Last night, the Critics Choice Association, of which I am a voting member, held the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards. After numerous delays caused by the Los Angeles wildfires, the event went off without a hitch, hosted for the third time by Chelsea Handler. And it turned out to be a big night for Sean Baker’s Anora, which won Best Picture, bolstering its chances at the Academy Awards where it is a nominee in the same category. The dramedy led by star Mikey Madison entered the night with seven nominations.
Wicked led all with eleven nominations and won three, including Best Director Jon M. Chu. He was left out of the mix for the Academy Awards. The hit musical also won for Costume and Production Design.
Another triple winner was Emilia Pérez, which won for Best International Feature and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldana. The film also won for Best Song for “El Mal”. The Netflix pic has been a frontrunner for months, although recent controversies have seemingly hurt its chances at the Oscars. This could be a much needed boost.
Taking Best Actor on the night was Adrien Brody for The Brutalist, the epic drama’s only one. Brody has long been considered a frontrunner for this category but that film is another facing various controversies and the impact remains unknown for the Oscars.
In what could be a sign of the future, Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance earned her the Best Actress win. She won previously at the Golden Globes. The film had a huge night, with Coralie Fargeat winning for Adapted Screenplay, and a win for Hair & Makeup.
In less surprising news, Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain. The Jesse Eisenberg-directed film also tied with Deadpool & Wolverine for Best Comedy.
The full list of Critics Choice Awards film/TV winners is below.
MOTION PICTURES
BEST PICTURE
Anora
BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
BEST ACTRESS
Demi Moore – The Substance
BEST DIRECTOR
Jon M. Chu – Wicked
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Peter Straughan – Conclave
BEST SONG
“El Mal” – Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Paul Tazewell – Wicked
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Hair and Makeup Team – The Substance
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two
BEST SCORE
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Emilia Pérez
BEST COMEDY (tie)
A Real Pain
Deadpool & Wolverine
BEST EDITING
Marco Costa – Challengers
BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Maisy Stella – My Old Ass
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Wild Robot
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Conclave
TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Hacks (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Moeka Hoshi – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Tadanobu Asano – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Liev Schreiber – The Perfect Couple (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO | Max)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Rebel Ridge (Netflix)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES
Squid Game (Netflix)
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
X-Men ’97 (Disney+)
BEST TALK SHOW
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. (Netflix)
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL
Ali Wong: Single Lady (Netflix)
