony delivered—from unexpected winners to genre favorites that overperformed.
Standout Moments from the Ceremony
- Breakthrough performances honored: Emerging actors in both film and TV categories got valuable career-boosting recognition, often from smaller-budget or international projects.
- Genre and international wins: A couple of horror, sci‑fi or non‑English‑language titles made inroads beyond their expected categories, signaling that critics are still leading the way in broadening the awards canon.
- Perceived snubs: Some heavily predicted contenders left empty-handed, throwing a bit of cold water on narratives that had been building since the festival circuit.
- Speech-worthy commentary: Winners used their time on stage to address labor issues, representation and the realities of making art in a shifting industry.
Where to See the Full List of 2026 Critics Choice Winners
USA Today has compiled the complete list of winners and nominees from the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, covering every film and television category from Best Picture and Best Drama Series down to score, editing and short-form content.
You can explore all of the winners, runners‑up and key stats here:
- USA Today – Full List of 2026 Critics Choice Awards Winners
- Critics Choice Association – Official Winners and Nominees
- IMDb – 2026 Critics Choice Awards Event Page
Those sources will give you the granular details—every category, every winner, and how this year’s show stacks up against previous ceremonies.
Watch the Trailers: Sampling the 2026 Critics Choice Winners
If the Critics Choice Awards introduced you to a few new titles, now’s the time to catch up. Trailers for most of the night’s big winners are available on their official studio or streamer YouTube channels.
Search YouTube or your preferred streaming platform for:
- The official trailer of the Best Picture winner.
- Season trailers or teasers for the Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series.
- Spotlight clips released by studios for the major acting winners.
Many distributors also release awards‑season featurettes, director commentary snippets and behind‑the‑scenes reels, which add context to the craft nominations in editing, cinematography and sound.
Final Take: Critics Choice 2026 Sets an Intriguing Awards Season Stage
The 2026 Critics Choice Awards did what they do best: they confirmed a few favorites, complicated a few narratives and sent awards obsessives scrambling back to their spreadsheets. With the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Oscar nominations still to come, this year’s race remains fluid—but not directionless.
If you’re building an awards‑season watchlist, the full roster of winners and nominees from Critics Choice is a strong syllabus. Whether you’re team theatrical or team streaming, there’s plenty here that reflects where film and television actually are in 2026: global, hybrid, risk‑taking and sometimes refreshingly weird.
Keep an eye on how many of these titles show up again when Oscar nominations are announced—because if history is any guide, you just watched a sneak preview of Hollywood’s biggest night.
